The Dauntless occurrences are located on the western shore of the Alberni Canal, approximately 3.7 kilometres southwest of Port Alberni.
The area is underlain by andesite of the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation, Vancouver Group.
A series of mineralized shears and veins make up the Dauntless occurrence:
1.) The south shear zone, striking 025 degrees and dipping 60 degrees east, extends from the beach and consists of small seams of ground-up material with minor mineralization. To the south of this, 2 short tunnels, 4.6 metres apart, are driven on the zone. Except for some chalcopyrite near the collar of the south tunnel, these appear to be mudseams. About 60 metres to the north another parallel shear has been driven on for 15 metres from the water's edge, showing minor chalcopyrite. Another tunnel 45 metres higher up, driven for 30 metres, shows similar conditions.
2.) The north upper shear zone higher up the hill. The north (upper) shear zone located higher up the hill, striking 71 degrees and dipping vertically, has been drifted on in an open cut and short tunnel. These have exposed a well pyritized quartz vein about 1.8 metres wide. In the open cut at the adit is a showing of solid pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite about 0.6 metre wide, on which a shaft has been sunk 8 metres, in which good ore is reported.
3.) The Dauntless South vein contains varying amounts of pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, bornite and sphalerite. The vein and adit are oriented at 130 degrees and dips at 70 degrees southeast.
4.) The Herb Jr. vein, located 75 metres north along the Beach Main road, is oriented at 080 degrees and dips 80 degrees south. It consists of a 0.5 to 1.0 metre thick, banded and brecciated, silicified and sericitic or chloritic, quartz-sulphide vein, hosted within a 5 to 10 metre thick porphyritic intrusive dike, which in turn intrudes brecciated mafic volcanics of the Triassic Karmutsen Formation. Sulphide mineralogy in the vein consists of chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite and tetrahedrite totalling 5 to 25 per cent of the vein. Gangue mineralogy is primarily quartz, with variably amounts of sericite, chlorite and/or calcite.
5.) The Sarah vein consists of several narrow, sheared and variably weathered quartz-sericite-sulphide veins containing variable amounts of chalcopyrite and bornite. The vein is exposed over 350 metres and is located 10 metre below the Beach Main road between the Dauntless North and Herbert Jr. veins. A short, old exploration adit is also present.
The Dauntless prospect was first documented in 1918 when a small shipment of sacked ore was made. A sample taken from the dump assayed 2.2 per cent copper and trace gold and silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1918). In the 1924 exploration work consisted of three open-cuts which were to test the two series of shear zones present. In the 1927, a 27-foot shaft had been sunk. It does not appear that significant additional work was done after 1927.
In 1962, Cruikshank Explorations completed an induced polarization survey on the area as the Cruikshank and Alberni claims. In 1986, United Chieftan Resources completed a prospecting program. In 1988, Napier Exploration completed a program of geochemical sampling and geological mapping on the area. Seven chip samples from 12.0 metres of quartz vein within the showing averaged 1.7 per cent copper (Assessment Report 17557).
In 1989, Brockton Resources completed a program of geological mapping, geochemical rock and soil sampling and ground geophysical surveys. A sample (AR6) from the upper adit assayed 1.2 grams per tonne gold, 21.2 grams per tonne silver and 14.32 per copper, over 0.4 metre (Assessment Report 19346).
In 1993, SYMC began acquiring mineral claims north of the Macktush Property along the west side of the Alberni Inlet, now called the Dauntless property. This vein is believed to extend over a strike length of approximately 400 meters and is 0.5 to 1.5 meters thick. Twenty four grab samples of vein material contained 17.5 to 27.2 per cent copper, up to 37.7 grams per tonne silver, and up to 0.89 gram per tonne gold (SYMC news release December 7, 1998).
Preliminary metallurgical testing, in 1999, of a composite sample of approximately 25 kilograms of Dauntless North Vein material with a head grade of 17.61 per cent copper, 0.24 grams per tonne gold, 36.69 grams per tonne silver and 21.11 per cent sulphur showed recoveries of 99.73 per cent copper, 85.09 per cent gold, 98.72 per cent silver and 99.8 per cent sulphur in the flotation concentrate (Assessment Report 28989).
In 2002 the company commissioned David Pawliuk, P.Geo. to complete a mineral resource estimate for the Dauntless vein in accordance with National Instrument 43-101. The inferred resource for the Dauntless vein is 27,750 tonnes grading 1.30 grams per tonne gold, 44.6 grams per tonne silver and 22.30 per cent copper. This resource was calculated using a strike length of 300 metres, a width of 1.0 metre, a depth below surface of 25 metres and a specific gravity of 3.7 (Press Release, SYMC Resources Limited, July 12, 2002) (http://www.sedar.com).
In 2003, SYMC constructed an access road to Dauntless in preparation for pilot mill tests.
In 2004, SYMC completed roadwork, trenching, sampling and mapping at the Dauntless property and planned to follow up with 1000 metres of drilling to further test vein targets.
In 2005, SYMC completed trenching and 1062 metres of drilling in 15 holes on three copper-silver-gold targets - the Dauntless North vein, Dauntless South vein, Herb Jr. vein and Tasha zone (092F 155). Nine of the 15 holes drilled on the Dauntless North vein further defined the vein structure as eight sub-parallel 0.3 to 1.7 metre thick quartz-calcite-chalcopyrite-pyrite-bornite bearing veins that appear to locally merge into veins up to 5 metres thick. A 1.4 metre interval in drill hole DV-05-09 assayed 3.309 per cent copper, 15.0 grams per tonne silver and 0.105 grams per tonne gold. The best intercept on the Herbert Jr. vein (DH-05-03) yielded 5.237 per cent copper, 8.8 grams per tonne silver and 0.142 grams per tonne gold over 0.5 metre (Assessment Report 28989).
Ten select rock samples from the Dauntless South adit and vein yielded an average of 10.7 per cent copper, 0.523 per cent zinc, 27.9 grams per tonne silver and 0.262 grams per tonne gold over 0.6 metre. Ten chip samples from the Herbert Jr. vein yielded an average of 13.7 per cent copper 14.8 grams per tonne silver and 0.294 grams per tonne gold over 1 metre (Assessment Report 28989).
In 2006, SYMC completed a program of geochemical sampling and 11 diamond drill holes, totalling 982 metres on the Dauntless property. Drill hole DS-06-01, on the Sarah vein, intersected 0.5 metres yielding 0.186 per cent copper (Assessment Report 28989).
An indicated mineral inventory estimate for the Dauntless North and herbert Jr. veins was released in 2007:
----------------------------------------------------------------------Vein/Zone Tonnes Gold Silver Copper (grams per tonne) (grams per tonne) (per cent) Dauntless North veins 14,171 0.04 6.2 2.05 Herbert Jr. vein 8,479 0.12 6.7 5.16 (Assessment Report 28989) --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
In 2009 through 2011, G4G Resources completed programs of geological mapping and rock and soil sampling on the area as the Macktush Copper property. During 2012 through 2014, Nahminto Resources completed exploration programs including limited prospecting, rock sampling, geological mapping and a satellite remote sensing survey and analysis on the Macktush group. A similar prospecting, geological mapping and rock sampling program was conducted on areas of the Macktush property for World Organics Inc. in 2015.
