The Colossus (Lot 256) prospect is located on the border of the Colossus (Lot 256) and the Portage (Lot 259) claims approximately 750 metres west of Buker Creek on the northern shore of Estero Basin. The property was developed at the turn of the century and includes over 900 metres of underground development which traverses the border of the two above mentioned claims.
The B.C. Exploring Syndicate Limited of London, England, carried out exploration and development work on the property from 1892 until 1903. Five claims, the Colossus, Rio Tinto, Blue Bell, Portage, and Champness Fraction (Lots 256-260, respectively) were Crown-granted to the company in 1899. Development work by the company totaled some 792 metres of drifting and 82 metres of raising in three adits between elevations of 395 and 470 metres. An intermediate level was driven from the raise between No. 3 and No. 2 levels. The company maintained the claims in good standing until about 1918. The claims were offered for tax sale in 1919 and, not being sold, were forfeited to the Crown in 1921. Messrs. Dixon and Rowley, of Vancouver, leased the property in 1922 and staked one additional claim, the Lagoon; sampling was reported at that time. Colossus Copper Company, Limited, was incorporated in 1929 to acquire the leased claims and through additional staking expanded the property to 15 claims. Rehabilitation of the old workings was began in 1929. The company charter was surrendered in 1932.
Phelps Dodge Corporation of Canada, Limited, optioned the leased Grown-grants and 41 recorded claims from H.W. Gardner, of Vancouver, in 1960. Work by the company during 1960-1961 included geological mapping, and 111 metres of underground diamond drilling in three holes.
Alquin Mines Limited, incorporated in 1966, acquired the property, then comprising 33 claims including the leased Crown-grants. As reported at that time reserves of 117,934 tonnes of between 2 and 3 per cent copper had been established by the driving of three levels and connecting raises (Financial Record 22/8/66).
Work during the period 1966-1968 included geological, magnetometer, and self-potential surveys, and 1538 metres of diamond drilling in 33 holes. The company name was changed in 1969 to Alquin Pacific Limited. The company charter was surrendered in 1974.
Gardiner Resources Incorporated acquired the Crown-grants in February 1980 by the assignment of 1979 agreements between P.J. Goodman and the Dixon and Rowley Estates on the Colossus and Champness Fraction, and between Goodman and New Jersey Zinc Exploration Company (Canada) Limited on the Blue Bell and Portage claims. Gardiner Resources staked the adjacent Ian and Jan Claims (15 units). Work during 1980 included rehabilitation of adits and sampling.
Sancono Ventures Incorporated in December 1986 optioned from Laurence Lazeo, of Vancouver, the Blue Bell and Portage Crown-grants and the Bluebell (12 units), Portage (20 units), and Colossas (20 units) located claims; the Colossas overstaked all the Crown-grants, of which the Colossus and Champness Fr. were not part of the option agreement; adits 1 and 2 are on the Portage and adit 3 on the Colossus Crown-grants. Work in 1987 included geological mapping, a geochemical survey comprising 167 soil and 75 rock samples, ground and airborne magnetometer and VLF electromagnetic surveys. This work indicated a coincident geophysical-geochemical anomaly several hundred metres south of the known mineralization and in part on the Colossus Crown-grant.
The Colossus prospect is underlain by granodiorite of the Jurassic to Cretaceous Coast Plutonic Complex. The granodiorite has been faulted and intruded by dykes of intermediate to mafic composition. Mineralized quartz veins occur in the fault planes. The granodiorite is coarse-grained, equigranular and exhibits some potassium feldspar alteration. The mafic dikes are fine-grained, dark green in color, often serpentinized, and probably dioritic in composition. They occupy north to northeast trending fractures and vary from a few centimetres to 3 metres in width. Quartz veins, often containing sulphide mineralization, occupy east to northeast fractures in the area of the workings.
The mineralization consists of streaks and patches of pyrite, chalcopyrite and molybdenite in quartz veins which have sharp contacts steeply dipping to the northwest. Secondary mineralization is persistent throughout the quartz with limonite or malachite in localized areas. The mineralization appears spatially related to the mafic dikes.
A grab sample, from underground working level 2, of chalcopyrite with pyrite and sphalerite, assayed 28.10 per cent copper, 0.003 per cent molybdenum 0.056 gram per tonne gold, 105.2 grams per tonne silver and 0.0959 per cent cobalt (Assessment Report 15919). Ten representative samples from the same area gave values of 1.14 per cent copper, 0.094 per cent molybdenum, 5.2 grams per tonne silver and 0.0034 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 15919).
