The Mountain Boss occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 2170 metres, 2.5 kilometres northeast of Perkins Peak and 21 kilometres southwest of the community of Kleena Kleene.
The prospect occurs within rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Cloud Drifter Formation, consisting of arkosic and quartz sandstone, siltstone and minor dark grey to black shale, with minor discontinuous conglomerate lenses. The formation is generally tightly folded, with fold vergence to the north although in the Miner Lake valley, immediately north of the area, the structure is a broader anticline. Along the steep north-facing slope of the Colwell Lake-Miner Lake valley, in the vicinity of the Mountain Boss and Bluebell prospects, Bouma sequence deposition is exposed along road cuts and indicates deep water conditions, possibly as turbidites. The Mountain Boss is located about 12 kilometres southwest of the Tchaikazan fault, and approximately 5 kilometres northeast and southeast of the margin of the Jurassic to Paleogene Coast Plutonic Complex (Geological Survey of Canada Open File 1163, Map 1713A).
The deposit is centred on the Mountain Boss adit; the Commodore adit is situated approximately 100 metres to the west. Rocks in the area consist of silicified black carbonaceous argillite, dark-brown argillaceous sandstone or greywacke and cherty conglomerate. The beds are gently folded but generally strike between 060 and 070 degrees, and dip southeast between 30 and 60 degrees. Faulting is generally minor, although locally there is strong fracturing. Andesitic flows and breccias conformably overlie the sedimentary rocks, and outcrop near Perkins Peak and southwards.
The silicification covers an area of approximately 2100 by up to 275 metres, which includes several gossans. It has been attributed to a small quartz diorite stock that occurs approximately 1 kilometre southeast of the deposit. Numerous small, altered, felsic to intermediate dikes and sills that intrude the sedimentary rocks may be related to the stock; a quartz diorite dike forms the footwall of the mineralization at the Commodore adit (the hangingwall is black argillite).
Sulphide mineralization is proportional to the degree of silicification in the sedimentary rocks and quartz dioritic intrusions. The main silicified, mineralized zone in the vicinity of the two adits is partly obscured by talus but is at least 260 metres long; at the Commodore adit the zone averages 15.5 metres in width. It is marked by a strong geophysical anomaly (Assessment Report 6397). The zone is characterized by large, mineralized quartz veins, and 3- to 6-metre thick, strongly silicified zones (apparently referred to as quartzite in some reports). The veins and silicified zones are generally subvertical and strike north. Calcite veining is also widespread.
Sulphides occur as small lenses and aggregates disseminated throughout the rocks, as well as in concordant and discordant veins, lenses and quartz-filled fractures. Arsenopyrite predominates over pyrite; chalcopyrite occurs locally. Massive arsenopyrite occurs in lenses up to 33 centimetres thick. Gold and silver are associated with the arsenopyrite and pyrite in quartz veinlets.
In 1938, a selected grab sample assayed 25.4 grams per tonne gold and 34 grams per tonne silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1938). Underground sampling of the tunnel driven that same year yielded 564.6 grams per tonne gold with 131.0 grams per tonne silver over 1.8 metres (sample 132) from near the tunnel portal; 143.6 grams per tonne gold with 58.1 grams per tonne silver over 5 centimetres of sulphide material near the middle of the tunnel and 8.9 grams per tonne gold over 1.5 metres from the first drift of the tunnel (Property File - unknown [1938-10-13]: Assay and Geological Plan Map of Tunnel Driven in 1938 - Mountain Boss Group). Also at this time, a surface sample (6668B) from an exposure of quartz with sulphides, located to the west of the adit and at an elevation of 2087 metres, yielded 8.2 grams per tonne gold over 15 centimetres, whereas a selected grab sample (6760B) assayed 25.3 grams per tonne gold and 3.4 grams per tonne silver (Property File - H. Sargent [1938-11-01]: Map of Mountain Boss Group).
In 1948, an inferred tonnage of 30 000 tonnes was reported in a single oreshoot and 27 channel and chip samples from the Commodore adit yielded a weighted uncut average of 14.0 grams per tonne gold and 5.5 grams per tonne silver across a width of 15.5 metres (Property File - J.T. Mandy [1948-10-01]: Report on Mineral Deposit: Mountain King and Mountain City Groups).
Other samples, taken from opencuts, yielded 27.4 grams per tonne gold over 3.9 by 0.39 metres from the McConnachie cut (sample K3); 16.4 grams per tonne gold over 1.26 metres from the Killas cut (sample K4); 40.4 grams per tonne gold and 17.1 grams per tonne silver over 1.35 metres of mineralized quartzite from an opencut, located 165 metres west of the McConnachie cut and at an elevation of approximately 1980 metres (sample K1), and 66.3 grams per tonne gold with 17.1 grams per tonne silver from a 1.36 tonne dump pile by the Mountain Boss cut (sample K27; Property File - J. T. Mandy [1948-10-01]: Report on Mineral Deposit, Mountain King, Mountain City Groups, Perkins Peak).
In 1968, sampling is reported to have yielded 14.0 grams per tonne gold over 15.45 metres (Property File - G.S.W. Bruce [1968-05-31]: Notes on Gold Property Offered - Perkins Peak Area).
1970, a mineralized section assayed 32.4 grams per tonne gold and 10.3 grams per tonne silver over 24 metres (Assessment Report 2540).
In 1978, drillhole 78-1 yielded up to 8.23 grams per tonne gold over 1.5 metres (Assessment Report 6960).
In 1986, a 2.1-metre-wide quartz-carbonate-arsenopyrite vein in argillite was identified 270 metres from the 1930-metre elevation adit portal. The zone strikes east 20 degrees south and dips 70 degrees south. Sampling of the zone yielded an average of 11.6 grams per tonne gold over 2.1 metres true width (Property File - Kleena Kleene Gold Mines Ltd. [1988-08-15]: No. 156 (1988) - Yew, Perkins Peak, Fireweed, Tedray, Bob Creek).
WORK HISTORY
Historical and more recent workings of the mainly gold bearing Mountain Boss and Bluebell showings are located 2.5 to 3 kilometres northeast of Perkins Peak on steep north facing slopes (outside the current claim area). No record has been found of the early history of the property; the initial work apparently included open outs and a 3.7 metre-long adit. Interest in the area dates back to at least 1925, at which time, Dr. V. Dolmage of the Canada Department of Mines, Geological Survey reported on the gold showings in a small adit (Mountain Boss).
The showings were restaked as the Mountain Boss group of 8 claims in 1935 by F. Crosby, J. Peacock, and J.N. Killas, all of Prince Rupert; they staked the Mountain City group (6 claims) in 1937 and the Mountain Chief group (2 claims) in 1938. During the period 1936-1938 old cuts were cleaned out and extended. In 1938 a arosscut adit was driven 57 metres, with a 5.5 metre raise at the face; the adit comprises some 70 metres of horizontal workings. Owner J. Killas is reported to have done additional work in the adit in 1940.
Dr. Hartley Sargent made a more extensive report in the Minister of Mines Annual Report of 1938 on the Mountain Boss group. He made note of the structure of quartz veins which contained gold with arsenopyrite.
The Bluebell group, owned in 1945 by P. Evjen and associates, of Kleena Kleene, was apparently staked on strike to the east of the Mountain Boss showings. The claims were optioned in 1945 by T. Corless, of Quesnel, and associates. A 38-metre crosscut adit was reportedly driven to intersect a sheared quartzite-argillite contact.
A report by J. Mandy (Property File, 1948) describes an inferred tonnage of 30,000 tonnes in a single ore shoot; twenty-seven channel and chip samples from the Commodore adit were collected by Mandy, which gave a weighted uncut average for all assays of 14.0 grams per tonne gold and 5.5 grams per tonne silver across a width of 15.5 metres. A selected grab sample assayed 25.4 grams per tonne gold and 34 grams per tonne silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1938).
In October 1966 Hunter Point Explorations Ltd. (Hunter Point) acquired its first properties in the area. An 18-kilometre road was constructed by Hunter Point from the Bella Coola – Williams Lake Highway to Miner Lake with plans to provide further access to the showings shortly after this construction.
In 1966, Hunter Point Explorations Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chromex Nickel Mines Ltd., staked the Apex 1-8 claims; subsequent staking was done to a total of 54 claims; the Apex group is apparently a restaking of the Mountain Boss and adjacent groups. Kleena Kleene Gold Mines Ltd. was incorporated in 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Chromex Nickel Nines Ltd. to acquire the Apex claims, and Crown-grants located on the southeast side of the mountain (see NMI 92N/14, Fe 1). Work during 1970 and 1971 included approximately 91 line-miles of airborne magnetic, electromagnetic, and radiometric surveys, and stripping on Apex 3 and 4 claims.
A 1974 Kleena Kleene Gold Mines Ltd. completed one drill hole (DDH No 3) using AQ core, drilled vertical to 30.5 metres depth, collared approximately 91 metres east of the Mountain Boss adit portal (Assessment Report 5301 (Hretchka,1974)). Two short paragraphs described quartzite from 0 to 25 metres depth hosting quartz veims, up to 22 millimetres wide, mineralized with arsenopyrite and pyrite; and quartz diorite from 25 to 30 metres with abundant quartz veins. Fine-grained pyrite, magnetite and hematite and possibly arsenopyrite occur (mainly on “slips”). No assays were given.
In 1975, Michael Hretchka reported that another hole was put down about 50 metres southwest of DDH hole 3, presumably the same hole described above from 1974 (Map 1, Assessment Report 5773). The hole consisted of “overburden with shattered quartzite intermixed with banded slaty argillites” from 0 to 0 to 14 metres. From 14 to 25.5 metres were a “sprinkling of quartz with conforming beds of argillites and quartzites (and) some mineralization of minor nature.” From 25.5 to 30 metres, quartz diorite occurred “in bands and sections with some arsenopyrte.” No assays results were reported.
In 1976, 26 kilometres of VLF-EM ground survey was conducted over the mine workings on behalf of Hunter Point Exploration on the Apex claims (Assessment Report 6397). The intent of this survey was to extend some ground VLF-EM work started in 1975 by T. S. Smith of the exploration division of Canex Placer Limited for Kleena Kleene Gold Mines Ltd. Anomalous conductors were interpreted and at “least one significant conductor was defined.”
In 1978 a drill program with some bulldozer trenching and blasting was conducted on the Apex No. 1, Apex No. 3 and Apex No. 6 Mineral claims, under the direct supervision of Michael Hretchka as manager for Kleena Kleene Gold Mines Ltd. Diamond holes DDH No. 1-78 and DDH No. 2-78 were drilled vertically with AQ core to a total depth of 238 metres (Assessment Report 6960). Hole DDH No. 1-78 returned 8.23 grams per tonne gold over 1.5 metres and hole DDH No. 2-78 returned 1.7 grams per tonne gold over 0.6 metres. Details from the 1978 drill logs included, quartz diorites, altered shear zones, vuggy textures, re-cemented breccia zones, siliceous zones, sulphide zones, rusty limonitic zones and altered bleached zones.
During 1981 through 1988, Kleena Kleene Gold Mines completed programs of underground exploration, including a number of drillholes and 60 metres of underground development on a third adit, located below the earlier two adits at an elevation of 1930 metres, bringing the adit to a total of 558 metres in length. Further underground development was planned for later the same year. Further tunnelling was reported in 1995 and 1996.
In 2019 Ethos, Gold Corp. announced it had entered into an option agreement to acquire a 100 per cent interest in the Perk-Rocky copper-gold porphyry project adjacent south of the Mountain Boss and Bluebell area. Ethos Gold visited the Mountain Boss and Commodore area to examine geology along road cuts from the upper Commodore adit road, down to the Bluebell West adit. All the adits were reported to have collapsed. Two of the drill pads show evidence of vertical diamond drilling.
See Briton (092N 011) for related geological information and for work history on the surrounding Perk-Rocky property.
