The Fawn property is located in the Fawnie Creek map area of the Nechako Plateau approximately 120 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof.
The property covers the eastern portion of the Entiako Spur which comprises part of a regional uplift that exposes Jurassic basement rocks. The Fawnie Creek area is underlain predominantly by Middle Jurassic Hazelton Group (Naglico Formation) intermediate to felsic flow and volcaniclastic rocks, and intravolcanic sedimentary rocks, of the informal Naglico formation (Fieldwork 1993, pp. 15-26). Hazelton Group rocks have been intruded by the Late Cretaceous Capoose Batholith. The main phase of the Capoose Batholith, exposed both north and south of Entiako Spur, is quartz monzonite; subordinate phases include quartz diorite plugs and stocks and quartz porphyry dikes and plugs.
Thermal effects on Jurassic strata are widespread especially in the central part of the Entiako Spur where Hazelton Group rocks form a broad thin skin (an erosional remnant) over the Capoose batholith. The alteration mineral assemblage consists of epidote, chlorite, quartz, and calcite. A mineral assemblage consisting primarily of garnet, diopside, epidote and biotite has developed where contact metasomatism has been most intense.
Eocene felsic to intermediate flows and pyroclastics of the Ootsa Lake Group unconformably overlie Hazelton Group rocks. They form isolated exposures in areas to the southeast near Mt. Davidson and to the west at the Wolf epithermal prospect. Miocene plateau lavas of the Chilcotin Group unconformably overlie all other rocks, although none occur in the immediate vicinity.
Felsic plutons of probable Late Cretaceous age cut Hazelton Group strata to the north at the Capoose prospect (093F 040). A variety of felsic dikes, suspected to be feeders to Eocene Ootsa Lake Group volcanic rocks, cut all lithologies on the property, and locally are spatially and genetically associated with epithermal style vein mineralization (Assessment Report 21927).
The Giver epithermal gold-silver zone is hosted by dark green plagioclase-phyric andesite flows and green to maroon andesite to dacite flows, lapilli and crystal lithic tuffs and minor argillaceous sedimentary rocks. Mineralization occurs in sericite and clay-altered volcanic rocks that host auriferous, chalcedonic breccia and silica stockwork zones. An 8.2 metre chip sample across the zone graded 0.6 gram per tonne gold, 7.1 grams per tonne silver and 0.0914 per cent arsenic (Assessment Report 21927).
Breccia zones consist of grey, intensely silicified and brecciated lapilli tuff. Sulphide content is about 1 per cent and consists mostly of very fine-grained pyrite that occurs as wispy coatings on angular clasts and as 2-millimetre and smaller irregular patches distributed throughout matrix and clasts. Traces of fine-grained acicular arsenopyrite partly replace clasts. Sphalerite and specularite occur in trace amounts. Chalcedonic quartz is the dominant gangue mineral and is cut by comb quartz and late calcite veinlets. Quartz-lined drusy cavities commonly contain rhombs of white dolomite, clusters of subhedral to euhedral barite, rare grains of sphalerite and possibly pyrargyrite.
Work History
In 1981, BP Minerals Limited staked claims to cover silver-lead-zinc geochemical lake sediment anomalies following the discovery of the Capoose silver occurrence 10 kilometres to the north (Assessment Report 21927). From 1982 to 1983, geological mapping and geochemical soil and stream sediment sampling were performed. Coincident lead-, zinc- and silver-in-soil anomalies were delineated within an area about 3,000 by 700 metres across (Assessment Report 21927). From 1983 to 1984, backhoe trenches exposed rhyodacite lapilli tuff containing up to 94.5 grams per tonne silver and up to 0.88 gram per tonne gold; further backhoe trenching in 1984 produced disappointing results (Assessment Report 21927). In 1988, BP Minerals dropped their claims.
In 1991, 375923 BC Ltd. performed geological mapping, soil and rock geochemical sampling and ground magnetometer and VLF-EM surveying. Epithermal gold-silver mineralization was found associated with brecciated, silicified and argillic-altered volcanic rocks on the property. The Giver zone coincides with an east trending VLF-EM conductor 1900 metres long that is open at both ends. Silver-zinc-lead soil geochemical anomalies were associated with each of four strong, east trending VLF-EM conductors in the property area.
A continuous chip sample from the Giver zone averaged 0.623 gram per tonne gold and 7.1 grams per tonne silver across 8.2 metres (Assessment Report 21927). Two samples (508928 and 508688) from a former trench, located 90 metres south of the Giver zone, yielded 12.9 and 4.9 grams per tonne gold and 25.0 and 23.8 grams per tonne silver with 0.16 and 0.47 per cent zinc, respectively (Assessment Report 21927). Also, at this time, a group of float boulders, referred to as the Givermore zone, was identified approximately 280 metres west of the Giver zone. The boulders are silicified and sericitized with locally abundant pyrite and arsenopyrite mineralization. A sample (485884) from the boulders yielded 3.4 grams per tonne gold, 92.0 grams per tonne silver and 0.144 per cent lead (Assessment Report 21927).
In 1993, Western Keltic Mines Inc. completed a 20.7 line-kilometre induced polarization survey on the Fawn claims.
Western Keltic conducted two diamond drill programs, the last with partner Cascadia International Resources Ltd., between 1994 and 1997 (Assessment Report 23531; Assessment Report 25910). Both drill programs were focused on the mineralized structures in the north half of the Fawn Property. These programs totalled 1236.6 metres in 13 holes.
In 1994, Western Keltic Mines Inc. conducted a six-hole, 617-metre drilling program to test Giver zone mineralization, and VLF-EM and arsenic-zinc-lead-silver soil anomalies that were outlined during exploration programs carried out in 1991 and 1993. Diamond drilling confirmed the presence of an east-trending, steeply north dipping zone of pervasively clay and sericite-altered andesite. Significant widths of siliceous breccia and stockwork mineralization occur within the alteration; an 8.1-metre intercept in one hole assayed 2.02 grams per tonne gold and 25.2 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 23531).
Eight drill holes tested the Giver Zone in 1994 and 1997, all intersecting wide, altered zones with significant intervals exceeding 100 parts per billion gold. Drill hole FWN97-06 was drilled in the vicinity of the Givermore Zone and encountered 10.2 metres of 1.0 grams per tonne gold and 23.3 grams per tonne silver.
In 1997, a total of 619.6 metres in seven holes was drilled in 1997. Five of these holes tested the Giver Trend along strike from the 1994 drill holes; the best intercept from this work was 1.08 grams per tonne gold across 10.2 metres. Two of the 1997 holes, FWN97-01 and FWN97-02, tested a splay of the Giver Trend. FWN97-01 intersected 2.02 grams per tonne gold and 6.0 grams per tonne silver across 1.1 metres. Hole FWN97-02 intersected 0.13 gram per tonne gold and 3.8 grams per tonne silver across 2.2 metres (Assessment Report 25190).
In 2008, Misty Creek Ventures Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping and geochemical (rock and silt) sampling on the Fawn property.
In 2010, Silver Quest Resources Ltd. collected a total of 32 geochemical soil samples from the Fawn property during June 2010. The soil samples were collected across the central part of the Giver trend at 50 metres intervals along north-south lines 250 metres apart. The results of the geochemical soil sampling showed that eight of the 32 soils contain anomalous (1.0 gram per tonne or greater) silver concentrations (Assessment Report 31642).
In 2011, Silver Quest Resources Ltd. completed two holes, totalling 474 metres, on the Fawn property. Drillhole FWN11-02, located approximately 600 metres south of the Giver zone, intersected an altered andesite lapilli tuff yielding up to 0.22 gram per tonne gold and 2.0 grams per tonne silver over 1.05 metres (Assessment Report 32537).
In 2014, New Gold Inc. completed a program silt and till (indicator mineral) sampling on the area as part of the Blackwater and Capoose properties.
