The Morice Mountain area is underlain by Lower to Middle Jurassic Hazelton Group volcanics of the Telkwa Formation which have been intruded by plugs of Nanika Intrusions. The Telkwa Formation is comprised of variegated red, maroon, green to grey basaltic to rhyolitic flows, tuffs, and breccia. The Eocene Nanika Intrusions are composed of granodiorite, quartz monzonite and felsite dikes which are in part porphyritic.
The "Lower showing", located at 1066 metres elevation, consists of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and bornite which is exposed for 20 metres in a silicified and brecciated zone in the andesites. The shear strikes approximately 165 degrees and is mineralized over a 37 metre length. Irregular clots of sulphides associated with quartz infill the fragmented breccia. Occasionally, quartz grains form up to 5 centimetre euhedral crystals.
Silicification has bleached the black andesite to give the rock a dacitic appearance. The quartz infilling is vuggy. Minor chloritization occurs in the mafic minerals with minor clay alteration near chalcedony veining.
In 1986 samples were collected from the old trenches. Massive pyrite with bornite from altered andesite assayed 0.022 gram per tonne gold, 96 grams per tonne silver and 8.8 per cent copper. Andesite with quartz veining containing pyrite, malachite and azurite assayed 0.08 gram per tonne gold, 19 grams per tonne silver and 1.58 per cent copper.
WORK HISTORY
The earliest recorded work on the property consists of prospecting and trenching by J. Van der Wijk prior to 1963. In 1963 and 1965 Amax Exploration Inc. examined the property and subsequently optioned the property from March 1966 to February 1967. Amax completed a program of geologic mapping, geochemical and geophysical surveys (induced polarization), 183 metres of bulldozer trenching, and 985 metres of diamond drilling on the "South "Porphyry.
The property was optioned by Bovan Mines between September and December 1967. Bovan Mines drilled 5 core holes on the South zone. In 1970 Van der Wijk and A. Salo discovered areas containing chalcopyrite within volcanic rocks, and in July 1970 the property was optioned to Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd. The property includes part of an area on the west side of Morice Mountain investigated by Amax Exploration, Inc in 1966. Much of the activity centred on two chalcopyrite showings located to the north and northeast of a small quartz centres porphyry stock and the old Amax camp-site. Falconbridge conducted geologic mapping, 262 metres of trenching, soil and rock geochemical sampling, and geophysical (EM and magnetometer) surveys. Falconbridge described the Upper and Lower showings (Geology, Exploration and Mining in British Columbia 1970).
There is nothing to indicate if the Amax work and the Falconbridge work were on the same showings.
It appears the "Upper" and "Lower" showing were defined by Falconbridge about 1970 (Geology, Exploration and Mining in British Columbia 1970). There is little documentation that clearly confirms their location. Previous researchers deduced that Sholto (093L 202) was the Upper showing and that Success (093L 007) was the Lower showing. However, Assessment Report 10563 plots them on the 1982 Mound claims to the north and provides further clues on their property maps. Comparing the Mound claim location map to the Mound Geology Maps 1 and 2 may help future explorationists corroborate the showing locations which are in conflict. Geology maps 1 and 2 show the location of the Mound claims claim-posts for locational reference.
In 2011 and 2012, Quartz Mountain Resources Ltd held the considerable Buck and Karma property. In 2011, the company conducted 3906 kilometres of aeromagnetic surveying which covered many occurrences in the region including the Peacock (Assessment Report 33176, 34048).
Refer to South Porphyry prospect (093L 006) for a detailed work history of the CR property that was held in the mid to late 2000s to early 2010s by Manson Creek Resources and covered most of the showings in the Morice Mountain area.
