The Hunter (Riegle) occurrence is located near the headwaters of Cabinet Creek, 36 kilometres northwest of Houston. Also known as the L.E. claims, the property was originally known as the “Colorado” and “Tribune” claims. The earliest information on the claims is in the Annual Report for the British Columbia Minister of Mines in 1909. Several tunnels and at least one shaft had been driven prior to 1915.

The claims are underlain by Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group (Telkwa Formation) volcanics comprised of red, purple, grey to green andesitic to rhyolitic flows, tuffs and breccia with minor intercalated sediments. The volcanics are intruded by a Late Cretaceous to Eocene quartz-feldspar porphyry intrusion and associated satellitic felsite dikes.

Mineralization occurs as disseminations and fissure vein fillings with the vein-type predominating. Mineralization includes bornite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, and tetrahedrite with minor amounts of pyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, and specularite.

Disseminated mineralization occurs along one thin bed of volcanic rock on the Hunter claim which strikes east-west and dips 25 degrees north. The bed is traceable for 91 metres and host bornite and specularite over widths of 15 to 91 centimetres, with local, high grade mineralization over widths of 20 to 30 centimetres.

In 1914 several open cuts and a 4.8 metre adit exposed localized high grade mineralized lenses. A sample taken from a dump of about 23 tonnes of ore assayed 0.69 gram per tonne gold, 2523.4 grams per tonne silver and 1.2 per cent copper (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1914, page 221).

In 2008, a sample (14555) of disseminated and sulphide stringer mineralized andesite from a mined out trench assayed 6.51 per cent copper, 4.65 grams per tonne gold and 202 grams per tonne silver over 0.5 metres, while a select sample (14555) of high grade dump material yielded 36.5 per cent copper, 155 grams per tonne gold and 2306 grams per tonne silver (Pautler, J. (2009-07-15): Technical Report on the El Toro Project).

The Tribune claim adjoins the Hunter claim on the south side and hosts a mineralized quartz vein which was exposed within a 35 metre crosscut tunnel (refer to Tribune - 093L 255) located north of the Hunter workings and northeast of the Colorado workings (093L 043).

WORK HISTORY

The Hunter claim was staked by Messrs. Hunter and Estib in 1903. Assessment work to 1914 was done in open cuts, and a 4.6 metre adit. The Tribune claim, adjoining the Hunter claim on the south, was located in 1911 by Chester Thoman, of Telkwa. Exploration work to 1914 was done in open cuts and a 35-metre long crosscut adit. In 1925 the property was held as the Riegle group, comprising the Hunter, View, and Ptarmigan claims, owned by A.0. Riegle, of Telkwa. A crosscut adit was driven 33 metres at that time. Some further work was done in 1929. The property was apparently part of a group of 68 claims, including the WB, AJ, Scout, and North claims, acquired by Hunter Basin Mines Ltd. in 1968 (see also National Mineral Inventory Card 093L11 Cu4). Exploration work during 1969-1970 included electromagnetic and geochemical soil and silt surveys.

In 1989, Van Alphen Exploration conducted exploration on their Hunt claim. Six major showings were reviewed and sampled (Assessment Report 19555). These showings included the King, West, Upper West, Rainbow, Mohock and Idaho showings.

In 2007, Lions Gate Energy Corp conducted an Aerotem airborne geophysical survey on parts of the El Toro property which also covered the Hunter Basin area that included Idaho (093L 040), King (093L 041), Hunter (093L 042), Colorado (093L 043), Rainbow (093L 044), Tribune (093L 255) and Hannah (093L 080)(Assessment Report 29456).

The 2008 El Toro program of Lions Gate Energy Inc conducted 1495 line kilometre airborne magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical survey covered the Hunter Basin area that included Idaho (093L 040), King (093L 041), Hunter (093L 042), Colorado (093L 043), Rainbow (093L 044), Tribune (093L 255) and Hannah (093L 080).

In 2008 and 2009 Lions Gate Energy explored for the Hunter showing but could not locate the two adits.

Refer also to King (093L 041) for general information on the El Toro property, a large property that was worked from 2007 to 2015) and contained the Hunter basin area.