The Farrell occurrence is located approximately 5 kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Germansen River. The mineralization occurs on both sides of the river with the most significant showing being on the east side, approximately 30 metres above the river. The Farrell occurrence was claimed as part of the Jim claims group in the 1980s by Azimuth Geological Incorporated.
This occurrence is hosted in rocks belonging to the Pennsylvanian to Permian Nina Creek Group and the Manson Lakes Ultramafites as well as shales of the Mississippian to Permian Cooper Ridge Group. These rocks are within the probably Cretaceous to Paleogene right-lateral Manson fault zone.
The occurrence was originally described as three zones of silicified and carbonatized volcanics distributed on each side of the river, containing quartz veins rich in tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite and gold.
These veins were re-examined in the early 1980s, with the most effort put on the larger vein on the east side of the river. This quartz vein is approximately 6 metres wide, striking 012 degrees and dipping 56 degrees to the west. This attitude is roughly perpendicular to the attitude of the enclosing phyllite. It has an exposed length of 3 metres with the north end cut by a northwest-striking fault. It is found within sheared and altered (quartz carbonate) basalts and is in close proximity to serpentinized ultramafics. The basalts and ultramafics may be altered to mariposite-talc-ankerite-chlorite schists. The vein carries mineralization in the form of tetrahedrite, free gold, chalcopyrite, malachite, azurite and pyrite. Prior to this, minor trenching was completed on the property in the 1940s. In 1984, a diamond-drill program (304.8 metres) and limited trenching and sampling around the Farrell adit returned up to 17.58 grams per tonne gold over 3.0 metres (Property File Chevron Azimuth Geological Inc., 1988).
A 1-metre chip sample from the centre of the vein analyzed 29.6 grams per tonne gold, 16.8 grams per tonne silver and 0.59 per cent copper. A 1-metre chip taken from the altered basalt analyzed 5.73 grams per tonne gold, 0.62 gram per tonne silver and trace amounts of copper (Assessment Report 12130).
In 2016, rock sampling of the mineralized veins (sample 16GE2002) assayed up to 1777 grams per tonne gold, 3560 grams per tonne silver and 0.15 per cent tellurium (Assessment Report 37155).
WORK HISTORY
The property was held as the P.E.M. group by the Germansen Development Syndicate, Limited, which was organized in 1931 to acquire this and several other claim groups. Exploration work was done in two crosscut adits, 19 and 4.6 metres long, on the east side of the river, and a 6.4 metre long adit on the west side of the river. The 19-metre long adit passed through a quartz vein 1.7 metres in width that assayed only a trace of gold, silver and copper. The company charter was surrendered in 1935. In 1944, the property was owned by Mr. C. Farrell, of Manson Creek.
Limited trenching and underground development was carried out on the Farrell showing prior to 1949, and a 0.7-metre sample assayed 27.43 grams per tonne gold and 54.86 grams per tonne silver (Geological Survey of Canada Paper 45-9). The Farrell was held in the 1990s as the Jim 4 mineral claim.
Golden Rule Resources Ltd. of Calgary operated the Opec (the Slate 1 to 4 claims cover the Opec 1, 2, 3 and 10) and Flume claims (later (in 1990s) the Jim 1 to 4 claims covered the Flume 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7) in 1980. Grab samples collected from the Farrell and Fairview showings confirmed previous values (11.83 grams per tonne gold and 18.86 grams per tonne gold from the Farrell and 3.36 grams per tonne gold from the Fairview; Assessment Report 8957). Approximately 40 line-kilometres of grid-controlled geological mapping, geochemical sampling, ground very-low-frequency electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical surveying were carried out on the Flume claims (Assessment Report 8957). The grid was situated to test suspected major structures and quartz carbonate alteration zones southeast of the Germansen River.
The Flume claims were re-examined in 1983 by Manson Creek Resources Ltd. (Assessment Report 12362). The program consisted of geological mapping, geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys over the Farrell showing, the Ah-Hoo occurrence and selected gold geochemical anomalies outlined in previous surveys. Several gold and silver soil geochemical anomalies were outlined in an area 400 metres by 250 metres and further investigations were recommended. Limited trenching and sampling around the Farrell adit yielded up to 17.52 grams per tonne gold over 3.0 metres. Altered wallrock adjacent to the vein returned 34.29 grams per tonne gold over 1.0 metre (Assessment Report 12362).
A limited diamond drilling program (304.8 metres) was conducted in 1984 in order to evaluate the continuity and extent of the Farrell showing (Assessment Report 12130). Three holes were drilled proximal to the showing and one hole was located along strike to the north. Results were discouraging and the interpretation was that the Farrell showing lacked vertical and lateral extent; however, the drill spacing and locations may not have been sufficient in order to adequately test this structure. Continued work on the remaining untested soil anomalies was recommended.
Work in 1989 located float, apparently originating from gossanous cliffs on the west side of the Germansen River, that carried up to 19.8 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 19211). In 1990, a magnetometer survey was conducted over much of the Jim 4 claim to help define the location of the Manson fault zone on the west side of the Germansen River. The survey defined a strong, 400-metre wide anomaly that is believed to reflect ultramafic, rocks within the fault zone. The anomaly passes through the northwest corner of the Jim 4 claim.
The claims were re-staked as the Jim 91-1 to Jim 91-4 in 1991. In 1992, very-low-frequency electromagnetic and soil surveys were conducted in the area of the previously defined magnetometer survey. A moderate to strong northwest-trending very-low-frequency electromagnetic anomaly occurs coincidental with the magnetometer signature. Isolated soil samples returned values to 280 parts per billion gold (Assessment Report 22561).
In 2016, a total of seven trench and grab samples of mineralized vein material were collected. Gold and silver assay results varied by greater than a factor of 1000; it was concluded that a larger sampling program would be required to determine the average grade of mineralization.