The Wit prospect is located 1.4 kilometres north of the north shore of Chuchi Lake and is accessed by a forestry road that joins the Fort St. James-Germansen logging road, 5 kilometres north of the Nation River crossing.
The area north of Chuchi Lake is underlain by the Lower Jurassic Chuchi Lake Formation, a subaerial volcanic package belonging to the Middle Triassic to Lower Jurassic Takla Group. The formation is progressively underlain by submarine augite +/- plagioclase volcanic porphyry flows of the Upper Triassic Witch Lake Formation (Takla Group) and volcanically derived epiclastic sediments of the Upper Triassic Inzana Lake Formation (Takla Group). The base of the sequence is the Upper Triassic Rainbow Creek Formation (Takla Group) consisting of fine-grained slates and sediments derived, in part, from a continental source. A few kilometres to the west, the southeast contact of the Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous Hogem Intrusive Complex outcrops, comprising mainly Early Jurassic monzonite and syenite.
The hostrocks of the mineralization are maroon and green plagioclase volcanic porphyry flows and agglomerates and matrix- supported polymictic breccias and lahars of the Chuchi Lake Formation. The volcanics are in places scoriaceous and amygdaloidal and have calcite, albite, and celadonite vesicle infillings. Sulphides are also found disseminated in the hostrocks and in fracture fillings. A syenite dike, 9 metres thick, intrudes the volcanics.
The main showing is an irregular epithermal vein (5 metres wide by 20 metres vertical) of banded white and grey quartz and chalcedony that is exposed in and around a trench. Results of two drillholes in 1991 indicate that the vein system dips almost vertically and has a true width of 31 metres. The vein hosts small pods and disseminations of galena and sphalerite with possible argentite and tetrahedrite. The surface showing seems to be the top of a larger epithermal system. Barite lenses and stockworks as well as strongly oxidized and limonitic zones have also been documented.
Banded chalcedony and quartz with calcite, pyrite and trace galena occurs 150 metres east of the main vein outcrop.
Previous work on the property (Assessment Reports 9705, 18073 and Open File 1992-1) has delineated a calculated orebody of 20,000 tonnes grading 7 per cent combined lead-zinc (Assessment Report 9705).
Work History
The Wit showings (093N 141) were discovered in 1964 by T. Taylor, of Winfield, who staked the Wit 1-8 claims. Vanmetals Exploration Limited optioned the property in October 1964 and staked the Wag 1-28 claims; geological mapping, an electromagnetic survey, and trenching were reported. The company in turn optioned the 36 claims to Noranda Exploration Company, Limited in 1965. Work by Noranda included geological mapping, electromagnetic, and geochemical soil surveys, and 198.1 metres of diamond drilling in 5 holes; the drilling indicated a small pod of mineralized material of about 18,000 tonnes averaging approximately 7.5 per cent combined lead-zinc. The option was terminated at the end of the year.
Royal Canadian Ventures Ltd. optioned the property in 1966 and staked the Wag 29-44 claims the following year. During the period late 1966 to 1969 the company carried out a geological survey, magnetic, gravity, electromagnetic and induced potential surveys, a geochemical survey, and 500 feet of diamond drilling in one hole.
The showings were restaked in September 1979 as the Wit claim (12 units) for United Mineral Services Ltd. In February 1980, the claim was sold to principals who that same mont incorporated Marilyn Gold Mines Inc. The company name was changed in December 1980 to Titan Resources Ltd. Work on the property in 1981 included geological mapping and a soil and rock geochemical survey. Chip sampling of historical trenches yielded values of up to 0.30 per cent lead, 0.74 per cent zinc and 147.7 grams per tonne silver over 3.00 metres (sample 19207) and 1.48 per cent lead, 10.50 per cent zinc and 8.9 grams per tonne silver over 3.00 metres (sample 19210; Assessment Report 9705).
Nation River Resources Ltd. staked the SKOOK 3-6 claims in 1987 to cover old showings west of the Wit occurrence. These may have included the Creek (093N 083), Skook (093N 140) and Rig Breccia (093N 208) which occur within these claim boundaries. Initial work by Nation River during the fall of 1987 and spring of 1988 focussed on gold; a small program of soil (173) and rock (99) sampling, prospecting and hand trenching returned significant values in gold, copper, and silver from veins in propylitically altered Takla volcanics near hypabyssal alklic intrusions (Assessment Report 18073).
In 1990, B.P. Resources Canada Ltd. optioned the SKOOK 3-6 and 16 claims from Nation River and conducted a helicopter-borne electromagnetic-VLF-EM survey of 210 line-kilometres over the property. The Wit was now covered by the Skook 16 claim. Purpose of the survey was to delineate magnetite-bearing intrusions that could host porphyry copper-gold deposits (Assessment Report 21108). During 1991 B.P. also cut and soil sampled 64.35 kilometres of line, collecting 1250 soil and 59 rock samples. B.P. also ran 66.5 kilometres of induced polarization surveys on the SKOOK 3-6 and 16 and 17 claims and completed 1243 metres of NQ diamond drilling in 11 holes (Assessment Report 21820).
Drilling yielded intercepts including 3.5 per cent zinc over 4 metres (66 to 70 metres down hole), 0.15 per cent zinc, 0.15 per cent lead and 97 grams per tonne silver over 2 metres (70 to 72 metres down hole) and 1.5 per cent zinc with 1.9 per cent lead over 2.5 metres (92.0 to 94.5 metres down hole) in hole SK91-10 and 2.5 per cent zinc and 0.9 per cent lead over 2 metres (22 to 24 metres down hole) in hole SK91-09 (Assessment Report 21820). Gold values from the 1991 program were low, mostly between 0.2 and 0.6 gram per tonne, except for one value of 1.3 grams per tonne over 2 metres in hole SK91-10 (Assessment Report 21820). Also at this time, a rock sample of mineralized banded quartz vein material from the occurrence assayed 0.76 per cent lead, 1.91 per cent zinc, 6.4 grams per tonne silver and 0.22 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 21820).
The Skook claims were returned to Nation River Resources Ltd. in 1992.
In 1994, Nation Rivers excavator trenching and pit digging on western portions of the Skook property. Trenches, S-1 and S-2, were dug in the South Zone (093N 140) where hand trenches had previously exposed copper-gold mineralization. Five trenches were dug in the central zone to check for extension of the CL 11 Zone (093N 140) (Assessment Report 24172). Trenches were sampled and map. It was reported that no economic mineralization was found.
In 1994 a nineteen trench excavator resulted in the discovery of high-grade zinc, lead, silver in a brecciated matrix of barite and galena including: 12.14 per cent combined lead-zinc., 31.8 grams per metric tonne silver and 0.69 gram per metric tonne gold across 5 metres in the nineteenth trench. This was reported in the Previous Work section of Assessment Report 24241 and presumably refers to work done by Nation River Resources in the Wit area.
Operator Westley Technologies (Nation River Resources) conducted an excavator trenching program in the summer of 1995 on the Skook 2 claim group which consisted of the Skook 9, 10, 11, 14 and 16 claims. This group, which covered the Wit occurrence (093N 141), was essentially the eastern half of the Skook property. The program was reported to have proved the continuity of the structure on the Wit but failed to extend the higher-grade mineralization (Assessment Report 24241). A soil survey the Wit grid did result in the discovery of new mineralization. During the 1995 season, 98 rock and 331 soil samples were collected.
It was reported in assessment report 24241 (Previous Work) that Westley Technologies Ltd completed a five hole, 736 metre drill program in 1995. A detailed grid was also constructed over the Wit occurrence in preparation for detailed geological mapping and excavator trenching.
Trenching yielded values including 0.17 gram per tonne gold, 12.4 grams per tonne silver, 1.33 per cent zinc and 0.88 per cent lead over 22 metres in trench TR-141+50; 0.34 gram per tonne gold 22.9 grams per tonne silver, 3.43 per cent zinc and 5.97 per cent lead over 5 metres in trench TR-149; 0.380 gram per tonne gold, 21.1 grams per tonne silver, 0.82 per cent zinc and 0.12 lead over 5 metres in trench TR-146; 87.8 and 124.5 grams per tonne silver, 0.64 and 0.46 per cent zinc with 6.60 and 0.20 per cent lead over 3.0 metres each, respectively, in trench TR-149+50 and 0.137 and trace gram per tonne gold, 28.5 and 150.2 grams per tonne silver, 0.35 and 0.50 per cent zinc with 0.06 and 0.12 per cent lead over 3.5 and 4.0 metres, respectively, in trench TR-150 (Assessment Report 24241).
Also at this time, drilling yielded intercepts including 1.28 grams per tonne gold, 23.3 grams per tonne silver, 3.85 per cent lead and 11.84 per cent zinc over 3.5 metres in hole 01-01; 0.73 gram per tonne gold, 3.4 grams per tonne silver, 3.43 per cent lead and 5.29 per cent zinc over 2.0 metres in hole 01-02; 0.09 gram per tonne gold, 25.5 grams per tonne silver, 0.73 per cent lead and 2.05 per cent zinc over 2.0 metres in hole 01-03 and 72.2 grams per tonne silver, 0.11 per cent lead and 0.25 per cent zinc over 7.5 metres in hole 01-05 (Assessment Report 24241).
In 2002, Nation River Resources Ltd completed 227 metres of BQ diamond drilling in two holes on the Skook mineral claims (Assessment Report 27087). A BQ diamond drill hole (SKO2-01) was collared at the CL II (093N 140) to test gold mineralization previously found in a trench. Hole SKO2-02 was collared within a few hundred metres to the northwest of SKO2-01.
During 2013 through 2015, Vale Exploration Canada Inc. completed program of prospecting, geochemical (rock, soil, and silt) sampling and a 396.9 line-kilometre airborne magnetic survey on the surrounding area as the Q7a 1-10 claims.
