The Motase showing is hosted in rocks of the Lower Jurassic Telkwa Formation (Hazelton Group). The claims are underlain mainly by red, green, grey, and buff, andesitic lavas, tuffs, and agglomerates of the Takla group. Near the known mineral occurrences these dip about 15 degrees southwest and are cut by steep, light grey feldspar porphyry and quartz porphyry dikes, which are likely may be phases of the Eocene Kastberg Plutonic Suite.
Two mineralized areas, one about 300 metres northwest of the other, occupy parts of the precipitous northeast face of the mountain and a third (MOTASE SW, 092D 221) lies about 500 metres southwest on the relatively gentle southwest slope of the mountain. C.S. Lord reports that principal minerals, bornite and chalcocite, are associated with a little galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and possibly tetrahedrite (GSC Memoir 251). These occur mainly in the volcanic rocks. There they occupy minute fractures, or are disseminated throughout an inch or so of rock on either side of fractures, or are scattered through larger masses of rock apparently unrelated to fractures. Less commonly they have partly replaced the borders of porphyry dikes. The minerals are not equally concentrated or abundant in all rock layers.
The zones on northeast face of the mountain may be 15 metres wide and extend as much as 100 metres up the slope. The zone on southwest side of the mountain (the IFT), has been observed at intervals for more than 150 metres along a line trending south, but its width is not known. A selected sample of talus from the northeast side of the mountain was taken by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1951. The sample consisted of medium-grained, reddish, mineralized tuff and assayed 0.17 gram per tonne gold, 437.5 grams per tonne silver, and 14.98 per cent copper (Geological Survey Memoir 251, pages 62 and 63). Samples taken by the owners contained somewhat less copper and silver, but, like the above example, carried about 1 per cent copper to each ounce of silver.
In 2007, Electrum Resources described the Motase area as being underlain by a complex volcanic pile. Rock types observed include basalt, very finely crystalline, with quartz filling vugs or amygdules; Intermediate volcanic rocks containing large vugs lined with quartz and epidote, and pinkish-grey feldspar crystal tuff. Indications of the presence of mineralization in the area included: common calcite and iron carbonate veining; malachite staining common on boulders in the talus slopes, and occasional grey metallic sulphides, particularly associated with the carbonate. A talus sample of pinkish grey feldspar crystal tuff containing high concentration of malachite, and also containing specks of an unidentified shiny grey metallic mineral, assayed 121.5 grams per tonne silver, 2.8 per cent copper, and 0.039 per cent zinc (Sample IFTPR063, Assessment Report 30037).
WORK HISTORY
In 1945, thirty-five claims were staked on the showings 5 kilometres east of Motase Lake by M.R. Lougheed for Yukon Northwest Explorations Limited. A program of prospecting, geological mapping, and sampling was carried out during the year.
The National Mineral Inventory report for MOTASE (94D/2 Cu1) records the 1945 work by Yukon Northwest Exploration (as sourced from Memoir 251), but also records later work done by Huestis/Noranda/Bethlehem in the early 1960s, apparently sourced from Corporation Files: "Bethlehem Copper Corporation Limited". However, the information given for the 1960s work perfectly matches that of work completed on the Mot 1 prospect (094D 001). The confusion likely resulted from the "Motase" name being common to both the MOT 1 (094D 001) and the CAN (094D 002)/PAC (094D 062) occurrences.
Panteleyev reports that data towards his 1969 M.Sc. thesis were gathered while employed by Kennco Explorations (Western), Limited on their Driftwood property, probably in the years just prior to submission of his thesis. Panteleyev examined drill core from at least 2 holes but there is no indication of when it was drilled or by whom, presumably it was by Kennco in the mid to late 1960s. The Driftwood claims were located in the area mapped by Lord as Kastberg Intrusions about 2.5 kilometres to the southeast of Motase (094D 002).
In 1973, for Keywest Resources Ltd., work consisted of 16 kilometres of grid lines run north-south along the center of what were then the PAC and CAN groups of claims (Assessment Report number 4686). A geochemical survey was done over the grid and some "anomalous zones" were outlined. Part of the grid was covered by a magnetometer survey and the grid was geologically mapped. This is likely located to the southeast on the quartz porphyry stock of the Kastberg Plutonic Suite and so the CAN is no longer located as previously with the Motase. Diamond drilling had been carried out on Can 5, 7 and 8 prior to 1973 but results were not available.
In 2007, Electrum Resources staked the ridge area, encompassing MINFILE 094D 002 and 094D 062 occurrences. Electrum's 1 day program focused on MINFILE 094D 002. In 2007, Electrum Resource Corp. conducted a work program consisting of a four-person crew that visited the IFT property on August 14, 2007. The crew collected 28 samples: 20 rock samples, 4 samples of talus fines and 4 soil samples. MINFILE 094D 002 occurrence was initially named the Motase after Lord's description and location in GSC Memoir 251 (Map 962A) but was subsequently changed to CAN from 1973 work. Electrum’s crew did not find the showing(s), but did find considerable float in talus, mineralized with copper and silver. While sufficient to demonstrate that there is mineralization in the vicinity, the information obtained was not sufficient to allow for an assessment of the potential size or the style of the mineralization. The location of mineralized sample IFTPR063 is 627478 Easting and 6212455 Northing, only a few hundred metres from the given Motase location (Assessment Report 370037).
Refer to Motase Southwest (094D 221).
