The Red occurrence is located near the headwaters of Wrede Creek, approximately 40 kilometres south of the Kemess mine (094E 094) and 215 kilometres north of Smithers. The original showing is located on the 1984 diamond-drill hole R-84-12 (Assessment Report 13316).
The regional geology is similar to that of the Shred occurrence (094D 111) which lies approximately 3.3 kilometres to the southeast. Takla Group volcanics overlie an Early Permian Asitka Group volcano-sedimentary package. A broadly granitic suite of Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous intermediate to felsic intrusions intrude the Takla volcanics. Structure in the area is dominated by a series of north-northwest–trending faults that form terrane boundaries between the Stikine, Quesnel and Cassiar terranes.
Locally, the Red showing area is underlain by Middle Triassic to Lower Jurassic Takla Group augite±feldspar-phyric basalts, basaltic andesite flows, tuffs (including lapilli tuff and volcanic breccias) and related intrusions, argillites and dark carbonate rocks. The Takla Group rocks are intruded by diorite, quartz diorite, hornblende diorite, quartz diorite porphyry and diorite porphyry related to the Early Jurassic Fleet Peak pluton. The dioritic rocks predominantly occur as dikes and sills and generally form west-northwest–trending lenticular slivers. The Red property is characterized by a northwest trending structural corridor that controls the emplacement of the broadly dioritic intrusive complex. The dioritic intrusions are located between the North Lineament and South Lineament creeks’ drainage and the Bird and North Canyon creeks’ drainage.
Alteration is generally phyllic and argillic, becoming increasingly more propylitic with depth. Alteration minerals include sericite, quartz, epidote, chlorite, pyrophyllite and calcite.
Mineralization on the Red property occurs within a 3-square kilometre area of highly anomalous copper-molybdenum-gold geochemistry and copper-gold mineralization within strongly sericitically and propylitically altered porphyritic intrusions and andesitic volcanics. The most significant type of alteration and mineralization observed is copper-gold±molybdenum mineralization associated with sericite, silica and quartz veining. Alteration is best developed within porphyritic intrusions but also occurs within andesite. Chalcopyrite is generally found in veins and veinlets with associated pyrite. The veins are composed of quartz, epidote and calcite. Chalcopyrite tends to occur within the pyrite blebs, whereas molybdenite is typically found along the vein margins. Mineralized veins are found in both the volcanic and plutonic rocks. Malachite and azurite are present in outcrop but are not associated with sulphides and are thought to be hydromorphic in nature.
Dendritic growths of native copper in small vugs were found in drillhole R-84-09, approximately 600 metres to the west of drillhole R-84-12. The native copper occurs with black metallic crystals of possibly chalcocite or cuprite (Assessment Report 13316). The best drill intersection from R-84-09 assayed 0.28 per cent copper (Assessment Report 13316). This 3-metre interval contained mineralized veins cutting diorite porphyry. Drillhole R-84-12 contained veined andesitic tuffs and flows. The best interval assayed 0.26 per cent copper and 0.15 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 13316). Higher gold values appeared to be related to small faults that cut the andesitic rocks.
Work History
The first placer operations began in the area in the early 1900s. In the 1930s, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada staked an area with prominent gossanous alteration, iron staining and gold- and copper-bearing quartz veins in the approximate area of the current Red property. The claims were allowed to lapse but the company, then known as Cominco, restaked the claims in 1968 after recognizing the potential for a bulk tonnage, low-grade copper deposit. That year, exploration consisted of geological mapping, prospecting and soil sampling. A 450 by 2400 metre copper soil anomaly was defined by the soil sampling program. In 1969, Cominco completed five diamond-drill holes totalling 303.9 metres. Four of the drillholes intersected anomalous copper values, including drillhole R84-03 with 20.12 metres (66 feet) grading 0.46 per cent copper and 0.015 per cent molybdenum (Assessment Report 28496).
In 1973, Union Miniere Explorations and Mining Corporation Ltd. conducted grid soil sampling and ground magnetic surveying on the Bow claims (now mineral tenure 513378), approximately 3 kilometres to the northwest. The following year, one drillhole was completed to 61.6 metres depth. In 1974, BP Minerals Ltd. carried out geological mapping, soil, stream and seep sediment sampling, drilling and ground magnetic and induced polarization (IP) geophysical surveying on the Bird claims (094D 101) located 2.7 kilometres to the northwest of the Red showing, an area that overlaps and extends north of the current mineral tenure 513425. Two diamond-drill holes totalling 285.3 metres were completed. The drillholes intersected propylitically altered diorite with pyrite, pyrrhotite and minor chalcopyrite and molybdenite.
From 1976 to 1977, BP Minerals carried out grid soil, talus and steam sampling, geophysical surveying and overburden drilling on the Shred claims (094D 111), located 3.3 kilometres southeast of the Red showing; covering current claims Red 12 (mineral tenure 391065) and Red 13 (mineral tenure 513434)). At approximately the same time, Cominco staked additional land in the area and carried out IP, resistivity and magnetic geophysical surveys that led to the delineation of a northwest trending high-chargeability, low-resistivity anomaly. Between 1978 and 1979, BP Minerals followed up previous exploration results with a program of overburden and core drilling. In 1981, BP Minerals carried out rock chip sampling and reanalyzed previous soil and stream sediment samples collected in 1974. Cominco and BP Resources Canada Ltd. formed a joint exploration venture in 1984 to confirm historical copper values and to determine the gold potential of the area. The joint exploration program consisted of geological mapping, rock and soil geochemical sampling, electromagnetic, magnetic and IP geophysical surveying and diamond drilling. Seven drillholes were completed totalling 1003.5 metres. Mineralization intersected in the drillcore included vein- and fracture-controlled pyrite and minor fracture-controlled chalcopyrite and molybdenite.
Results of the 1984 drill program by the Cominco–BP Resources joint venture included 81 metres averaging 0.22 per cent copper and 0.109 gram per tonne gold, 51 metres averaging 0.21 per cent copper and 0.076 gram per tonne gold, and 36 metres averaging 0.24 per cent copper and 0.125 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 28496). The best result obtained from the Gitennes Exploration 2004 drill program was a 36.5-metre section grading 0.26 per cent copper and 122 parts per billion gold (Assessment Report 27622). Significant results from the 2005 drill program included 9 metres averaging 0.53 per cent copper and 266 parts per billion gold and 48 metres averaging 0.16 per cent copper in drill hole R05-04 (Assessment Report 28496). See also the Hat occurrence (094D 158).
The Red, Hat, Bird and Shred claims were eventually permitted to lapse and were acquired by D.L. Cooke and Associates Ltd. in 2001. That year, Brett Resources Inc. optioned the property and carried out geological mapping, stream sediment and rock sampling and drilling. Drilling intersected weak low-grade copper porphyry mineralization associated with chlorite–trace sulphide assemblages. Solomon Resources Ltd. acquired an option on the property in 2002 and carried out 3 line-kilometres of pole-dipole IP geophysical surveying on the Red property to further investigate porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization encountered during previous exploration programs. Later that year, Solomon Resources terminated all agreements with Brett Resources and the property was relinquished back to D.L. Cooke. In 2004, Gitennes Explorations Inc. optioned the property and hired Equity Engineering Ltd. to carry out a two-phase exploration program of geological mapping, prospecting, soil sampling, IP geophysical surveying and diamond drilling. Two diamond-drill holes totalling 448.7 metres were completed on IP and geochemical anomalies.
In 2005, Buffalo Gold Ltd. acquired a 60 per cent interest in the property from Gitennes Exploration Inc. That same year, Buffalo hired APEX Geoscience Ltd. to manage a drill program on the property. Four diamond-drill holes totalling 626 metres were completed on targets outlined by geochemical soil and induced polarization anomalies identified by Gitennes Exploration during the 2004 exploration season.
In 2015, on behalf of D.L. Cooke, a survey of linear features mapped from satellite remote sensing data was completed. The work comprised tracing the linears in AutoCad from a copy of the worldview satellite data obtained from Google Earth. The data has been Geocoded to match BC TRIM Data using ER-Mapper. The traced linears were grouped into categories and then produced on Rose Diagrams for presentation. The interpretation can be verified from ground structural data measurements found by Equity Engineering in 2005. The purpose of the study was to identify geological structures which may be associated with gold and/or copper occurrences.
In 2021, Wedgemount Resources Corp. completed a program of geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and spectral analysis on the area as the regionally extensive Cookie property. Samples (D704101 through D704108) from a trench exposing phyllic-altered diorite, located approximately 800 metres northwest of the Red occurrence, yielded an average of 0.112 per cent copper and 0.09 gram per tonne gold over 8 metres (Assessment Report 40029).
