The KC occurrence is located in an west-facing cirque between the Croydon and Kliyul creeks, north of Mesilinka River in the Omineca Mountains and approximately 120 kilometres northwest of Germansen Landing. The showing is on the Kliyul property (2025), approximately 4 kilometres southeast of the Kliyul Main Zone porphyry prospect and is also referred to as the M39 target area.

Regionally, the area is within the Quesnel Terrane which lies to the east of the Findlay-Ingenika fault system. The strata consist of Upper Triassic Takla Group rocks. In the area, these rocks are predominantly volcanic and consist of mafic to intermediate flows, volcanic breccias and tuffs with minor sediments.

Locally, the area is underlain by andesitic tuffs, minor intercalated greywackes and calcareous argillites, and hornblende or feldspar porphyry flows of the Takla Group. These rocks are intruded by hornblende diorite, dioritic feldspar porphyry dikes and biotite hornblende monzonite porphyry phases of the Early Cretaceous Kliyul Creek body. Emplacement of the intrusive rocks appears to be controlled by a southeast trending splay of the Dortatelle fault (Assessment Report 13580). A 100- to 300-metre-wide alteration zone has formed where this fault cuts the andesitic rocks. Alteration minerals include quartz, sericite, chlorite, carbonate and pyrite.

The KC occurrence is described as a north trending silicified fracture zone containing stringers of galena, sphalerite and magnetite. Malachite staining is common along these stringers and fractures. The veins and stringers are pyritiferous and consist of either quartz or quartz-carbonate. One of the best grab samples assayed 16.2 grams per tonne gold, 3.1 grams per tonne silver, 0.158 per cent lead and 0.132 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 13580).

Work History

In 1984, Golden Rule Resources, explored the potential of gold-bearing quartz veins on their KC claims which included Independence (094D 028) and Banjo (Bap) (094D 029). They reported an extensive 70 degree striking, variably silicified, fracture zone hosting 0.2 to 1.3 metre-wide quartz veins in regions of intense fracturing and silicification. Cross-fracturing in the quartz veins were described as mineralized with up to 30 per cent pyrite and lesser galena, chalcopyrite and sphalerite; float samples assayed up to 122 grams per tonne gold and 70 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 13580).

Ritz Resources optioned the KC claims which included Independence (094D 028) and Banjo (Bap) (094D 029). They completed geochemical and geophysical surveys over two small grids in the northwestern corner of the property investigating the gold potential (Assessment Report 15583).

In 1992 Noranda carried out 1:5,000 scale geological and alteration mapping and in 1993, they drilled 6 reverse circulation holes on the Kliyul skarn zone (Assessment Report 23033) and followed up with an airborne magnetic, EM, and radiometric survey (Assessment Report 23379). This airborne survey also covered (or nearly covered) 25 MINFILE occurrences including KC (094D 140).

In 1994, Noranda/Hemlo Gold optioned the KC claims and completed a soil and rock sampling program and ground magnetics. They defined a 100 to 750 metre-wide soil anomaly with greater than 100 parts per billion gold that extended northwest for at least 1.6 kilometres onto the KLI claims, remaining open to the northwest. The ground magnetics (8.6 line-kilometres) showed distinct northwest-southeast and north-south magnetic breaks correlating with mapped structural elements such as bedding, foliation, fracturing and shearing (Assessment Report 23680).

In the spring of 2017 AuRico Metals acquired Kiska Metals Corporation making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of AuRico Metals. In 2017, in partnership with First Quantum Minerals, AuRico Metals completed a property-scale evaluation of the Kliyul property consisting of constructing a stratigraphic column and property-scale (1:5,000 to 1:10,000) geological and alteration mapping, a 350-metre-spaced rock sampling grid across the whole property, and a ground ELF survey. A total of 383 rock and soil samples were collected on the 350-metre spaced grid. 294 (77 per cent) of the collected samples were from outcrop, 28 (7 per cent) were from subcrop, and 60 (15 per cent) were soil or talus fines (Assessment Report 37284). This work identified the Kliyul Main Zone and the Bagel IP Anomaly as the most viable targets on the property. The BAP ridge quartz-sericite-pyrite zone remained a potential target, though downgraded from initial assessments. In November of 2017, Centerra Gold Inc. announced its acquisition of AuRico Metals.

In early 2020 Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. commenced an earn-in on the Kliyul property, and continued exploration towards acquiring 100 per cent interest in May 2023 (Press Release, Pacific Ridge, May 10, 2023). In 2020, Pacific Ridge ramped up exploration efforts on the property with re-logging and sampling of three drill core holes from Bap Ridge, mapping rock sampling and spectral analysis and magnetic and induced polarization surveys over the Kliyul Main Zone (KMZ). From 2021 through 2023 programs included mapping, sampling, airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys, LiDAR surveys, and induced polarization (IP) surveys focusing on the KMZ as well as the Ginger (Ginger B 094D 014), Parish Hill (094D 255) and M39 (KC 094D 140) areas. In addition, 3 diamond drill holes totaling 1544 metres were completed on the KMZ in 2021; 12 holes totaling 7,014.7 metres were completed at KMZ and north, west and east extensions in 2022; and 19 holes totaling 10,284 metres were completed in 2023 (16 holes at KMZ, 3 holes at Ginger, Ginger South and Parish Hill) (Assessment Report 41888).

In 2024, Pacific Ridge launched a 541 line-kilometre airborne helicopter Z-Axis Tipper Electromagnetic (ZTEM) survey covering much of the Kliyul property, including the BAP Ridge (KC 1), Ginger B, Ginger South, Kliyul Main Zone ("KMZ"), M-39 (KC), and Parish Hill target areas (Pacific Ridge Press Releases Jul. 23 , Nov. 14, 2024).

Also refer to Kliyul (094D 023), Independence (094D 028), Banjo (BAP) (094D 029) and KC 1 (094D 180) for related geological and work history information.