The Golden Neighbor 1 occurrence is located approximately 6 kilometres northeast of the former Baker mine (094E 026), some 280 kilometres north of Smithers. The Golden Neighbor 1 prospect lies within the Omineca-Cassiar Mountains at the southern end of the Toodoggone gold camp. The developed prospect is situated within a Mesozoic volcanic arc assemblage which lies along the eastern margin of the Intermontane Belt, a northwest-trending belt of Paleozoic to Tertiary sediments, volcanics and intrusions bounded to the east by the Omineca Belt and to the west and southwest by the Sustut and Bowser basins.
Permian Asitka Group crystalline limestones are the oldest rocks exposed in the region. They are commonly in thrust contact with Upper Triassic Takla Group andesite flows and pyroclastic rocks. Takla volcanics have been intruded by the granodiorite to quartz monzonite Black Lake Suite of Early Jurassic age and are in turn unconformably overlain by or faulted against Lower Jurassic calcalkaline volcanics of the Toodoggone Formation, Hazelton Group.
The dominant structures in the area are steeply dipping faults which define a prominent regional northwest structural fabric trending 140 to 170 degrees. In turn, high angle northeast-striking faults (approximately 060 degrees) appear to truncate and displace northwest-striking faults. Collectively these faults form a boundary for variably rotated and tilted blocks underlain by monoclinal strata.
The Golden Neighbor 1 occurrence is underlain by a succession of lower to middle subaerial volcanics and associated volcaniclastic sediments of the upper volcanic cycle of the Toodoggone Formation. The dominant lithologies underlying the prospect and east of a limonitic gossan fault zone are delineated into two informal units. The first unit consists of pyroxene-biotite-hornblende porphyry flows with interbedded breccias and lapilli tuffs. The other unit consists of well-bedded lapilli, crystal and ash tuffs with interbedded sandstone and siltstone. Units west of the limonitic gossan fault zone consist of a heterogeneous mixture of green, grey and mauve lapilli ash and lesser block tuff, with lesser interspersed ash flows and lava flows and interbedded epiclastics of the Attycelley Member and partly welded, crystal-rich dacitic ash flows of the conformably overlying Saunders Member. The area is also disrupted by a conjugate set of northwest and northeast-striking faults that appear to have substantial displacement.
Weak to intense propylitic alteration consists of fracture infilling with epidote and chlorite adjacent to epithermal vein systems. Intense argillic alteration consisting of limonite forms a gossan zone 6 kilometres long by 0.2 to 1.0 kilometres wide along a major northwest-striking fault.
Mineralization at the Golden Neighbor 1 prospect consists of quartz veins and stringers and silicified volcanics occurring within the argillic-altered fault zone and frequently containing chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, molybdenite, pyrite and scheelite.
In 1971, rock samples from the area are reported to have yielded up to 4.08 grams per tonne gold and greater than 1.0 per cent copper (Assessment Report 4065).
A drill program consisting of NQ holes, totalling 605.02 metres, was conducted on this zone in 1986, as followup to a weak VLF electromagnetic conductor and gold and silver in soils. Drillholes LS-86-1 and 2 were drilled on a 1-metre wide quartz vein exposed in trenching. Assay results from drill core were overall only weakly anomalous. Several zones of gold and silver mineralization were intersected in drillholes LK-86-1, 4 and 5. Drilling intercepts included 0.25 gram per tonne gold, 11.7 grams per tonne silver, 0.08 per cent copper, 0.003 per cent lead and 0.003 per cent molybdenum over 1.81 metres and 0.63 gram per tonne gold over 1.65 metres in hole LS-86-1, 0.26 gram per tonne gold over 1.83 metres in hole LS-86-2 and 0.45 gram per tonne gold and 6.1 grams per tonne silver over 0.37 metre in hole LS-86-4 (Assessment Report 15512).
In 1988, a sample from an area of trenching exposing quartz veining, located approximately 500 metres south-southeast of the main occurrence area, yielded 1.3 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 20401).
In 2001, a rock sample (PRGD-02A) from former trenches yielded 0.16 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 26757).
In 2002, float samples (RB02AU14, TB02AU03 and TB02AU04) of chloritized and silicified tuff hosting pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite, taken from the creek approximately 500 metres to the west-northwest, yielded values of up to 0.31 gram per tonne gold, 26.4 grams per tonne silver, 0.319 per cent copper, 0.109 per cent lead, 2.51 per cent zinc and 0.017 per cent molybdenum (Assessment Report 27058).
In 2003, a sample (132634) of quartz veining with pyrite from a former trench assayed 1.47 grams per tonne gold and 16.3 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 27442).
In 2004, a sample (2004T-214a), taken from the creek to the northwest, assayed 1.65 grams per tonne gold, whereas a nearby sample (2004T-214) yielded 12.0 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 27600).
In 2015, a sample (069a) taken from former trenches located south of main Golden Neighbour 1 zone assayed 15.8 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 35995).
Work History
In 1971, Kennco discovered the Saunders showing from a gold/copper/molybdenum soil anomaly on what later became the Golden Neighbor 1 claim (as reported in 1990 by Skeena Resources, possibly referring to the Camp 1 showing (094E 153)). The ground was allowed to lapse in 1973 and restaked by Lacana in 1979. Geological mapping, soil and silt geochemical sampling, and ground geophysical surveying conducted during 1980-81 confirmed the presence of extensive gold- and silver-in-soil geochemical anomalies and coincidental VLF-EM anomalies. Follow-up hand trenching revealed a number of quartz veins which assayed up to 1.62 grams per tonne gold, and other areas with over 1 per cent copper (as reported in Assessment Report 20401).
In 1985, Alban Explorations Ltd. optioned the claims and performed a small amount of detailed magnetometer, VLF-EM, and soil geochemical work, before returning the ground in 1986.
During September 1986, Lacana undertook 605 metres of diamond drilling in five holes on the Golden Neighbour 1 prospect (094E 037) on the Golden Neighbour claims (Assessment Report 15512). This drilling encountered a wide, intensely argillically altered fault zone with local quartz veining and abundant stringers of chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Anomalous go1d and silver values were encountered but none approaching economic grades. The high levels of base metals and especially molybdenum indicated a porphyry-type environment.
In 1988, Prolific Resources Ltd. completed a brief investigation of the previously located mineralized zones, coupled with reconnaissance prospecting and soil geochemical sampling over a potentially interesting but relatively unexplored area of the property.
The 1990 exploration of Skeena Resources on the Golden Neighbour 1 to 4 consisted of a brief evaluation of the previously located mineralized zones, coupled with reconnaissance prospecting of portions of the property. A total of 30 rock samples were collected and analyzed for gold and silver (Assessment Report 20401).
During the 1990s, exploration on the claims area remained fairly dormant.
In 2001, Finlay Minerals personnel spent half a day on the property during an initial reconnaissance examination on their Gold 1 and 2 claims. (Assessment Report 26757). The Gold 1 claim contains the Golden Neighbor 1 showing as shown on Figure 5, Assessment Report 15512). The Camp 1 showing (094E 153) occurs just north of the Gold 1 claim as shown by the location of sample F-9-2-2 on Map 1 of Assessment Report 12716. In 2002, some soil and rock sampling were completed together with prospecting. A new copper-zinc float showing was found during the prospecting. The soil sampling took place along two east-west oriented, 500 meter-long soil lines in the middle portion of the Gold 1 mineral claim, which straddles a 300-400 meter wide gossanous zone. These soil and talus samples were anomalous in gold, copper, molybdenum and zinc. (Assessment Report 27058). In 2004, on their Gold claims, Finlay Minerals collected 34 rock, and 300 soil samples and 2 days of mapping was completed. IP was completed over 10 lines (Assessment Report 27600).
Stealth Minerals staked the Swan claims in the early 2000s and these covered the Saunders property and reportedly all the Golden Neighbor showings to the immediate south of the lapsed Saunders and Golden Neighbour claims. See Saunders (094E 017) for details. By 2007, the Stealth owned Swan property (now under option to Golden Dawn Minerals Inc) still discussed the location of the Golden Neighbour 1 showing as being on their Swan 6 claim. However Assessment Report 15512 (Figure 5) shows it to be on the Gold claims of Finlay Minerals, during that time frame. It is not clear when the Finlay Mineral Gold claims lapsed.
The following Swan claims work history is included for the possibility of some overlapping work done by Stealth in the area of the Golden Neighbor 1 showing.
In 2003, Stealth Minerals staked the SWAN claims. During the same year field crews completed a program of prospecting, stream geochemical sampling, and, in participation with the Geological Survey of Canada/Private Partnership Toodoggone Initiative, completed a helicopter airborne magnetic and radiometric survey. The survey recorded 2 magnetic parameters and eight gamma -ray spectrometer parameters flown at a line spacing of 400 metres and a sensor height of 60 metres. (Assessment Report 27442). Several of the known mineralized showings on the property were examined and sampled with the objective of evaluating the style of mineralization and determining the potential for extending the zones. Chip and grab samples were collected and analyzed to complement the geological assessment of the showings. Additionally, character samples from the showings were collected and analyzed by PIMA spectrometry to identify clay minerals that may be indicative of specific alteration phases associated with the epithermal and porphyry deposit systems. Several samples were taken in the vicinity of the Saunders South showing in 2003 (Figures 5-10, Assessment Report 27442).
In 2003, on their Swan 7 claim, Stealth discovered a zone of high grade disseminated and breccia filling copper mineralization in a chloritically altered andesite formation 300 metres east of the Golden Neighbor 2 showing (094E 152), in what has been regionally mapped as a basalt sill. This later became known as the Copper Breccia showing. A total of 57 silt and 85 rock samples were taken in this year. Structures and airborne geophysical signatures on the Swan claims are similar to other proximal known deposits.
In 2004, Stealth Minerals conducted a geological mapping, prospecting and sampling program during 2004, in part to follow up on surface and airborne work done in 2003. The main objectives were to examine and evaluate several known mineral showings including the Golden Neighbour 1 and 2, Dave Price, Saunders South, Som, Saunders North, Saunders Main, and Copper Breccia (Assessment Report 27760). Prospecting and sampling were undertaken to evaluate the Golden Neighbour 1 and 2, and the Dave Price showings on Swan 6, 10 and 11 Mineral Claims. Preliminary geological evaluation of these three showings was favorable; further geological mapping, geochemical grid sampling and geophysical survey were recommended to define potential drilling targets. A search for the 1986 Lacana diamond drill core from the Golden Neighbour 1 showing drill program was unsuccessful.
In 2005, Golden Dawn carried out a program of geological mapping and sampling in 2005. The option agreement was defaulted by Golden Dawn in 2005.
In 2006, Stealth Minerals completed a program of rock sampling and geological mapping on the Copper Breccia, Camp, Golden Neighbour 2 and Saunders showings. The field work complemented information from the 2003 and 2004 programs to determine and confirm if potential extensions and continuity of mineralized zones and structures could be established. A total of 26 chip samples were collected from the various showings, and assay results for copper, silver, gold, lead and zinc were plotted on geochemical maps (Assessment Report 28645). Stealth carried out programs of rock sampling and geologic mapping in 2006, and then re-optioned the property to Golden Dawn in 2006.
In 2007, Golden Dawn conducted the following field activities took on the Swan claims in the 2007 season: geological examination and sampling of parts of the Saunders vein system, Copper Breccia and Som showings; location of drill sites and building of drill pads on the Saunders and Som showings; expansion of existing geophysical grid on the Som showing, and carrying out 9.8 line-kilometers of IP survey. Drilling occurred in seven holes from four sites on the Saunders vein system totaling 914 metres of NT core drilling. Drilling occurred in two holes from two sites on the Som showing for a total of 903.15 metres of NT diamond drill core.
During 2015 through 2018, Finlay Minerals Ltd. completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping and geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the area as Gold 1-6 claims of the Pil property.
See Saunders (094E 017) for details of the Saunders and Swan property work history to immediate north of the Golden Neighbor area.
