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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  29-Jul-2021 by George Owsiacki (GO)

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NMI
Name MESS, MESS 1-4, NEW MESS, AUDREY, AUDREY EAST, AUDREY WEST, UDS Mining Division Omineca
BCGS Map 094E007
Status Prospect NTS Map 094E02E
Latitude 057º 04' 36'' UTM 09 (NAD 83)
Longitude 126º 39' 20'' Northing 6328364
Easting 642103
Commodities Lead, Zinc, Copper, Silver, Gold Deposit Types H05 : Epithermal Au-Ag: low sulphidation
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Stikine
Capsule Geology

The Mess occurrence is located 9.9 kilometres north-northeast of the Kemess South occurrence (094E 094). Access to the property is from Smithers, approximately 260 kilometres to the south, or from the Sturdee airstrip.

The Toodoggone Gold Camp lies within the eastern margin of the Intermontane Belt and is underlain by a northwest-trending belt of Paleozoic to Paleogene sediments, volcanics and intrusions. Regionally, the area is situated within a Mesozoic volcanic arc assemblage bounded to the east by the Omineca Belt and to the west and southwest by the Sustut and Bowser basins. Devonian to Permian Asitka Group crystalline limestones are the oldest rocks exposed in the region and are commonly in thrust contact with Upper Triassic Stuhini Group marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks, andesite flows and pyroclastic rocks. These units have been intruded by the granodiorite to quartz monzonite of the Early Jurassic Black Lake Suite and are in turn unconformably overlain by or faulted against dacitic volcanics and volcaniclastics of the Lower Jurassic Toodoggone Formation (Hazelton Group).

The dominant structures in the area are steeply dipping faults that define a prominent regional northwest structural fabric trending 140 to 170 degrees. 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.

Locally, the area is underlain by volcanics and associated sediments of the Stuhini Group and Toodoggone Formation. Stuhini Group volcanic rocks are characterized by augite and plagioclase porphyry basalt and andesite flows and breccias. Lithologies of the Toodoggone Formation include quartzose biotite hornblende phyric ash flows, lapilli tuff and breccia, and crystal ash tuff of the Adoogacho Member; conglomerate, greywacke and crystal tuff of the Moyez Member and crystal ash tuffs and flows of the upper volcanic cycle. These volcanic hostrocks are propylitically altered with argillic overprinting. Granodiorite and diorite crop out to the east of the showing. A north trending feldspar porphyritic monzonite crops out 5 metres to the west of trench 2.

The Mess occurrence is classified as an adularia-sericite type epithermal vein occurring along a northwest fault structure separating Stuhini and Toodoggone volcanics. Mineralization consists of quartz-barite-calcite veins with cockscomb and banded textures in argillic alteration envelopes consisting of limonite and manganese oxide. Vein mineralization is composed of galena, tetrahedrite and lesser disseminated chalcopyrite, pyrite and rare sphalerite. The vein is irregular and pinches out at depth and along strike. The vein is 12 by 1.5 by 1 metres where exposed by trench 1.

In 1980, quartz vein float samples yielded values up to 0.79 gram per tonne gold and 44.8 grams per tonne silver (sample JC-14-80-21; Assessment Report 8999). In 1981, chip sampling across 6 metres of the wall of trench 1 yielded 501.94 grams per tonne silver and 0.24 gram per tonne gold, whereas a 1.0 metre chip sample from trench 2 assayed 1.5 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 10235).

In 1986, resampling of the trench and vein is reported to have yielded up to 0.5 gram per tonne gold and 2000 grams per tonne silver in grab samples and up to 840.0 grams per tonne silver with 0.50 gram per tonne gold over 0.5 metre in chip sample MR-65, whereas a character sample (M86-4) of barite-tetrahedrite-galena mineralization assayed 856.3 grams per tonne silver, 5.27 per cent lead, 1.74 per cent zinc, 0.37 per cent copper and 0.43 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 15184).

In 1989, samples from the ‘A’ zone are reported to have yielded up to 0.29 gram per tonne gold and 61 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 19789).

In 2003, grab sampling of the North trench area yielded up to 7.33 grams per tonne gold, 5400.0 grams per tonne silver, 0.23 per cent copper, 1.67 per cent zinc and 14.25 per cent lead over 1.5 metres, whereas channel samples over 1.8 metres averaged 0.59 gram per tonne gold, 419.4 grams per tonne silver, 0.04 per cent copper, 1.73 per cent lead and 0.09 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 27429).

In 2004, a sample of vein material taken 300 metres to the southwest assayed 5600 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 27636). In 2006, six samples (G06241 to G06247) from the same area as the 2004 samples yielded from 0.058 to 0.588 per cent lead, 0.004 to 0.139 per cent zinc, 10.4 to 75.1 grams per tonne silver and 0.07 to 0.18 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 28649).

In 1980, Serem Ltd. staked the Fog-Mess claims, and a program of soil and silt sampling yielding values of up to 3800 parts per billion gold was followed up by limited hand and powder trenching. In 1981, a program of geological mapping and rock, silt and soil sampling was completed. In 1986, Western Premium Resource Corp. completed a program of geochemical (heavy mineral, rock, silt and soil) sampling and an airborne magnetometer and VLF-EM survey on the area. This work outlined numerous precious metal soil anomalies with gold up 1680 parts per billion over an area of approximately 2.5 by 1 kilometre. The New Mess claim was staked in July to cover the area of the southern airborne anomalies. Rock and soil geochemistry, done on behalf of Western Premium Resource Corporation in 1986, confirmed the presence of significant silver and gold mineralization on the property. Soil and stream geochemistry also indicated other anomalous areas that warrant further investigation. In 1987, Skylark Resources Ltd. staked the Frog claim, immediately to the northwest, to cover a strong regional structure thought to have acted as an important ore control for deposition of epithermal mineralization within the Toodoggone Gold Camp. A program of geological mapping and rock and silt sampling was performed later that year. In 1989, Inco Gold Management Ltd. performed a program of prospecting, hand trenching and seven diamond-drill holes totalling 365.7 metres on the area on behalf of Western Premium Resource Corp.

In 2003, Stealth Minerals Limited performed prospecting in the Fog-Mess area, locating and in part resampled previous trenches, and identifying several new zones. A total of 85 rock samples from float, talus, subcrop and outcrop samples were taken in an area approximately 1.5 kilometres north-south and 500 metres east-west. During the 2004 season, Stealth Minerals collected a total of 1886 soil samples from grid and contour soil lines and 358 rock samples from outcrop and float. Geological mapping was conducted at a field scale of 1:10,000. Exploration identified two sheeted epithermal gold-silver vein systems that warrant further evaluation. During 2006, the Fog-Mess claim group was mapped in the field at a scale of 1:20,000 by Stealth Minerals’ staff geologists. The three target areas where work was focussed in 2006 were the Mess Ridge (North and South vein sets), August 30 showing and along the western ultramafic hornblendite-hornblende-granodiorite contact. A total of 63 rock samples were collected in 2006.

During 2014 through 2017, Serengeti Resources Inc. completed programs of prospecting, rock, silt and soil sampling, and a 9.0 line kilometre induced polarization survey on the area as the UDS property.

Bibliography
EMPR ASS RPT *8999, *10235, *15184, 17460, 19789, *27429, *27636, 28649, 34942, 36774
EMPR BULL 86
EMPR EXPL 1975-E163-E167; 1976-E175-E177; 1977-E216-E217; 1978-E244-E246; 1979-265-267; 1980-421-436; 1982-330-345; 1983-475-488; 1984-348-357; 1985-C349-C362; 1986-C388-C414; 1987-C328-C346; 1988-C185-C194; 2003-19; 2004-43,44; 2005-45
EMPR FIELDWORK 1980, pp. 124-129; 1983, pp. 122-129, 135-141; 1982, pp. 125-127; 1983, pp. 137-138, 142-148; 1984, pp. 139-145, 291-293; 1985, pp. 167-169, 299; 1987, pp. 111, 114-115
EMPR GEM 1969-103; 1971-63-71; 1972-482; 1973-456-463
EMPR GEOLOGY 1977-1981, pp. 156-161
EMPR MAP 61 (1985)
EMPR OF 2001-01
EMPR PF (Photogeologic Interpretation Map of the Northern Omineca area, (Oct. 1964), Canadian Superior Exploration Limited-in 94E General File; Prospectus, (June 14, 1976), Bishop Mines Ltd.; Prospectus, (April 29, 1977), Bishop Mines Ltd.)
GSC BULL 270
GSC OF 306; 483
GSC P 80-1A, pp. 27-32
ECON GEOL Vol.86, pp. 529-554, 1991
GCNL #145,#147,#183,#192, 1984; #23(Feb.1), 1985; #165(Aug.27), 1986
IPDM Nov/Dec 1983
MIN REV September/October, 1982; Jul. 12,26; Aug.2; Sept.20, 1984; July/August, 1986
N MINER May 28, 1981; Oct.13, 1986; Dec.22, 2003
N MINER MAG March 1988, p. 1
W MINER April, 1982
WIN Vol.1, #7, June 1987
PR REL Stealth Minerals Ltd. Aug.28, Nov.6,24,27,28, 2003, Jul.6,12,16, Oct.28, Nov.15, Dec.*8, 2004, Sept.29, Oct.3,11,17, 2005

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