The Silver Pond (Silver Creek) occurrence is located on the east side of Notary (Cloud) Creek, approximately 5.2 kilometres southeast of the creeks’ junction with Lawyers Creek.
The Lower Jurassic Toodoggone Formation (Hazelton Group) volcanics form a northwest-trending belt at least 90 kilometres long and 35 kilometres wide preserved between the undivided Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group to the east and the Upper Cretaceous-Eocene (?) Sustut Group to the west. Where observed, they rest structurally on the Upper Triassic Takla Group. Toodoggone pyroclastic and epiclastic volcanic rocks are a predominantly calcalkaline andesitic to dacitic subaerial succession. The region as a whole resembles a synclinorium in section from northwest to southeast. Potassium-argon studies of hornblende and biotite indicate the age of Toodoggone volcanism ranges from 204 to 182 Ma. This age appears to be divisible into two main groups: an older, lower stage of volcanism dominated by andesitic pyroclastics and flows characterized by widespread propylitic and zeolitic alteration; and a younger, upper stage of volcanism dominated by andesitic ash-flow tuffs which generally lack significant epithermal alteration. All the known epithermal gold-silver deposits and occurrences are restricted to the lower Toodoggone Formation volcanics and underlying units (Fieldwork 1988).
Toodoggone volcanic rocks display broad open folds or homoclines with attitudes generally less than 25 degrees dipping predominantly to the west. The overlying Sustut Group sedimentary rocks are structurally unaffected and are horizontal. A northwest-trending set of younger, steeply dipping faults and synvolcanic half-graben margins are the dominant structure in the region. Major structural breaks are postulated to have been caused, or be the result of, a northwest-trending line of volcanic centres. Small stocks are also aligned northwest, suggesting they were also influenced by the same structural trend. Subsequent to volcanism and intrusion, young faults are recognizable as northwest-trending lineaments. Major north-northwest fault systems are from west to east: Attorney, Moosehorn-McClair and Saunders-Jock. Most prominent gossans are aligned along this configuration of faults. The Attorney fault system passes through the Lawyers property (094E 066).
Two distinct mappable sequences of the Toodoggone volcanics, consisting of an older pyroclastic quartz andesite crystal tuff sequence (Adoogacho Member) and a younger trachyandesite sequence (Metsantan Member), are evident on the Silver Pond property. These volcanics strike northeast and dip 5 to 20 degrees to the northwest. The two sequences are intruded by steeply dipping rhyolite to rhyodacite dikes and are generally associated with steeply dipping fault zones. These are overlain by pyroxene basalt. The volcanic sequence in stratigraphic order consists of: a) quartz andesite crystal tuff, b) fine-grained to aphanitic chocolate brown tuff, c) welded trachyte tuff, and d) trachyte crystal and crystal lapilli tuff with interbedded volcanogenic greywacke. Several north- northwest striking faults have been identified and are slightly offset by younger east-striking faults. The north-northwest striking faults apparently were the conduits for the mineralizing fluids which gave rise to mineralization at the North (094E 069), Silver Creek, Amethyst (094E 160), South (094E 161), Ridge (094E 162) and West (094E 163) prospects. The Toodoggone volcanics are affected by widespread weak propylitic alteration and weak silicification.
The southern portion of the Silver Pond property is capped by younger Sustut Group conglomerates in slight angular unconformity with the underlying Toodoggone volcanics.
In the area, alteration associated with structurally controlled epithermal mineralization consists of pervasive silicification grading outward into weaker silicification, sericitization, argillic and potassic alteration. An alteration zone, two kilometres across, covers much of the area and is marked by a gossan of abundant goethite, jarosite and hematite. Quartz, alunite, kaolinite, montmorillonite, dickite, illite, sericite, and minor amounts of barite, fluorite, limonite and pyrite comprise secondary minerals in intermediate to advanced argillic-altered zones (Forster, 1984).
Two general styles of acid-sulphate type epithermal gold-silver mineralization occur on the Silver Pond property: vein and breccia- type ore shoots and pods, such as the Silver Pond (West) prospect (094E 163) and the Silver Creek prospect, and high-level stockwork-type mineralization such as the Silver Pond (North) prospect (094E 069). Gold and silver are generally absent from intensely altered regions in the area, with pyrite and magnetite being the only visible metallic minerals (Forster, 1984). Mineralization consists of disseminated acanthite, tetrahedrite and minor electrum (Forster, 1984).
The Silver Pond (Silver Creek) prospect lies 450 metres to the southeast, along a segment of the same fault that hosts the Silver Pond (West) prospect (094E 163) to the northwest. It is located along Notary (Cloud) Creek and has little rock exposure.
The Silver Pond (Silver Creek) prospect consists of veins along a silicified and brecciated fault zone. The zone strikes 315 degrees parallel to Notary (Cloud) Creek, and has been traced over a length of 375 metres and is 20 metres wide. It appears cut off by a fault on the southeast but is open-ended to the northwest.
In 1971, a rock sample (S534623) from an area of green porphyry hosting pyrite located along Notary (Cloud) Creek assayed 1.22 grams per tonne gold and 76.0 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 3416). Further sampling, around this time, is reported to have yielded values of up to 45.35 grams per tonne gold and 3610 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 12911).
In 1980, a grab sample of silicified breccia, taken to the west of Notary (Cloud) Creek, assayed 66.0 grams per tonne gold and 5230 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 8300). The following year, a rock sample (I-C-9231), taken from the east side of Notary (Silver) Creek, assayed 0.88 gram per tonne gold and 24.5 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 10047).
In 1984, a series of panel samples, over 1 by 5 metres, averaged 6.26 grams per tonne gold and 287.9 grams per tonne silver, whereas another series of panel samples, also taken over 1 by 5 metres and located approximately 50 metres to the northwest of the previous samples, averaged 3.49 grams per tonne gold and 19.2 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 12911). Also at this time, a trench, located approximately 50 metres southeast of the first series of panel samples, yielded 2.21 grams per tonne gold and 120.6 grams per tonne silver over 10 metres, whereas a second trench, located approximately 80 metres further to the southeast, averaged 1.43 grams per tonne gold and 48.22 grams per tonne silver over 5 metres (Assessment Report 12911).
In 1985, a program consisting of 19 drillholes, tested this zone over a strike length of 250 metres. Zones of alteration and silicification were intersected in all 19 drillholes in 1985. Drill intersections indicate a steeply southeast-plunging ore shoot. Drilling yielded intercepts of up to 1.40 grams per tonne gold and 61.0 grams per tonne silver over 13.00 metres, including 3.90 grams per tonne gold and 189.1 grams per tonne silver over 3.00 metres, in hole no. 8; 1.67 grams per tonne gold and 43.1 grams per tonne silver over 8.00 metres in hole no. 7; 0.45 gram per tonne gold over 22.50 metres in hole no. 2 and 1.78 grams per tonne gold and 35.0 grams per tonne silver over 5 metres in hole no. 1 (Assessment Report 14700). Also in 1985, a trench (SC-1), located 100 metres southeast of the drilled area, exposed a gossanous shear zone with varying degrees of silicification with anomalous silver values averaging 13.7 grams per tonne silver over 19 metres, including 1.03 grams per tonne gold and 106.3 grams per tonne silver over 1 metre, whereas a second trench, located 25 metres further southwest, yielded 8.1 grams per tonne silver over 25 metres (Assessment Report 14700).
In 1988, drilling on the Silver Creek zone successfully trace the mineralized zone to greater depths and intersected a mineralized felsic dike yielding 28.75 grams per tonne gold over 1.0 metre (Lane, R.A. (2018-04-30): NI 43-101 Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Lawyers Gold-Silver Project).
In 2001, a sample (AWK01-64) from the Silver Creek zone yielded 25.82 grams per tonne gold and 307.2 grams per tonne silver over 1 metre (Assessment Report 26728).
In 2004, a chip sample (04DB-3) from the Silver Creek zone assayed 2.70 grams per tonne gold and 73.6 grams per tonne silver over 1.3 metres (Assessment Report 27663).
The area has been explored in conjunction with the nearby Silver Pond (West) occurrence (MINFILE 094E 163) and completed exploration history of the area and property can be found there.
