The Snow occurrence is located on the south of Baxter Creek, approximately 6.5 kilometres south of Sandspit.
The area is underlain predominately by andesitic agglomerates and lapilli tuffs of the Middle Jurassic Yakoun Group, which are in fault contact with Upper Cretaceous Honna Formation (Queen Charlotte Group) conglomerates. The rocks are cut by quartz diorite intrusives of the Tertiary Kano Plutonic Suite and are bounded to the east by the northwest trending Sandspit fault.
Gold mineralization occurs in areas of locally intense shearing and silicification in andesite lapilli tuffs and agglomerates, quartz diorite to diorite and rhyolite tuffs along the Sandspit fault and northwest trending orthogonal splays off the Sandspit fault. Mineralization is accompanied by clay-sericite alteration, disseminated pyrite and arsenopyrite and quartz-arsenopyrite veining. The andesites and intrusives exhibit propylitic alteration (chlorite, epidote, magnetite) over a broad zone in the area of mineralization.
The bulk of this mineralization is developed in one zone 300 metres long, 10 to 20 metres wide and at least 25 metres deep along a structure striking 55 degrees and dipping 80 degrees north. This zone is defined by four drill holes and several surface trenches and appears to be open to the northeast/southwest along strike. The Sandspit fault lies about 100 metres northeast of the zone.
The structure contains sheared, brecciated and silicified to propyliticaly altered diorite, andesitic agglomerate and tuff and rhyolite, with up to 10 per cent disseminated pyrite and pyrrhotite, up to 5 per cent disseminated arsenopyrite and local grey quartz veins. Stronger mineralization is found in siliceous andesite tuff (rhyolite ?).
Another zone if mineralization, referred to as the Cedar zone, is reported approximately 2.5 kilometres to the west- south west of Baxter Creek (Snow) occurrence. At this zone an altered felsic porphyry, possible a rhyolitic porphyry dike, is pervasively flooded with fine grained sulphides, primarily pyrite, and subsequently silicified. Total sulphide content generally ranges between 15 and 40 per cent but can be locally higher. Irregular patches and narrow (up to 1 centimetre wide) fracture filling veinlets of chalcedonic quartz are also reported in the area.
In 1979, samples from a trench are reported to have yielded greater than 6.8 grams per tonne gold, while the following year a sample of fault gouge from a trench assayed 315.0 grams per tone gold (Lennan, W.B. (2009-06-08): Technical Summary Report on the Sandspit Property).
In 1981, a grab sample assayed 14.7 grams per tonne gold, while chip samples of outcrops and trenches yielded up to 2.5 grams per tonne gold over 3 metres (Assessment Report 10140; Lennan, W.B. (2009-06-08): Technical Summary Report on the Sandspit Property).
In 1985, a drill hole (85-1) encountered 9.31 metres grading yielded 3.29 grams per tonne gold over 9.3 metres at a down-hole depth of 19.75 to 29.06 metres, while another drill hole (85-3) located 175 metres away and along strike of the previous drill hole yielded values up to 3.84 grams per tonne gold and 5.83 grams per tonne silver over 2.0 metres (Assessment Report 14695; Lennan, W.B. (2009-06-08): Technical Summary Report on the Sandspit Property).
In 1987, sampling of trench no. 2 yielded 0.85 gram per tonne gold over 9.0 metres from the same zone previously intersected in drill hole 85-3 and is open to the west, while chip sampling of previous trenches located near drill hole 85-1 yielded 3.0 and 7.0 grams per tonne gold over 1.8 and 0.8 metres, respectively (Lennan, W.B. (2009-06-08): Technical Summary Report on the Sandspit Property). Drilling, at this time, is reported to have yielded intercepts of up to 1.6 grams per tonne gold over 12.5 metres at a down hole depth of 142.5 metres in hole 88-11 and 1.1 grams per tonne gold over 19.6 metres at a down hole depth of 253.0 metres in hole 88-12, while drill hole 88-10 located on the north eastern extension of the mineralized zone yielded 3.5 grams per tonne gold and 33.5 grams per tonne silver over 1.04 metres (Lennan, W.B. (2009-06-08): Technical Summary Report on the Sandspit Property).
In 2008, two samples (BL08-1 and TJ-001) from a 0.5 metre wide outcrop of mineralized quartz vein near the drill pad for drill hole 85-1 averaged 7.3 grams per tonne gold, while two samples (BL08-02 and TJ-003) from a 0.9 metre wide mineralized shear zone, located 25 metres to the south west, averaged 0.36 gram per tonne gold (Lennan, W.B. (2009-06-08): Technical Summary Report on the Sandspit Property). Rock sampling of the Cedar zone yielded up to 0.08 gram per tonne gold, while soil samples from the area yielded up to 160 parts per million gold (Lennan, W.B. (2009-06-08): Technical Summary Report on the Sandspit Property).
Work History
In 1969 and 1970, Falcong Bridge Nickel Mines Ltd. and Texas Gulf Sulphur Co. completed a soil sampling program on the area as the Airport and IXL claims. The claims were later allowed to lapse.
The occurrence was first identified, prospected and trenched by R.E. Mickle in 1979 as the Snow property. The following year, Falconbridge Nickel Ltd. optioned the property and continued a program of trenching and completed three short drill holes, totaling 17 metres. The company then collected 295 soil samples and excavated four trenches in 1981. Ventures West Minerals continued soil sampling in 1981.
In 1983, Majorem Minerals Inc., a successor of Ventures West, conducted soil and ground magnetic surveys, followed by an airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey totaling 145 line-kilometres in 1985. Also in 1985, Lornex Mining Corp. drilled five holes, totaling 380 metres.
In 1987, Mondavi Resources Ltd. completed geological mapping, soil sampling, induced polarization surveys, followed by the drilling of six holes, totaling 629 metres, in 1988. The area was prospected and mapped by Jo Shearer in 1997.
In 2008, Mega Copper Ltd. conducted an exploration program of reconnaissance geological mapping, prospecting and soil and rock chip sampling on the area.
