The Naskeena coal occurrence is located just west of the Cedar River about 50 kilometres north of Terrace, and is traversed by a paved road.
Several coal seams, striking 070 degrees and dipping 50 degrees north, are concordent with sandstone and black graphitic slate of the Jurassic to Cretaceous Bowser Lake Group. The seams vary from 0.3 to 1.5 metres wide.
Three other coal occurrence were identified in 2007 and comprise a 0.8 metre thick coal seam in sandstone located approximately 4.8 kilometres to the north west, a 0.3 metre thick coal seam in sandstone located approximately 4.2 kilometres to the north and multiple coal seams, 0.3 to 0.6 metres thick within a 3 metre wide section of shale or slate located approximately 5.1 kilometres to the southeast.
In 1914, a 0.76-metre sample from coal seam No. 1 analysed 4.0 per cent moisture, 2.0 per cent volatile combustible matter, 45.0 per cent fixed carbon, and 49.0 per cent ash. A 0.9-metre sample, 240 metres northeast of No. 1 seam, analysed 5.8 per cent moisture, 4.2 per cent volatile combustible, 67.3 per cent fixed carbon, and 22.7 per cent ash (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1914).
In 2006, samples of wet, weathered, oxidized surface outcrops yielded a fixed carbon content of 14.72 to 61.97 per cent with low volatile material (less than 6.67 per cent) and sulfur (0.03 to 0.56 per cent) values and high ash content varying from 35.33 to 81.86 per cent (Simmons, B. (2008-03-25): Report on the Naskeena Coal Project). These are the characteristics of a high-ranking anthracite coal.
In 2007, samples from drilling yielded from 4.86 to 43.69 per cent fixed carbon content (dry) with 52.15 to 90.94 ash percentage (dry) and low sulfur (maximum of 0.58 per cent) and volatile material (less than 6.34 per cent) values (Simmons, B. (2008-03-25): Report on the Naskeena Coal Project).
Work History
The Naskeena coal occurrence was discovered in 1913 by G.F. Monckton and P. Chesley
BP explored the occurrence during a reconnaissance of coal occurrences in the Bulkley region in the summer of 1979. The showing, about 600 metres north of the Little Cedar River bridge, was examined and deemed to be of little interest.
In 1985, Shell Canada Resources Ltd. explored the area along the west side of the Cedar River south of the property. Thin, up to 0.5 metre, coal bands were found in the tributary Little Cedar River canyon 2.5 kilometres west of its confluence with the Cedar River.
In 2006, Jet Gold Corp. acquired the Naskeena coal property covering Leases 417512, 13, and 14. The company drilled 16 NQ holes for 1215 metres in 2007 and 9 HQ holes for 1310 metres in 2008. The drilling encountered up to seven discontinuous coal beds of variable thickness, generally 0.3 to 1.5 metres in width, including a 2.43-metre thick coal bed. In 2009, the company abandoned the property and wrote-off exploration and acquisition costs of $858,238 (jetgoldcorp.com website 2012). The property was subsequently acquired by Atrum Coal, and as of August 2012, was working on a new resource assessment of the property using existing data.
