The Cascade Falls showing is located 1.0 kilometre northeast of the West Kitsault River, 29.5 kilometres north-northwest of Alice Arm.
The occurrence is comprised of various showings situated in plagioclase-hornblende porphyritic andesite with minor interbedded black siltstone/argillite of the Jurassic Hazelton Group, informally called the "Copper Belt". The porphyry is thought to be the intrusive equivalent of the felsic Mount Dilworth Formation.
A quartz vein, striking northwest and dipping north, is hosted in argillite. The vein is 1.5 metres wide and the hangingwall is partially replaced by quartz 1.5 metres out from the vein. The vein and silicified hangingwall contain disseminated galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and tetrahedrite. A 3.0-metre chip sample assayed trace gold, 31 grams per tonne silver, 1.31 per cent copper, 0.05 per cent zinc and 0.05 per cent lead (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1966, page 66).
A steeply dipping, west-southwest striking mineralized zone occurs in andesite. Two zones of quartz and carbonate veinlets, 0.86 and 0.61 metre wide, are separated by 0.71 metre of andesite. The veinlets contain pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. A 0.8 metre chip sample assayed 3.4 grams per tonne gold, 178 grams per tonne silver, 0.8 per cent lead, 4.6 per cent zinc and 1.2 per cent copper (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1951, page 88).
Previously documented occurrences: Camp zone, Cascade Falls (103P 211), Lucky Strike (103P 077), Silver Crown (103P 082), Lucky Strike North (103P 074) and Iron Kitsault (103P 165) zones are referred to as being part of the Dilly and Dilly West zones of Teck Corp. Teck has not indicated the exact location of the Dilly and Dilly West zones or which documented occurrences belong in which zone.
The Dilly West zone has been traced on surface for 600 metres in strike length to 2001. It consists of well laminated silicified mudstones and siltstones directly below the debris flow unit. Showings include massive sulphides stratabound within silicified mudstones, massive arsenopyrite lenses, also stratabound, and sedimentary diatremes feeding into this stratigraphy.
The Dilly zone to 2001 has a longer indicated strike length of 1.5 kilometres and also remains open in both directions. A diverse range of mineralization occurs along a discrete horizon which is stratigraphically located 50-100 metres below the Dilly West zone. Hostrocks are again silicified mudstones and siltstones. Styles of mineralization include massive sulphide base metal showings, semimassive to massive arsenopyrite showings, massive, laminated galena-sphalerite showings and sulphide stockworks within felsic volcanic pyroclastics. At the northern end of the zone, silicification decreases in the sediments and the showings become base metals associated with massive to semimassive barite.
In 2003, Bravo Venture Group Inc. acquired the Homestake Ridge property and focused its drill program primarily on structurally controlled gold mineralization (Homestake, 103P 216) in the Goldslide pluton rather than exploring for a precious metal enriched volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit as Teck Cominco Ltd. had. Six holes tested a zone of quartz-pyrite stockwork veining and breccia at the contact of the feldspar-hornblende porphyry stock. Bravo drilled five additional holes to test four other targets: the rhyolite/argillite contact formerly explored by Teck Cominco, the Silver Crown zone (103P 082), and the Fox-Gold Reef zone (103P 093, 213), and the Dilly vein. No significant assays resulted. During the 2004 field season, Bravo focused on delineating the strike potential of the main Homestake shear. Ten line-kilometres of cut grid were established over the main and adjacent structures. Soil sampling and ground magnetic geophysics were conducted over the grid. Several zones of interest were identified, mapped and sampled. In 2005, Bravo returned to the Homestake Ridge gold prospect (103P 216) to complete 1643 metres of drilling in 11 holes, intersecting significant gold-silver values.
During 2017 through 2019, Auryn Resources Inc. completed programs of geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling, airborne and ground geophysical surveys and re-logging of historical drill cores.
Please refer to Homestake (103P 216) for further details of the larger property and area.
