The Silver Crown showing is located about 2 kilometres east-southeast of the north end of Long Lake, 22 kilometres north of Stewart.
The area is underlain by the Middle-Upper Jurassic Salmon River Formation (Hazelton Group) that occupies the buckled core region of a north to northwest trending, north plunging syncline (Open File 1987-22).
Banded argillaceous siltstones and massive greywackes predominate and are intruded by a dike and high-level stock complex. An older dike swarm, part of the Portland Canal dike swarm (Bulletin 58), comprises mafic to intermediate dikes, some with hornblende phenocrysts. Younger feldspar porphyry stocks and green-grey felsic dikes, averaging 6 metres wide, cut all of the above rocks. The dikes predominantly trend northwest, but north trending ones also occur. The north trending veins may postdate the northwest trending dikes, and associated veins, since they appear to offset the dikes (Assessment Report 19747, Map 1).
Many quartz (and minor carbonate) breccia veins (17 or more) occur along a north trending zone about 1000 metres long and 250 metres wide. They range from 15 centimetres to 2.1 metres wide; the majority are about 100 metres long. The veins are commonly spatially associated with the felsic dikes. In places, the latter grade into quartz-sulphide stringers and veins along strike and at the dike contacts. The veins trend northwest to north and are mainly steeply dipping. The northwest trending veins are subparallel to the dikes; north trending veins are subparallel to the strike of the bedding (and fold axial planes?).
Sulphides, typically forming 5 per cent but locally up to 50 per cent of the veins, comprise medium to coarse-grained pyrite, galena and sphalerite and fine-grained chalcopyrite and tetrahedrite. Gangue minerals include quartz, calcite and barite. Angular fragments of siltstone, 1 to 10 centimetres in diameter, commonly form about 5 per cent of the veins. In places, crystalline quartz lines cavities in the veins.
The northwest trending veins, closely associated with felsic dikes, typically assay 30 to 60 grams per tonne silver and 0.1 to 0.2 gram per tonne gold; increased precious metal values are associated with increased base metal content (Assessment Report 19747). One sample from the northwest trending vein on the base line assayed 262.8 grams per tonne silver, 0.63 gram per tonne gold, 13.30 per cent lead, 0.01 per cent zinc and 0.04 per cent copper across 0.3 metre (Assessment Report 19747). In the more pyrite-rich, north trending veins hosted in siltstone-greywacke rocks, samples assayed up to 447.3 grams per tonne silver, 22.4 grams per tonne gold, 1.50 per cent lead, 0.96 per cent zinc and 0.01 per cent copper across 0.40 metre (Assessment Report 19747).
Work History
In about 1951, several large boulders containing galena, sphalerite and pyrite in quartz were traced from near Long Lake up to the ridge containing the showing (Property File - Plumb, 1956). Mineralized veins were discovered in rock outcrops protruding through the ice. In 1956, the M.J. Mining Syndicate owned the M.J. claims over the veins. That year Plumb examined the mineralization on behalf of Dorreen Mines Limited. No further work was reported until 1965, when D. Collison owned the Silver Crown claim group over the area. During 1965-68, surface work and sampling were conducted on the mineralization.
In 1983, Teuton Resources performed work on the Elk and Moose claims in the area, but failed to locate the showing because of poor weather. In 1988, a heli-borne VLF-EM and magnetometer survey was flown over the area on behalf of D. Cremonese which included the showing. In 1989, White Channel Resources Inc. acquired the Strike 1-3 claims over the area and conducted a more comprehensive evaluation of the showing.
In 1990, another heli-borne VLF-EM and magnetometer survey was flown over the area on behalf of D. Cremonese. That same year Navarre Resources Corporation conducted geological mapping, diamond drilling (10 holes totalling 943 metres), Pulse EM geophysics and trenching (156 trenches) on the Silver Crown showings. In 1992-95, Navarre Resources conducted geological mapping, trenching (7 trenches), diamond drilling (10 holes totalling 1536 metres), VLF-EM and magnetomter surveying (4.8 kilometres), rock chip sampling, and road upgrading. In 1999, A. Kikauka completed geological mapping and collected three rock chip samples.
In 2006, a helicopter-borne AeroTEM II electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical survey was carried out over the Silver Crown property on behalf of Teuton Resources Corp. A total of 258.0-line kilometres was flown over a survey grid with l00 metre line spacings.
In 2012, Dynasty Gold Corp. completed a minor program of geological mapping and geochemical (rock and soil) sampling on the area. Samples from the Baseline and Knob zones yielded values of up to 7.2 grams per tonne gold, 4395 grams per tonne silver, 0.15 per cent copper, 1.81 per cent lead and 7.21 per cent zinc (Bravewolf Consulting [2020-07-17]: 2020 Technical (NI 43-101) Report on the Independence and Slippery Ian Properties).
In 2017, Richard Billingsley completed an airborne magnetic survey on the area. In 2019, AUX Resources Corp. completed a program of prospecting, geological mapping and rock sampling on the area as the Independence and Slippery Ian properties.
