The Highway Zone Creek showing, in the Stewart Gold Camp, was apparently first discovered in 1991 and is located about 900 metres north of old Highway 97A, 31 kilometres northeast of Stewart.
The Entrance Peak property is underlain by the Lower Jurassic Unuk River Formation of the Hazelton Group. The formation comprises predominantly subaerial volcanics of intermediate composition. Pyroclastic rocks, including lithic and crystal tuff, lapilli tuff, agglomerate and volcanic breccia, are common and are locally interbedded with sediments including argillite and sandstone. The units trend to the north and have steep to near vertical dips. The rocks are generally moderately to strongly propylitically to potassically altered (chloritized, silicified, epidotized, carbonatized, sericitized) and show varying intensities of sulphidization. The well-developed structural fabric includes orthogonal and suborthogonal macro/micro fractures and faults that trend generally northwest and northeast. The fabric is often silica flooded and intruded by felsic and mafic dikes. The volcanic pile has been intruded by hypabyssal intrusions, some of which are of similar age, and consist of feldspar porphyry and rhyolite domes. The intrusions are found at Cornice Peak and Yvonne Peak and are believed to represent volcanic centres. The rhyolitic domes, dikes and welded tuffs are believed to represent late stage acidic volcanism in the evolving island arc.
The Highway Zone Creek showing or HZCS is associated with a north-northwest trending, steeply east dipping structure exposed in the upper reaches of Highway Zone Creek. The structure is up to 10 metres wide and hosts boudined quartz-ankerite veins from 0.15 to 1 metre in width. The veins are mineralized with disseminations and stringers of pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and tetrahedrite. Associated minerals include ankerite, potassium feldspar, chlorite, sericite and fuchsite. The veins are hosted by pyritized and silicified green crystal tuff volcanic breccia and argillite, with the structure postulated to be located near their contact. Fuchsite, epidote and chlorite halo the veins.
Talus blocks were sampled and ran up to 56.85 grams per tonne gold, 520 grams per tonne silver and 15.2 per cent zinc. Exploration in 1992 included sampling of quartz ankerite veins and stockworks with galena and sphalerite. Chip samples returned up to 9.85 grams per tonne gold, 1163 grams per tonne silver, 0.33 per cent copper, 0.54 per cent lead and 0.33 per cent zinc across 3 metres (Assessment Report 26253).
Other historic exploration targets and showings include the Cornice Mountain Breccia zone, where chip sampling returned 6.78 grams per tonne gold and 2.24 per cent zinc across 14.5 metres; and, 11.1 grams per tonne gold over 6 metres on another sample line (Assessment Report 32060). Drill testing by Cameco in 1993 failed to intersect significant mineralization and it was concluded the sulphide target was associated with a dip slope. However, it appears that the holes may have been drilled somewhat downdip and may have missed the auriferous target.
Historic work on the Upper and Lower Grids of the Poly or Entrance Peak property delineated a favourable geological and structural environment that hosts an interpreted volcanogenic massive sulphide horizon (the X zone) with potential for auriferous massive sulphide mineralization. Well mineralized samples were collected in various areas of the Upper Grid and are considered indicative of the presence of and proximity to a high-grade target. The 49 samples average 13.1 grams per tonne gold, 608 grams per tonne silver, 0.28 per cent copper, 0.24 per cent lead and 0.52 per cent zinc. A 2006 drill hole (DDH P06-04) on the Upper Grid intersected some indication of economic mineralization: 5.17 grams per tonne gold, 49.19 grams per tonne silver, 0.086 per cent copper, 0.31 per cent lead and 1.79 per cent zinc over a core length of 2.55 metres at a vertical depth of about 120 metres (Assessment Report 32060).
The X zone has a strong multielement geochemical signature with associated elements such as cadmium, arsenic and antimony; a geophysical signature (induced polarization chargeability anomaly); a structural association (West Middle Creek and Highway Zone Creek faults); and, a stratigraphic control i.e., contact between the underlying crystal tuff and overlying argillite. The target has been traced over 1.4 kilometres and over a vertical extent of about 430 metres from the bottom of the Lower Grid north to the top of the Upper Grid. The mineralization is located near the contact of the west flank of the Eocene Entrance Peak quartz monzonite pluton. The monzonite is considered to have quarry potential for Sardinia White decorative stone.
Other showings discovered on the Poly grid in 2002 include the East Creek, Upper Ice 1 and Upper Ice 2. The showings are located in Upper East Creek and generally comprise pyrite mineralization in quartz veins hosted by coarse pyroclastic rocks. Although gold, silver and base metal contents of samples are at best mainly weak, they do contain some significant arsenic and antimony values.
The historic Ptarmigan zone is located near the northwestern boundary of the Poly 1 claim. Epithermal style quartz-carbonate veins mineralized with galena, minor chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite are associated with hypabyssal intrusions. The most prominent intrusion is a pyritized rhyolite that forms a prominent jarosite/alunite stained gossan. Other intrusion types include hornblende porphyry and feldspar porphyry, and the main hostrocks for all the types are crystal tuff and agglomerate. The veins occur in the pyroclastic rocks, proximal to the intrusions. Selected grab samples have yielded up to 69 grams per tonne gold, 873 grams per tonne silver, 9.70 per cent lead and 9.72 per cent zinc. However, initial chip samples failed to return significant values. The Ptarmigan Zone may be the old Montreal 1-8 showing (104A 026), where mineralized breccia and veins were investigated by short tunnels and open cuts at various elevations.
In 1991, Trev Corp. optioned the Stewart property consisting of the Hugh, Ken and Pam claims to Cameco Corporation and a helicopter-supported prospecting, mapping and geochemical reconnaissance program and a detailed follow-up program was carried out which resulted in the Highway Zone Creek discovery. In 1992, Trev Corp. optioned the Alex claims and a total of 56 stream sediment, soil, rock, talus, biogeochemical and check samples were taken in proximity to the old and new Stewart highway. In 1999, the Poly claims were staked by D.E. Molloy as part of the 1999 Prospectors Assistance Program and covered the Highway Zone Creek showing. Initial prospecting and geological and geochemical surveys were conducted, a small flagged grid was installed and 8 soil and 15 subcrop composite samples collected. An apparent extension of the Highway Zone Creek showing was discovered between and to the south of old Highway 37A and Highway 37A. In 2000, detailed geochemical and geological surveys expanded the Highway zone target area to an additional 500 metres to the southeast. In 2002, geochemical and geological surveys carried out by Geofine Exploration Consultants Ltd. continued to confirm the importance of the exploration environment. A 2004 exploration program on the Poly property was carried out intermittently from June 2004 to March 2005 and consisted of a number of phases of fieldwork and technical data integration/processing on behalf of Lateegra Resources Corp. who holds the property under option from Geofine. The work included the re-establishment of the 2002 grid and its expansion to the east, west, north and south, along with four fill-in lines (a total of about 11 kilometres), geochemical surveys including the collection of 13 stream sediment samples, 261 soil samples, 55 rock samples and 67 check samples, vegetation and geological surveys, and JVX Spectral IP /resistivity (7.5 kilometres) and magnetic survey (8.5 kilometres). In 2005 and 2006, Lateegra Resources conducted a drill program on the Poly claims. In 2005, drilling totalled 908.5 metres in 7 holes; the 2006 drilling totalled 718.6 metres in 3 holes. The program was focused on Highway Zone Creek (Figure 7, Assessment Report 27028). Strong in-situ evidence of the structural and geological controls of the target mineralization were provided by three of the 2005 holes which had tested the Highway Creek Shear Zone over a strike length of about 207 metres. A 2007 field program mainly comprised diamond drilling (1494.1 metres and 631 core samples in 9 holes), an MMI-M soil geochemical survey (26 samples) on the Lower Grid, and an interpretation of the historical and 2007 MMI-M results. In 2008, a helicopter supported exploration program on the Poly property included about 6 kilometres of line cutting and grid restoration, geological and geochemical surveys which included the collection of 271 rock, MMI-M soil and check samples, 3 kilometres of induced polarization and 4 kilometres of magnetic surveying, and diamond drilling including 4 holes that totalled about 307 metres from which a total of 93 core and check samples were generated. In 2010, Frontline Gold Corporation completed air photo interpretations of the target zones, 1.7 kilometres of grid installation, topographic and vegetation surveys, geological and geochemical surveys, which included the collection of 117 rock, MMI-M soil, stream sediment and check samples, helicopter reconnaissance and photo documentation, and an airborne Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM) and magnetic survey totalling about 308-line kilometres.
As described in the Report on the 1999 Prospectors Assistance Program (Molloy, 1999; PAP 00-23), the Highway Showing (or Highway 37A Zone Showing; Figure 7, 27028)) was discovered during a regional geochemical survey. The showing comprises an area of oxidized soil and altered (oxidized, silicitied, sulfidized, scricitized) angular float boulders and large blocks, located in tag alders between the old Highway 37A and the new Highway 37A. It had an apparent north-northwest trend and a width of up to over 50 metres. The Poly 1-4 Claims (Map 1) were staked in August 1999 to cover the Highway Showing, the Highway Zone Creek Showing and the favourable geological environment north of Entrance Peak. The Highway Zone Creek Showing is located about 1 kilometre northwest of the Highway zone. The Highway zone is not a MINFILE showing as it is largely float and blocks albeit likely near outcrop.
See Poly (X Zone) (104A 177) for Work History and further details of those occurrences contained within the Poly property.
