The Gorge prospect is located on the north side of the Iskut River valley, approximately 61 kilometres southwest of Bob Quinn Lake (Highway 37) and 112 kilometres northwest of Stewart, B.C.
Regional mapping indicates the area of the Gorge showing is underlain by Mesozoic and older sediments and volcanics which have been intruded by granitic rocks of the Coast Plutonic Complex.
Upper Triassic sedimentary rocks are dominated by black to grey, foliated and well-bedded argillaceous siltstone. The siltstone grades into well-indurated, poorly foliated and well-bedded chert with some limestone. The volcanics consist mainly of mafic flows which include feldspar porphyry volcanic flows. The oldest rocks consist of a thick sequence of weakly metamorphosed siltstones and argillites which, in this area, are mapped as Devonian to Permian Stikine Assemblage. Overlying this sequence are black shales, siltstone, greywacke and conglomerates. Corals from limestone within these beds have been dated as Upper Triassic and are thought to be correlative with the Stuhini Group.
This volcano-sedimentary package has been intruded by a Jurassic feldspar porphyry stock located in the area between the Gorge and Gregor (104B 357) showings.
The Gorge zone drilling has revealed well altered greywackes and siltstones, which are moderately to intensely fractured and/or sheared. Several narrow quartz-carbonate veins and semi-massive to massive sulphide sections were encountered. In 1991 it was reported that property wide (over several square kilometres) mineralization commonly consists of pyrite and lesser pyrrhotite but locally as at the Gorge showing, trace to moderate amounts of base metals are present including chalcopyrite, sphalerite and arsenopyrite.
This structurally complex area exhibits numerous, significant, auriferous sections over substantial widths. The siltstone/greywacke hosted mineralization appears to be related to discontinuous shear structures. These structures carry disseminated, fracture filling and massive sulphides in a gangue of carbonate and/or quartz. Geological mapping, ground geophysics and drill all appear to confirm the presence of seemingly disconnected, auriferous structures(?) focused in the Gorge area. Drilling to the west and southwest of the Gorge zone failed to reveal any related, less disrupted gold-bearing mineralization in this general area.
In 1988, ten holes were drilled to test mineralization in the Gorge showing. The showing consists of semi-massive to massive sulphide mineralization within an east-west trending shear zone. Two chip samples from this zone assayed 125.5 grams per tonne gold over 1.0 metre and 166.6 grams per tonne gold over 1.0 metre (Press Release: American Ore Ltd., November 10, 1988).
Drilling encountered several good grade intersections. A 6.19 metre intersection from drill hole I88-6 averaged 11.07 grams per tonne gold. Another 5.9 metre intersection from drill hole I88-8 assayed 10.66 grams per tonne gold including a 3.8 metre section averaging 15.29 grams per tonne gold (American Ore Ltd., Annual Report 1987).
In 1988, a rock assay from the far northwest boundary of the Meridor (104B 312) property (Gorge area) was reported to have assayed 65.5 grams per tonne gold (Supplement to Northern Miner, Oct.3, 1988). Mineralization in this area consists of semi-massive to massive sulphide mineralization from a zone which ranges 9.1 to 33.5 metres in width. Gold values range up to 29.6 grams per tonne gold.
In 1988, the detailed evaluation of the Gorge showing defined a major east-west trending, well-mineralized shear/vein system. Continuous chip sampling of the surface exposure returned 6 m of 53.14 grams per tonne gold. A number of subsidiary, well mineralized shear/vein systems including the "Gorge South" showing were also discovered in the immediate vicinity of the main "Gorge" showing. Four drill holes tested the main structure and one drill hole tested the "Gorge South" showing, located 200 metres downstream. The RPX zone (discovered in 1989) appears to be between the Gorge and the Gorge south. The 1990 drilling of the RPX zone (discovered in 1989) confirmed the presence of minor amounts of widespread pyrite, pyrrhotite and trace amounts of chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite. This mineralization is hosted by sheared metasediments, and to a lesser extent metavolcanics. A few, narrow (up to 0.54 metre) semi-massive to massive sulphide sections, comprised mainly of pyrrhotite, were also encountered. Drill holes 190-1, 5, 6 and 7 tested the RPX zone along its' apparent strike and down dip. A total of nine drill holes have now, apparently tested the zone. Seven of these holes 089-7 to 10 and 190-5 to 7) yielded significant auriferous intercepts which ranged from 4.56 grams per tonne gold over 1.14 metres to 14.64 grams per tonne gold over 3.25 metres (Assessment Report 21041). Most of the gold mineralization corresponds to narrow (0.15 to 3.25 metre wide) quartz - biotite-carbonate rich sections. The shear/veins typically cut biotite altered and/or brecciated/sheared greywackes. The significant intercepts carry a variable sulphide content (2-30%) and composition (pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite).
Refer to Gregor (104B 357) for further geological details and a common work history.
During 2009 through 2012, Skyline Gold Corp. completed program of prospecting, soil and rock sampling, geological mapping and airborne geophysical surveys on the area.
In 2012 Snip Gold Corp. drilled a 220 metre hole to test a structurally complex area with high grade gold values from historic drilling. The hole (SG12-28) intersected finely bedded, sheared and locally garnetiferous metasediments intruded by vein hosted massive sulphides, truncated by a faulted zone with underlying sandstone and mudstone sequences from approximately 140 metres depth. The presence of four mineralized zones was confirmed, returning 48.75 metres of 0.988 gram per tonne Au and 7.5 grams per tonne Ag beginning at a depth of 18 metres. This interval included 3.2 metres of 1.787 grams per tonne Au and 8.5 grams per tonne Ag and 6.9 metres of 5.000 grams per tonne Au and 28.6 grams per tonne Ag. Further down hole a 16.58 metre interval of 2.123 grams per tonne Au and 4.4 grams per tonne Ag was intersected at 115.52 metres depth, and included 1.45 metres of 20.5 grams per tonne Au and 36.3 grams per tonne Ag (Assessment Report 33714).
