The ME area is underlain by welded tuff, agglomerate lithic tuff, flows, and breccias of the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group which are intruded by a LateTriassic to Early Jurassic quartz monzonitic stock of the Copper Mountain Plutonic Suite. A package Stuhini sedimentary rocks is also mapped in the area. A northwest trending fault separates the Stuhini stratigraphy from Lower to Middle Jurassic basalts and sedimentary rocks of the Salmon River Formation (Hazelton Group), within a few kilometres to the east.
Prominent gossanous alteration zones occur throughout the area within the volcanics. Abundant pyrite is found in these zones as disseminations or as veinlets associated with epidote, chlorite, or pyrrhotite. Locally intense sericitization with some K-feldspar alteration occurs, often in areas of quartz veining. Copper mineralization occurs in a few places as disseminations but is primarily found with galena and sphalerite in carbonate veins. Small amounts of chalcopyrite with pyrrhotite and pyrite are found in silicified zones identified in drill core. Minor amounts of molybdenite were noted in quartz veins.
One 3 metre section of drill core contained up to 0.18 per cent copper while another 3 metre section contained up to 11.66 grams per tonne silver. The highest gold value was 0.69 gram per tonne over a 0.5 metre length (Assessment Report 8546).
The ME zone lies directly across Ball Creek from the Mary porphyry and appears to be part of the same mineralizing system associated with porphyritic monzonite intrusive rocks. The rocks form a prominent gossan on steep slopes along the south side of Ball Creek with a prominent northeast trend. Three distinct alteration types are present. An early episode of brown hornfels affects a now highly altered intrusive phase. This rock is commonly altered to quartz sericite pyrite throughout the gossanous area. Volcanic and intrusive rocks along the south side of the zone are altered to chlorite pyrite with variable amounts of calcite. The phyllic alteration hosts two types of mineralized veins. Pyrite chalcopyrite rich (40 to 70 per cent sulphide) veins to 10 centimetres wide and quartz calcite iron carbonate veins with galena chalcopyrite and pyrite occur as sheeted veins in zones up to 1 metre wide. These veins strike northeast and dip to the northwest. Strong quartz stockwork with chalcopyrite in hard (potassium feldspar flooded?) porphyry occur in one area, while quartz molybdenite veins are present in several areas of stronger phyllic alteration.
The ME zone is thought originally part of the same zone as the Cliff zone and has been separated from it by post mineral faulting along Ball Creek.
In 2019, a very high tenor geochemical soil anomaly was identified below treeline at the ME Zone, which has limited exposure. The new anomaly is highlighted by 11 soils with greater than 0.5 grams per tonne gold up to 3.2 grams per tonne gold, 28 soils with greater than 5 grams per tonne silver up to 36.5 grams per tonne silver, 42 samples with greater than 500 parts per million copper up to 2,900 parts per million copper and 50 samples greater than 50 parts per million molybdenum up to 760 parts per million molybdenum (Golden Ridge Resources Ltd., Press Release December 18, 2019). Analysis of the results by Golden Ridge were reported to indicate both epithermal and porphyry style geochemical signatures.
Golden Ridge Resources Ltd. completed a property wide reconnaissance program on their Ball Creek project during the 2019 field season which included the collection of over 4500 soil samples and 60 rock samples.
See Ball Creek Porphyry (104G 018) for details of a common work history.
