The Ridge and Barrington Vein occurrences are located on the ridge separating Cave and Wimpson creeks, approximately 5.5 kilometres north of the Chutine River.
The Ridge zone area is underlain by sedimentary rocks and minor volcanic rocks from the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group. The zone is located near the southwestern end of the Limpoke pluton. (Texas Creek Plutonic Suite), a two-phase stock with a biotite hornblende quartz monzonite outer phase and medium-grained hornblende monozodiorite inner phase. Leucocratic potassium feldspar megacrystic syenite dikes intrude the eastern and western borders of the pluton and surrounding Upper Triassic Stuhini Group sedimentary and volcanic rocks.
The showings occur within a significant soil anomaly, with values greater than 200 parts per billion gold, covering an area of 900 metres by 350 metres with a central core, 500 by 100 metres in size, which is characterized by values greater than 1,000 parts per billion gold (Assessment Report 27123).
Locally, two types of mineralization occur:
1.) At the Ridge Zone, altered volcano-sedimentary rocks, containing quartz and calcite stockworks and veining, contain abundant disseminated to massive pyrite, pyrrhotite, bornite, chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite. The central core anomalous zone is primarily covered by talus and exhibits little outcrop. In the south-central part of the anomaly, chip sampling of a shear zone returned 5.31 grams per tonne gold over 55 centimeters (Assessment Report 27123). In 1990, a program of soil and rock sampling over the Ridge zone revealed small pods of massive pyrite and pyrrhotite along ridges of siliceous, gossanous wackes, siltstones, minor limestone and propylitic altered andesites. Limonitic quartz-carbonate zones up to 3.1 meters wide were outlined.
2.) At the Barrington Vein occurrence, calcite veins in sheared sediments host gold mineralization. Vein widths are generally less than one metre but swell, locally, up to 2 metres. The veins are considered to fill either a-c joint features related to regional folds, or, conjugate sets related to a major north-south compressional force. Sampling of the Barrington vein yielded values up to 28.53 grams per tonne gold, 23 grams per tonne silver, 1 per cent zinc, 0.25 per cent lead and 0.051 per cent copper (Assessment Report 27123).
Work History
Integrated Resources Ltd. discovered the Ridge zone in 1989. This discovery resulted from the follow-up of two Regional Geochemisty samples stream sediment anomalies identified in 1988. In 1989, sampling of a 1 to 2 metre wide, massive sulphide zone returned values of 1850 parts per million copper, 240 parts per billion gold, 4.6 parts per million silver and 970 parts per million zinc (Assessment Report 19232). Grab samples taken over 1.00 metre returned values of 32.9 grams per tonne gold, and 1855 parts per million copper (Assessment Report 19232).
In early 1990, Dryden Resource Corporation, entered into an option agreement with Integrated Resources Ltd. whereby Dryden could earn a 50 per cent interest in the Target #I, Waterfall #I, and IR #I ,2,5,6,7, and 8 claims. Dryden carried out an initial limited reconnaissance program on the Target #I claim, which resulted in the collection of 6 rock, 27 soil and 1 silt sample from the Target claim area (Assessment Report 20436 and 20437).
The 1991 Dryden program identified 15 “Gold Occurrences” and 7 auriferous boulder localities. The mineralization is associated with skarns, shear zones and quartz veins. Sampling of these occurrences produced results up to 33.08 grams per tonne from grab samples and 13.82 grams per tonne gold over 25 centimetres from a chip sample (Assessment Report 21998). Ten of these Gold Occurrences are clustered around a monzodiorite stock (the Limpoke Pluton). Five Occurrences (Gold Occurrences 1 to 5) in the southern part of this area are associated with a significant gold-in-soil anomaly (>200 ppb) called the South Target Gold anomaly, which is at least 900 metres long and averages 350 metres in width). Gold Occurrences 1 to 4 occur along and east-west trending ridge (104G 208) with Gold Occurrence 5 occurring 170 metres south of Gold Occurrence 1.
In 1992, further work by Dryden Resource Corporation identified the Barrington vein which yielded chip samples of up to 34.97 grams per tonne gold across 0.4 meters (Assessment Report 22710). In 1992, the vein was obscured by remaining snow patches but the structure that it occurred in was identifiable over a strike distance of 200 meters. During 1992 Dryden had crew of four on the property for a total of 34 man-days in the field. They collected 300 rock samples and 80 soil samples and conducted 3375 ha of mapping and prospecting (Assessment Report 22710). Claims included IR 1-2, IR 5-8, Target and Waterfall.
In 2002, Newcastle Resources and Viceroy Resources staked the area as a part of the Target 1-4 claims and completed a prospecting program. Chip sampling of a shear zone, in the south-central part of the anomaly, has returned values of 5.3 grams per tonne gold over 0.55 metre. Sampling of the Barrington vein returned values up to 28.53 grams per tonne gold, 23 grams per tonne silver, 9688 parts per million zinc, 2462 parts per million lead and 509 parts per million copper (Assessment Report 27123).
By 2004, Canadian Empire Exploration Corp. had optioned a total of 101 units in 8 claims (2525 ha), from Dan Ethier. These included the Poke and Bob 1 to 7. Canadian Empire collected a total of 55 rock samples from the various surface showings concentrating predominately on the Discovery, Zamba and Spike Showings (Assessment Report 27765). Also see report by Rod Kirkham in Appendix III.
In 2014, Divitiae Resources spent 2 weeks on its Big Red property which covered the following mineral occurrences: 104G 001 (Poke Showing), 104G 002 (Gordon), 104G 024 (New Limpoke), 104G 121 (TUFF), 104G 206 (TGR (North), 104G 207 (TGR Vein), 104G 208 (Ridge), 104G 209 (Upper Cave Creek),104G 210 (West Grid), 104G 211 (North Barrington), 104G 212 (Target 4), 104G 213 (Boundary Vein), 104G 214, (Terry Creek),104G 215 (Jimmie), 104G 216 (Bob), 104G 217 (Zamba), 104G 218 (Spike, Waterfall), 104G 230 (GRAN 16). Divitiae collected 12 rock samples in the southern portion of the property. Selective samples ran above 1 per cent copper (Assessment Report 35466).
By 2017, Divitiae had expanded their Big Red claim group extending it 5 kilometres more to the west, covering the Poker (104G 149) occurrence as well as the previous 18 that were covered. Divitiae changed the property name from Big Red to River of Gold and undertook an airborne magnetic and radiometric survey in late September that covered all of the River of Gold claims totalling 536 line-kilometres. In October of 2017, preliminary prospecting was completed on high probability anomalies generated by previous ASTER analysis, and the new airborne geophysics. At this time 64 rock samples were collected. Work on the northern portion of the property failed to find any samples to be assayed. The complete airborne geophysical survey report is attached as an appendix within Assessment Report 36930.
Results of the ASTER survey are as follows. Four high probability clusters of phyllic alteration occur across the River of Gold claim block. Two clusters are coincident with high probability propylitic alteration and one is coincident with both propylitic and silica alteration. Several clusters of high probability iron oxide alteration occur throughout the River of Gold claims and indicate potential for gossan development. Advanced argillic and argillic alteration data suggests elevated clay formation surrounding a central zone of coincident phyllic-propylitic alteration in the centre of the River of Gold claim block. Similar elevated clay abundance occurs about 4 kilometres to the southeast of the central phyllic target on the property. Layer-stacking of phyllic, argillic and propylitic alteration maps have helped identify areas in which coincident hydrothermal alteration may be present. This resulted in two such target areas being found. A 600 metre diameter broadly circular zone of weak propylitic and phyllic alteration enclosed by weak argillic alteration is located within the NE portion of the River of Gold claims. Company interpretation of the zonation that was evident suggested a high-level porphyry system. A second anomalous zone occurs in the central portion of the River of Gold claims where coincident phyllic-propylitic alteration is enclosed by argillic alteration.
In 2019 and 2020, Libero Copper and Gold Corp. completed programs of geological mapping; geochemical (rock, soil and talus fines) sampling; a 549 line-kilometre airborne electromagnetic (ZTEM) survey; three diamond drill holes, totalling 610.0 metres and 24 reverse-circulation drill holes, totalling 3527.5 metres, on the area as the Big Red property. A drillhole (BR-20-011) on the Clive’s zone of the Ridge occurrence yielded 3.7 grams per tonne gold over 4.57 metres (Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. [2021-08-27]: Technical report on the Big Red Property, British Columbia, Canada).
