The Ridley showing area is underlain by marine sedimentary and volcanic rock of the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group. The stratigraphy is intruded by Late Triassic granodiorite, Early Jurassic monzodiorite to gabbro (Texas Creek Plutonic Suite) and Triassic to Jurassic syenite to monzonite (Copper Mountain Plutonic Suite).
The Ridley zone includes a large number of chalcopyrite-pyrite-quartz-calcite lenses developed in sheared and pyritized argillaceous and tuffaceous beds. Individual occurrences contain 3 to 4 per cent copper and gold content is erratic. Surface work has shown that lenses of sulphide minerals, principally pyrite and chalcopyrite, were formed in structural traps where the granular textured host rocks were caught between underlying tongues of diorite and an overlying mass of augite porphyry.
Continuity of lenses is not clear. Several narrow flat-lying quartz veinlets are exposed across several tens of metres and most of the quartz- pyrite-chalcopyrite lenses are at best a metre or two wide. Gold values as high as 44.6 grams per tonne gold and copper, as high as 4.27 per cent, have been obtained from chip samples (Assessment Report 20844).
Work History
The JW property consists of 14 recorded claims named J.W. 1 to 14 extending north-south along the north fork of Jack Wilson Creek, which is a westerly flowing tributary of the Stikine River.
Kennco Explorations (Western) Limited apparently staked the J.W. claims 1-14 in about 1963. The property was subsequently surrounded by claims staked by Conwest Exploration Company Limited early in 1964. Magnetometer and geochemical work was carried out by Kennco i n the summer of 1963. During 1965 a program of line cutting, magnetometer and induced polarization surveys, and geochemical soil-sampling was carried out.
From 1988 to 1990, the JW 2,4, 5-8 claims that held the Central prospect (JW 2) was explored intensively by Bellex Mining. The Boundary zone occurred on the Bellex propertis JW 2 claim also, near its northern boundary with Sarabat Golds property. In 1988, Bellex Mining collected 180 rock and 13 silt samples. In 1989, Bellex collected 315 rock and 326 soil samples. They found or investigated the Boundary zone, North Fork Creek (Central) zone, Boundary zone and Devils Club zone. Six old trenches at the Devil's Club Showing were located and sampled. Bellex identified a strong coincident Cu-Au soil anomaly measuring 500 by 1400 metres over and north of the Central zone, towards the Boundary zone. A 1990 diamond drill program by Bellex consisted of 5 NQ drill holes totalling 1392 metres. Maps 5 (Assessment Report 20843) shows these holes are situated on or around the Central zone.
From 1988 to 1990 Sarabat Gold Corporation held the JW 1 and 3 and the IC claims adjacent, north of the Bellex claims. They discovered and explored a number of gold-rich quartz-sulphide zones in the steeper terrain to the north, including the Diorite, Ridley, Float, Jake, Fourteen, 14 Creek Pyrite, Cliff and Boundary.
In 2007, Romios Gold held much of the Bellex and Sarbat ground. They drilled 3 holes (481.50 metres) within the core of the Bellex soil geochemical anomaly around the Central zone (North Fork). The 2007 drilling established that the anomalous copper and gold soil geochemical signature in the valley of Jack Wilson Creek, which appeared to be covered in think mantle of alluvial material exceeding 80 metres in thickness, was unlikely to represent bedrock metal values.
