The area of the Bing occurrence is underlain by Upper Paleozoic Stikine Assemblage volcanics and limestones. These are intruded by Triassic granodioritic or quartz dioritic stocks. A small Paleocene to Eocene pluton, related to the Sloko-Hyder Plutonic Suite, consisting of high-level quartz phyric, felsitic rock occurs in the area of the Bing prospect.
Wide-spread disseminated and stockwork copper-molybdenum mineralization occurs in zones of feldspar-silica alteration within diorite and granodiorite.
The outcrop area in “Chalco Creek” is mainly hornblende diorite and granodiorite. Two main hydrothermal alteration assemblages occur, propylitic and potassic. Minor veins also indicate a possible early argillic (clay-chlorite) assemblage. The diorite is strongly chloritized. A potassic assemblage is indicated by minor quartz-sulphide veinlets with K-feldspar halos and minor associated epidote. This K-feldspar-epidote assemblage with stable primary biotite indicates a deep potassic zone. The existing potassium zone is relatively weak with widely spaced quartz-sulphide-K-feldspar veins. Minor pyrite-chalcopyrite occurs on fractures and late quartz veins occur in shears. No significant gold occurs.
The outcrop area in “Moly Creek” consists mainly of weakly chloritized hornblende diorite with a chlorite-epidote-hematite alteration assemblage. Pyrite and rarely molybdenite occur on fractures. Common but widely spaced clay-chlorite alteration patches or selvages around pyrite veins (clay-pyrite veins) may indicate the occurrence of early argillic alteration. Less common pyrite-quartz veins possibly with trace sericite may indicate very weak and insignificant phyllic alteration. Chalcedonic quartz veins with pyrite, galena and stibnite occur in a few locations in Moly Creek associated with clay-chlorite alteration. Silver values from grab samples are up to 23.6 grams per tonne (Assessment Report 25150).
Newmont drilled four holes in 1966 in an area with no outcrop, located northwest of the outcrop area in Moly Creek and one hole at the head of Chalco Creek. Original assay results and logs are not available, however sampling by Oliver in 1990 indicated low gold values associated with minor to 0.3 per cent copper mineralization with one sample having 1.2 per cent copper (Assessment Report 21987). Thirty-one samples gave an average of 0.06 per cent copper which is seen as a reasonable average for the mineralized sections of the core. Four sections of core with silicification and clay alteration or chalcedonic quartz were sampled in 1996. Gold values were low with 0.41 gram per tonne gold in one 20-centimetre section with 5 per cent pyrite-chalcopyrite and trace tetrahedrite; silver was variable from 1.6 to 29.6 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 25150).
In addition to porphyry style mineralization, higher grade shear hosted mineralization has been found in the Moly Creek area. Grab samples from shear hosted narrow veins which trend northeast have assayed as high as 6.89 grams per tonne gold, greater than 100 grams per tonne silver, 17.9 per cent lead, and greater than 20 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 21987). The higher-grade mineralization is typically associated with discontinuous veins measuring 0.15 metre wide. Similar style mineralization to the Moly Creek showing is located 600 metres to the south at Chalco Creek.
A 300 by 15 metre, northeast trending skarn zone also occurs adjacent to a crescent-shaped feldspar porphyry stock. Skarn minerals include epidote, actinolite, garnet, diopside and minor chalcopyrite. See the Skarnface (MINFILE 104K 153) that is reported to be a possible western extension of this skarn zone.
Mapping was first conducted in the area between 1958 and 1960 by Souther (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 362). Data from Souther suggested that disseminated copper and molybdenum mineralization associated with silicified and potassic altered zones, within a foliated diorite.
Newmont explored the property area between 1964 and 1966, during which time work consisting of ground and airborne geophysical surveys, geochemical surveys, geological mapping, and diamond drilling was completed. Newmont’s reported porphyry style mineralization associated with feldspar porphyritic dikes.
During the period 1987 to 1988 Stetson Resource Management Corp undertook reconnaissance scale mapping and sampling on the property.
Tahltan Holdings acquired the property in 1987 and later optioned the property to Waterford Resources. During this period reconnaissance mapping and sampling were completed. During the 1990 field season a small-scale program consisting of: the re-logging of the 1966 Newmont drill holes; ground geophysics consisting of 15.3 kilometres of VLF and magnetic surveys; localized geological mapping; and the collection of 43 reconnaissance soil geochemical samples. Tahltan Holdings returned to the Bing area in 1994 and collected 66 soils along two parallel east-west gridlines.
Mapping, prospecting and stream sampling was done by Premier Minerals Ltd across the Bing, Ant and Samo claims which cover the Ant (MINFILE 104K 032) and Bing occurrences. In 1996, Premier collected 100 rock samples, 66 silt samples and 1200 soil samples over the property. The company also conducted 21.2 kilometres of induced polarization and ground magnetometer surveying.
In 2007, Richfield Ventures Corp examined the geology and mineralization of the Bing/Icy Lake property. In order to test mineralization at Chalco Creek, Moly Creek, the north cirque and in old drill core a Niton portable XRF analyzer was used to measure metal content of the rock. The values of copper and molybdenum in three areas on the property were consistent with, and of the same order of magnitude as, values reported in earlier work.
In 2009, Paget Resources collected a total of 83 rock samples the Icy Lake/Bing property. Forty-eight rock samples were taken from the three types of mineralization in relation to the Bing porphyry system. Twenty-one samples of porphyry-style alteration and mineralization were taken mainly from exposures in Chalco and Moly Creeks. Porphyry style mineralization contains highly variable but locally strong copper and molybdenum grades with low precious metals. Average copper grades of 0.235 per cent copper and 0.019 per cent molybdenum were obtained (Assessment Report 29345). Fourteen samples were taken from mineralized quartz-sulphide veins and associated low pH alteration in the Moly Creek area. Nine samples from skarn and calc-silicate hosted mineralization returned the most promising assay results to the north of the Bing area and are documented in a new MINFILE showing. Ten rock samples from the Deception Creek area (MC) contained locally strong pyrite associated with weakly developed propylitic assemblages (chlorite, epidote). Six rock samples from lower elevations in the Icy Creek area again returned disappointing base and precious metal values, confirming the lack of a well-developed porphyry style alteration system. Eight rock samples from lower elevations in the Chid Creek area in the western part of the property confirmed the presence of high gold values at the Second Creek showing,
In 2011, Paget Resourced drilled 3 holes totalling 1005.8 metres on the eastern side of the Bing Porphyry. Pyrite, chalcopyrite and molybdenite were observed in all three holes.
In 2019, Brixton Metal Corporation expanded their Thorn property through staking and acquisition of several claims over their East Target area which contained seven mineral showings including Ant (104K 032), Bing (104K 035), East Ant Diorite (104K 152), Skarnface (104K 153), Bing Skarn (104K 166), Motherlode2 (104K 183) and Motherlode1 (104K 190).
In 2020 Brixton completed 3,025 metres of drilling within 16 core holes on the new Central Outlaw and West Outlaw zones on their Thorn property. A total of 1473 rock samples and 5588 soil samples were also collected throughout their expanded Thorn property (Press Release, Brixton Metals Corp., Dec.15, 2020). Brixton's East Target eastern copper-in-soil anomaly is about 3 kilometres east-west and 4 kilometres north-south. Like the East Target's western soil anomaly, the eastern soil anomaly has a minimum of 100 parts per million copper and contains a significant central area (elongate along a northwest-southeast axis) that is greater than or equal to 200 parts per million copper (see Figure 7, Press Release, Brixton Metals Corp., Dec.15, 2020). The Bing showing is located within Brixton's eastern soil anomaly (East Target area) and within that central area where values are a minimum of 200 parts per million copper. One rock sample grading 1.8 per cent copper was collected from the Bing area in 2020 (see Figure 7, Press Release, Brixton Metals Corp., Dec.15, 2020). See Motherlode 1 (104K 190) for details of the western soil anomaly.
Refer to Thorn (104K 031), Chivas (104K 180), East Outlaw (104K 083) and Oban (104K 168) for details of the work history on the greater Thorn property.
