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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  12-Aug-2014 by Garry J. Payie (GJP)

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NMI 104M9 Au3
Name HAPPY SULLIVAN, CRACKERJACK (L. 3286), GOLD HILL (L. 3287), GOLD BULLION (L. 3288), HAPPY, ENGINEER, B SHEAR Mining Division Atlin
BCGS Map 104M059
Status Prospect NTS Map 104M09E
Latitude 059º 30' 44'' UTM 08 (NAD 83)
Longitude 134º 13' 06'' Northing 6597351
Easting 544239
Commodities Gold, Silver Deposit Types H05 : Epithermal Au-Ag: low sulphidation
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Inklin
Capsule Geology

The northern area of the Happy Sullivan property is underlain by north to northwest trending, moderately to steeply east dipping Lower Jurassic Laberge Group greywacke and argillite. The prospect is located at the end of a good road system that extends from the eastern shore of Tagish Lake. Access can be by helicopter or floatplane from the town of Atlin, 32 kilometres east of the property or by boat from the village of Tagish, 55 kilometres to the north.

The Gold Hill prospect (Happy Sullivan) consists of a series of narrow gold-bearing quartz veins that, along with the lower grade portion of the 24 metre-wide shear, represents a possible bulk tonnage exploration target. A north to northwest trending silicified shear zone zone has been traced on surface over of at least of 3 kilometres.

The zone occurs on the north side of Hope Creek dipping vertically to steeply west. The shear zone contains vuggy quartz veins up to 0.9 metre wide with up to 10 per cent disseminated arsenopyrite, pyrite, electrum and gold, commonly in dendritic habit.

A cross-section of the metre and a half wide subvertical vein is, from west to east: 0.5 metre pyritic greywacke is followed by colloidal to amorphous quartz with dendritic crystals of gold often coated in calcite; this is followed by a 5 to 8 centimetre zone of quartz and adularia with 5 per cent disseminated sulphides, primarily pyrite; next a relatively massive fractured quartz, and then a second quartz vein 90 centimetres wide with 5 to 10 per cent arsenopyrite. The eastern edge is sheared.

The mineralization has been explored by an upper and lower adit and several trenches on the western portion of the shear. A grab sample from a quartz dump on the west side of the upper adit assayed 323.6 grams per tonne gold and 226.2 grams per tonne silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1933, page 81). In 2006, a rock sample taken of a quartz vein in dump material just below the upper adit analysed 5.85 grams per tonne gold and 10.1 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 28884).

Work History

In 1899 a survey party working for the White Pass Yukon Railroad discovered free gold in quartz veins on the east side of Taku Arm of Tagish Lake This showing ultimately became known as the Engineer Mine and in 1902 a stamp mill was installed and a modest production of gold and silver was reported.

Shortly after the discovery of the Engineer deposit (104M 014) the area surrounding the mine was prospected and staked. Part of the claims became known as the Happy Sullivan group. In 1919, a tunnel possibly the lower one was driven. The tunnel is reported to have been a cross cut to a quartz vein zone some twenty two feet wide

The Crackerjack, Gold Hill, and Gold Bullion claims (Lots 3286-3288, respectively) were Crown-granted in 1919 to C.M. Sands, D.L. Sullivan, and R.L. Pelton.

No further activity was reported until 1926, when the surface showings were prospected. The owners, Messrs. Sands and Pelton, of Atlin, optioned the property to the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Company of Canada Limited in the summer of 1927. Open cutting and a limited amount of tunnelling was done before the option was dropped.

The showings have been explored by several long open cuts across the shear zone and by 2 short adits. The lower adit was driven as a crosscut for 14.6 metres or more in the direction of the vein. By 1933 the upper tunnel had been driven some 9 metres in a 100 degrees east direction The Portal elevation is reported as 1143 metres above sea level. Dumps at the portal assayed very high in gold although no free gold was visible or any appreciable pyrite. In 1933 work on the nearby Happy Sullivan gold-silver prospect consisted of an 11.8 tonne bulk sample taken from quartz. Material assayed 291.4 to 325.7 grams per tonne Au.

Little work was carried out until 1963 when the road to the Happy Sullivan was repaired and trenching attempted below the

Limited drilling was carried out later but lack of funds prevented adequate logging and sampling.

By an agreement of June 1975 Nomad Mines Ltd. optioned the property from Hans Buhr and Roy Carlson.

The above Crown-grants, the Sweepstake No. 6 claim (Lot 4674), and adjacent ground, was restaked in 1975 as the Happy No. 1 claim (19393 B) (20 units).

The area has been relatively dormant until late 1979. Since then minor work has been carried out. In 1981, Nomad Resources conducted prospecting on claims and reverted crown grants which contained Sweepstake (104M 025) and Happy Sullivan (104M 023) (Assessment Report 10511).

At the end of a staking program by Guardsmen Resources Inc. in 2001, the Gold Hill prospect was chip sampled and returned an assay of 1.8 grams per tonne gold over 15 metres (as reported in Assessment Report 28884). In 2006, Guardsmen sampled two separate one metre sections within this same location that gave values of 5.9 grams per tonne gold over 1 metre and 1.4 grams per tonne gold over 2 metres (Assessment Report 28884).

In 2006, a total of 101 rock chip samples and 154 soil samples were collected between the Gold Hill (Happy Sullivan) prospect and the re-discovered Sweepstake prospect. A geochemical survey was conducted to locate and sample the historical Sweepstake workings (104M 025), soil sample and prospect the B Shear and further sample the Happy Sullivan workings. The survey was successful in both demonstrating the Sweepstake and Happy Sullivan are epithermal features, are both located on the same shear structure and, in addition to the shear, contain anomalous to low grade gold and silver surrounded by highly anomalous arsenic. The bulk of the soil samples were mostly concentrated along the B-Shear trend.

In 2010 BCGold Corp acquired the Happy Sullivan (Gold Hill) and Sweepstake prospects. They had already acquired the Engineer crown grants in 2007. No work was reported on the Happy Sullivan and Sweepstake through to and including 2013, though the Engineer mine (104M 014) area was being explored and rehabilitated at the time by BC GOLD.

In January 2013, BCGold Corp announced results of a Mobile Metal Ion (MMI) soil geochemistry survey (Press Release, January 8, 2013). The MMI test lines conducted during reconnaissance prospecting on the Gold Hill property produced two new gold anomalies approximately 2.3 km and 3.5 kilometres north of the historic mine workings. The first MMI gold anomaly ("Shear B North") is 80 metres wide, with gold values up to 265 times background values. This anomaly was identified by completing two test lines 180 metres apart crossing the northern extent of the Shear Zone "B" structure. This anomaly sits within the 4 km long Shear Zone "B" structure that forms the eastern boundary of the historic mine workings. The anomaly is open along strike.

The second MMI gold anomaly ("Happy Sullivan") is 600 metres long and 140 metres wide, with gold values up to 260 times background values. This anomaly is associated with a 2.5 kilometre long north trending structure that hosts the Happy Sullivan mineral showing. The structure was previously defined by the Company’s SkyTEM geophysics survey and recent geologic mapping. The anomaly was identified by completing three MMI test lines across the structure and is open along strike in both directions.

See Engineer (104M 014) for related details of area work history and geology.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1918-92; 1919-369; 1927-141; 1930-123; *1933-81
EMPR ASS RPT *7923, *10511, 17253, *28884, *29921, 31909
EMPR BULL 105
EMPR EXPL 1980-498,499
EMPR FIELDWORK *1985, pp. 185-189; 1989, pp. 181-196; 1990, pp. 139-144, 153-159
EMPR PF (In 104M General File - Claim map of 104M, 1970; Claim map of 104M 08 and 09, 1970)
EMPR OF *1990-4
EMPR GEOS MAP 1997-1
EMPR RGS 37, 1993
GSC MAP 19-1957; 94A; 711; 1418A; 1426
GSC MEM 37
GSC OF 427, 2225 p. 42
GSC P 69-01A pp. 23-27, 78-01A pp. 69-70, 91-01A pp. 147-153, 92-01A
GSC SUM RPT 1906 pp. 26-32; 1911 pp. 27-58
GCNL #143,#201, 1977; #6,#180,#237, 1980; #80, 1981; #171, 1983; #180,#223,#234, 1984; #32,#85, 1985
IPDM Nov/Dec 1984; Feb/Mar 1985
N MINER Aug 7, 1975; May 21, 1981; May 13, 1982
V STOCKWATCH Dec. 3, 1987
BCGold Corp Pr Rel *Jan.8, 2013
www.bcgoldcorp.com

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