The LQ vein (on the Pavey property) is located 60 kilometres south of Whitehorse, Yukon near Pavey and east of Bennett Lake. The Pavey property contains 15 documented showings (104M 002-003, 028, 038-047, 085-086).
The Bennett Lake area overlies the contact between the Intermontane Belt and the Coast Plutonic Complex. The Intermontane Belt features a complex assemblage of deformed volcanic and sedimentary rocks comprising the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group, the Lower Jurassic Laberge Group, and Devonian to Middle Triassic Boundary Ranges Metamorphic Suite rocks.
Cretaceous granitic rocks of the Coast Plutonic Complex are the most common in the area; typically they consist of fresh quartz monzonite or quartz diorite. Pendants of Proterozoic gneiss, schist and limestone occur in the granitic intrusives. A younger series of andesite, dacite and rhyolite flows, tuffs and agglomerates intrude and overlie granitic rocks at Montana Mountain, Mount Skukum and Mount Macauley. Tertiary and Eocene dikes intrude all rock types.
Major faults occur primarily along river and lake valleys, associated with movement in the Coast Plutonic Complex and with early Tertiary volcanism. The area is just west of a northwest trending faulted unconformity between the Boundary Ranges Metamorphic Suite and Upper Triassic Stuhini Group volcanics.
On the LQ claim a large quartz vein containing up to 20 per cent arsenopyrite and 5 per cent galena outcrops in quartz chlorite schist in a creek bed. The vein, 0.4 to 0.8 metre wide, forms the west bank of Ben Creek for 10 metres and has an exposed length of 7 metres. Sulphides comprise 7 per cent of the vein and include galena, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and arsenopyrite. The vein strikes 033 degrees and dips 57 degrees east. A grab sample of well mineralized vein material assayed 3.91 grams per tonne gold and 361.65 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 19186).
Quartz float was traced upstream for 350 metres to a second large quartz vein in outcrop. This vein also lies in the creek bed and is along strike from the main vein. It averages 0.5 metre in width over a 10 metre length. A 0.5 metre chip sample assayed 9.26 grams per tonne gold and nore than 50 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 19186). A chip sample across 0.80 metre assayed 1.69 grams per tonne gold and 124.5 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 12554).
In 2009, drilling yielding intercepts of up to 0.41 gram per tonne gold over 4.7 metres, including 2.03 metres of 34.41 grams per tonne silver in hole N0902 and 0.74 gram per tonne gold with 58.4 grams per tonne silver over 2.12 metres in hole N0903 (Aurora Geosciences Ltd. (2012-07-09): Technical Report – Golden Eagle Property).
Work History
Two claims were staked around 1913 near Pavey. The Silver Queen and Ruby Silver claims were reported to overly high grade silver mineralization. The adit is located on the Pavey 2 claim. Three shorter adits are located 2.5 kilometres to the north, on the Pavey 3 claim, of the Ruby Silver adit. The history of these workings is not known; they uncover mineralized quartz veins which occasionally contain visible gold.
During 1981 to 1986 DuPont held the Gaug claims over the area presently covered by the Pavey 1-4 claims. During 1982 and 1983, DuPont completed geological and geochemical surveys on the upland plateau and over a steep rocky gully. They re-discovered the old adits in the gully. In 1983, Texaco Canada staked the Ben 1-4 claims and performed geological, geophysical and geochemical surveys. In 1987, pits were excavated on quartz-sulphide veins in the "main gully" and beside a small tarn at the south end of the grid (Pavey 4). Thirty rock samples were collected and assayed. In 1988, mapping and prospecting was conducted by Lodestar Resources on the LQ claim; 12 samples were collected. A trail was built in 1989.
In 1990, Lodestar Explorations Inc. tested the showings on the Pavey property and the Skarn (104M 085) and Cowboy (104M 086) showings were discovered. Trenching was attempted on the LQ vein in 1991 but the trenches flooded. Hemlo Gold Mines Inc. acquired an option on Lodestar's claim group (Ben, Willard, Pavey and Fin properties collectively known as the Pavey property) in 1993, and conducted limited prospecting in 1993 and 1994 with Noranda Exploration Company Limited acting as the operator on behalf of Hemlo. The work program consisted of sampling, mapping and prospecting the Skarn zone and Stibnite zone (104M 041, 42) area with reconnaissance sampling over three nearby target areas. In 1993, Lodestar Explorations Inc. changed its name to Precision International Resources Corporation. Precision allowed the Pavey claims (Pavey 1 to 6) to lapse in August and November, 1995, and the ground was re-staked by Westmin Resources Ltd. in November, 1995. In December, 1995, the Ben 3 and Fin claims (Fin 1 to 5) also were forfeited by Precision and some of the ground they formerly covered was re-staked by Westmin in the same month. In July, 1996, Imperial Oil let the Ben 1, Ben 2, and Ben 4 claims expire. The same month Precision forfeited the LQ claim. Westmin subsequently re-staked the ground covered by all these claims. The 14 claims (LQ and Lew 1 to 13) assembled by Westmin constitute what is known as the Bennett Property. Between August 3 and September 12, 1996, Westmin completed a program of geological mapping, lithogeochemical sampling, geophysical surveying, and limited percussion drilling on the Bennett Property. Only 3 of the planned 150 holes (producing 12 rock samples from 45 metres of chipped core) were drilled due to poor ground conditions and the inability of the drill to 'back-hammer out of the holes (i.e. pull the rods). The drill program was abandoned after ten days. The 1.6 kilometre wide by 1.8 kilometre long grid constructed on the plateau (termed the “Bennett Grid”), subsequently, was used for detailed ground geophysical studies. These studies included induced polarization (IP), magnetometer, and very low frequency electromagnetic (VLF-EM) surveying.
In 1997, Brett Resources Inc. had an option to acquire a minimum 66 per cent interest in the property and an additional option to increase to a 75 per cent interest pursuant to certain terms and conditions of an agreement between Westmin Resources Ltd. and Brett.
Marksmen Resources Limited purchased the Bennett Lake property outright in 2003 and owns 100 per cent with no encumbrances. In 2003, work on the Skarn zone conducted by Marksmen Resources consisted of limited rock sampling. In 2004, Marksmen Resources carried out a 670 kilometre airborne survey on its Golden Eagle property (including the former Pavey property) near Bennett Lake, recovering EM, magnetic and gamma ray spectrometry data. In 2005, Signet Minerals acquired the mineral interests of Marksmen Resources Limited and performed horizontal loop-EM and IP surveys, trenching, and drilled 7 holes to follow up prospecting and airborne geophysical targets. Two holes were drilled in the Skarn zone (104M 085) and Bennett Lake zone but assessment work publication is pending.
In 2006, Signet Minerals Inc. completed two (2) diamond drill holes on the Northwest block; one tested the Skarn Zone and the other tested the Plateau (West Gully) Zone (104M 039).
In 2009, Casselman Geological Services Ltd. was retained by Troymet to manage a diamond drilling program and Coureur Des Bois Ltee-Ltd was contracted by Troymet to conduct a prospecting and soil/stream sediment sampling program. Results of the 2009 work program are described in an unpublished report prepared by Casselman Geological Services Ltd. for Troymet. The 2009 prospecting and geochemical sampling field work was largely directed toward the Northwest Block but some sampling was done on the Central Block as well. All drilling targets were confined to the North prospect area (West Gully, LQ, Stibnite and Cowboy zones).
In November and December, 2010, Aurora Geosciences Ltd. was contracted to conduct a modified pole-dipole induced polarization (IP) survey over the Plateau area on the Northwest Block of the property. A total of 350 metres of modified pole-dipole data were obtained on a single line (Line 400).
The 2010 survey data are not described in this report. The area surveyed on the Plateau zone was re-done in 2011 by Aurora Geosciences and the results are discussed elsewhere in this report. Other work completed in 2010 included a petrographic study by Mineral Services Canada Inc. A total of 22 core samples were examined from the 2009 drill core. Representative samples were taken from each of the five holes drilled in 2009.
In 2011, Aurora Geosciences Ltd. was contracted by Troymet Exploration Corp to conduct a modified pole-dipole induced polarization (IP) survey over the Plateau area on the Northwest Block of the property. A total of 10.5-line-kilometre of modified pole-dipole data were obtained. In 2011, 5 NQ diamond-drill holes (N1101 to N1105) totalling 826.17 metres were drilled to test the IP anomalies in gold-in-stream sediments were spatially associated with the West Gully intrusive.
