The TAG 025 zone is located 35 kilometres west of Atlin, near the southwest corner of the TAG property which is locted on the eastern shore of Taku Arm of Tagish Lake. Access is by boat along Tagish Lake or by helicopter from Atlin.
The area, bounded by faults, is underlain by sediments of the Lower Jurassic Laberge Group. These comprise greywacke, argillite, shale and conglomerate intruded by granite near Bee Peak. The Llewellyn fault is 2 kilometres to the west and separates these rocks from the Coast Plutonic Complex. To the east, the Nahlin fault separates the rocks from the Cache Creek Complex. The area of the showing contains splays from these major faults. The bedding generally trends north to northwest and dips 10 degrees to vertical.
The most significant gold and silver mineralisation discovered to date on the TAG Property is found in the 025 zone. This zone includes what is known variously as the “Mass”, “Main” or “Canyon” showing. The only other documented mineralized zone on the TAG property is known variously as the “Quantity” or “Barney” showing. (MINFILE 104M 080). It is located approximately 3 kilometres north of the 025 Zone. There are no other mineralised zones of significance identified on the TAG Property.
The 025 zone consists of single or multiple closely space zones of structural deformation along the 025 fault zone (025FZ) with vuggy quartz breccia and stockwork hosted in sheared, broken and brecciated greywacke and argillite. Sulphides are found in these rocks to varying degrees. Strong pervasive to local carbonate and silica alteration has been noted as well as lesser chlorite, sericite and mariposite.
These mineralised zones may be parallel or oblique to bedding. Minor fine-grained, disseminated sulphides are pervasive within these rocks; rarely massive sulphides are found on fracture planes. The 025 Zone is a highly variable interval characterised by shearing, quartz veining and quartz breccia. Shearing is marked by pervasive, near total graphite alteration. Quartz veining consists of 10 to 50 per cent anastomosing veinlets typically 1 to 20 centimetres wide, both parallel and oblique to bedding. Quartz breccia zones show 10 to 20 per cent angular wall rock fragments typically 1 to 5 centimeters in size suspended in a drusy textured quartz matrix. Sulphides are found as disseminations and thin veinlets throughout the zone and in the wall rock immediately adjacent to the zone.
Mineralization is associated with quartz flooded fault breccia which has been traced for 350 metres. The average of 55 samples was 2.57 grams per tonne gold and 62.73 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 21508). Mineralization is hosted in fault controlled quartz rich stockworks and argillite breccias. Porphyry units, also fault related, contain up to 15 per cent finely disseminated pyrite and pyrrhotite. Several areas of calcium-rich stockwork and breccia contain lesser amounts of sulphides. Silicification and carbonate alteration is dominant with lesser chlorite, sericite and mariposite.
The TAG 025 showing comprises the Main and Bear zones. The Main zone is about 500 metres south of the Bear zone and the Barney zone (104M 080) is about 2.5 kilometres to the northwest along the fault splay. The Main and Bear zones, stockworked breccia zones, occur as irregular elongated bodies.
The Main zone strikes 360 metres and varies up to 15 metres on surface. An arsenic soil anomaly is centered at the southern portion of this zone. The Bearox Zone begins on the north shore of the first lake about 500 metres along the 025 fault from the Main zone. It is exposed intermittently in a number of hand trenches along a 350 metre length and up to 15 metres wide.
A sample (GT-03590) of silicified argillite breccia was taken from mid-Main zone and assayed 2.4 grams per tonne gold, 1374 grams per tonne silver, 0.0231 per cent copper, 0.25 per cent arsenic and 0.16 per cent antimony (Assessment Report 21508).
The Bear (or Bearox) zone, about 350 metres long, is the area from the north shore of the first lake on strike along the splay fault. The mineralization has not been traced continuously for the full length but the north half is 5 to 15 metres wide. Rusty breccias and fan-like quartz vugs with carbonate alteration host the sulphide mineralization. Several old trenches were found and sampled within this zone. Samples were taken of quartz-carbonate altered argillite breccia with 1 per cent sulphides and minor mariposite. The average value of samples taken from the old trench is 1.37 grams per tonne gold, 1.25 grams per tonne silver and 0.57 per cent arsenic (Assessment Report 21508).
Work History
Activity in the area dates back to 1898 when workers on the White Pass & Yukon Railway prospected throughout the Tagish Lake area on their way to the placer camps of Atlin and the Klondike. There are many old hand trenches and pits on the property but there are no government records that describe when this work was done or by whom. Modern exploration of the property began upon the discovery of showing of visible gold on the 025 fault by government geologists. Sample 88MMO6-3 from an outcrop of quartz argillite breccia returned values of 5.35 grams per tonne gold and 19.0 grams per tonne silver (Fieldwork 1990). This showing eventually became the "Main zone" and was staked as the 40-claim Mass and Quantity property in 1988 by G.R. Thompson. These claims were rolled into Golden Bee Minerals Inc. and limited surface exploration consisting of a program of sampling, mapping, prospecting and geochemical surveys was completed in 1989 and 1990. Trenches found in 1990 are suspected to be from work done in the 1920s by Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company. The claims reverted back to G.R. Thompson in 1992. Thompson completed additional geological, prospecting, geochemical and trenching work in 1994 and again in 1996. The Mass and Quantity property lapsed in 1997 and was subsequently re-staked by Thompson as the 20-claim "025" group. More geological, prospecting, geochemical and trenching work was done in 1997 and 2003 as well as petrography, fluid inclusion and scanning electron microscope studies in 2000. The 025 claims were partially converted to map cells in 2005 and additional map cells were added in February 2005 and April 2006.
In 2006, CZM acquired an option on the Property. Work in that year included 23 diamond drill holes totalling 3,399.08 metres (Assessment Report 28703 and 29581). The fault zone is a highly variably interval of shearing, quartz veining and quartz breccia. The 025 fault includes granodiorite as dikes and breccia fragments and overall the width and gold-silver content is lower at Bearox than in the Main. In 2006, operator CZM Capital Corp. conducted a twelve hole diamond drilling program totalling 1370 metres over the Main and Bearox zones. Seventeen holes were drilled to test the Main Zone showing which was identified by surface prospecting, trenching and soil geochemistry. Six holes were drilled to test the Bearox Zone showing which was previously identified by surface prospecting, trenching and soil geochemistry. In the Main showing area the width of the mineralized zone varies from 5.8 to 26.7 metres, the gold content grades from 0.95 to 2.18 grams per tonne and the silver content grades from 3.0 to 17.7 grams per tonne (Assessment Report 29581). In the area of the Bearox showing the width of the mineralized zone varies from 7.0 to 25.1 metres, the gold content grades from 0.86 to 1.77 grams per tonne and the silver content grades from 2.9 to 5.1 grams per tonne (Assessment Report 29581). The geology of the Bearox showing area is complicated by the presence of conglomerate and diorite intrusive rocks.
In 2007 work by CZM included 26 diamond drill holes totalling 4,663.5 metres; a high-definition helicopter-borne magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometer survey of 312 kilometres on the property; a B-horizon soil geochemical survey along the entire length of the interpreted 025 structure and covering a 500m wide swath on either side of that structure; and prospecting and sampling based on targets generated by compiling the magnetic and geochemical data. Twenty holes were drilled into the previously un-tested interval between the Main and Bearox showings. Of the twenty holes drilled, two were lost and seven failed to intercept the 025FZ. Generally the geology in the holes is very simple and consists of well banded argillite siltstone and greywacke. Narrow zones of quartz breccia, quartz-carbonate veining and shearing occur throughout these rocks. These zones may be parallel or oblique to bedding. Minor fine-grained, disseminated sulphides are pervasive within these rocks and rarely massive sulphides are found on fracture planes. The six holes drilled to test 025 fault zone in the previously un-drilled Barney showing area revealed that the geology is much more complex than in the Main/Bearox area. See the Barney (104M 080) for further details.
In 2008 work by CZM included: 20 diamond drill holes totalling 3,456.5 metres; prospecting, mechanical trenching, and sampling based on targets generated by compiling the magnetic and geochemical data.
In 2009, Taku Gold Corp announced a 43-101 initial mineral resource estimate from 28 holes drilled on the TAG 025 Zone at the far south end of the 025FZ. The mineral resource estimate includes 250,000 tonnes at 2.97 grams per tonne gold (cut) and 12.09 grams per tonne silver (cut) classified as Indicated mineral resources (cut) and a further 400,000 tonnes 2.98 grams per tonne gold (cut) and 9.91 grams per tonne silver (cut) classified as Inferred mineral resources (Assessment Report 33934).
In 2010, CZM changed its name to Taku Gold Corp.
In 2012, a total of 53 deep-auger-type soil samples including field duplicates were collected with hand augers at 50m sample intervals on pre-determined GPS lines. A total of 23 rock samples were collected primarily from the southeast corner of the Property, where previous work is limited, but also in the north-central part near the 025 Zone.
