The Sitting Bull occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 900 metres on a southeast-facing slope, west of Harper Creek and approximately 2.7 kilometres north-northwest of the creeks’ mouth on North Barriere Lake.
The area is underlain by metavolcanics and lesser metasedimentary rocks of the Eagle Bay Formation of Devonian to Mississippian age. The volcanics include felsic tuffs and flows, metamorphosed to quartz- sericite schists and quartz-chlorite schists. The metavolcanics are intercalated with and overlain by limestone, graphitic argillite and phyllite.
The rocks trend northwest, with a prominent foliation dipping moderately to the southwest and locally striking east-west with a 29 degree dip to the south.
Small stocks of fine-grained, porphyritic granodiorite to quartz diorite intrude the metavolcanics. The Cretaceous Baldy Batholith of quartz monzonite to granodiorite composition lies north of the area.
A 60 centimetre quartz vein mineralized with chalcopyrite occurs within schist. A sample across the 60 centimetres gave 2.0 per cent copper, 13.7 grams per tonne silver and trace gold (Annual Report 1927).
In 1985, a sample (DAL-11) of chlorite and graphitic schist/phyllite with quartz veining hosting trace pyrite and malachite staining yielded 0.34 per cent copper, greater than 0.40 per cent zinc and 13.7 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 14707).
In 1991, three nearby rock samples (120963 through 120965) yielded values of up to 0.30 gram per tonne gold and 0.208 per cent copper, whereas diamond drill hole NB-93-04 yielded intercepts of up to 0.35 and 0.21 per cent copper over 2.64 and 6.10 metres, respectively (Assessment Report 23240).
Work History
In 1971, Duncanex Resources Ltd. completed a program of soil sampling, geological mapping, trenching and diamond drilling on the area. During the mid-1970s through early-1980s, various exploration programs were completed on the area immediately west as the Bet, Bluff and Percy claims. See the Percy (MINFILE 082M 219) occurrence for a summary of exploration work during this time.
In 1985, Morgain Minerals Inc. completed a program of geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys on the area as the NB 6 claim. Also at this time, Noranda Mining and Exploration Inc. completed a 280 line-kilometre airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey on the area.
During 1989 through 1991, Falconbridge Ltd. completed programs of geochemical (rock and soil) sampling, geological mapping, 97.7 line-kilometres of combined ground magnetic, electromagnetic and induced polarization surveys, trenching and at least nine diamond drill holes, totalling 2619.2 metres, on the Bluff, Bet, Mac, Raven, Rust and Percy claims.
In 1993, Teck Exploration Ltd. completed a program of rock sampling, geological mapping, a self-potential survey and five diamond drill holes, totalling 6118.8 metres, on the NB 6 claim.
During 2005 through 2013, the area was prospected and (rock, silt and soil) sampled as the Stellar claims.