The Friend occurrences are located approximately 3 kilometres east of the community of Zeballos and are exposed over a strike distance of 580 metres along Friend Creek, from elevations of approximately 265 to 488 metres.
Regionally, the area is underlain by Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Bonanza Group basaltic to rhyolitic volcanic rocks. Conformably underlying the Bonanza volcanic rocks are limestones and limy clastics of the Triassic to Lower Jurassic Parson Bay Formation (Bonanza and Vancouver groups) and Upper Triassic Quatsino Formation (Vancouver Group), and tholeiitic basalts of the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation (Vancouver Group). Dioritic to granodioritic plutons of the Zeballos intrusion phase of the Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite have intruded all older rocks. The Zeballos stock, a quartz diorite phase of the Eocene to Oligocene Mount Washington Plutonic Suite, is spatially related to gold-quartz veining in the area. Bedded rocks are predominantly northwest striking, southwest dipping, and anticlinally folded about a northwest axis.
The Friend occurrence is comprised of three widely spaced quartz veins occurring along Friend Creek in a sequence of dark-green argillaceous tuff, actinolite-altered limestone and andesite of the Bonanza Group. Andesite and feldspar porphyry dikes striking northeast are common. Small hornblende diorite and gabbro dikes(?) occurring in the middle and lower showings may be related to a small hornblende diorite stock of the Eocene Zeballos stock located to the southwest. The three veins occur in a north-trending structure marked by a 15-metre-wide chlorite alteration zone.
The lowermost, Number One vein, at an elevation of 265 metres, is exposed over 10 metres and follows a shear, 15 to 60 centimetres wide, striking 340 degrees and dipping 70 degrees east. The vein is 3 to 10 centimetres wide and consists of quartz and calcite, with ribbons of fine arsenopyrite, but no other sulphides. The highest assay of four samples returned 6.2 grams per tonne gold over 10.0 centimetres (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 272, page 53).
The Number Two vein, located in a shear zone at an elevation of 360 metres and 122 metres north of the Number One vein, strikes approximately 050 degrees and dips vertically. The vein hosts pyrite, arsenopyrite and free gold. It was explored by two adits, 20 and 36 metres long. The vein appears to pinch out. Two samples from the upper adit, each greater than 7.5 centimetres in length or width, assayed 90.8 grams per tonne and 41.1 grams per tonne gold, respectively (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 272, page 53).
The third vein is located at an elevation of 488 metres, 580 metres north of the Number One vein along Friend Creek. It consists of a silicified zone, 30 to 150 centimetres wide, with stringers and lenses of quartz with pyrite, arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite. Sulphides compose up to 20 per cent of the vein. A sample from the third vein assayed 8.60 grams per tonne gold and 37.4 grams per tonne silver (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 272, page 54).
Work History
The area has been explored since the 1920s, with adits being driven on two of the three veins during 1938 through 1946. In 1974, Canadian Superior Exploration Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping and rock and soil sampling was completed on the Zeb and Banko Claims. In 1984, Billiken Resources completed a ground electromagnetic survey was completed on the Beano 2 claim. In 1989, a further program of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping, trenching and a 1.7 line-kilometre ground electromagnetic survey was completed. During 2011 through 2019, North Bay Resources Inc. completed programs of prospecting and geochemical (rock and silt) sampling the area as the Zeballos Gold property.
