The Pen 10 occurrence is located on a north-facing slope, approximately 400 metres southeast of Brenda Lake and 25 kilometres west of Kelowna.
Regionally, the area is underlain by volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group and granodiorite of the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic Pennask Batholith. Lithologies of the Nicola Group include argillite, siltstone and limestone interspersed with felsic to mafic flows and tuffs. Quartz veining is abundant locally near the edges of the batholith, which comprises white to grey, medium- to fine-grained granodiorite. Silicification and bleaching of the volcanics and argillite is present near contacts with intrusives.
Locally, a diorite and altered volcanics crosscut by feldspar porphyry dikes hosts shallow dipping, 1- to 35-centimetre-wide quartz veins with pyrite with lesser pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, molybdenite, galena, sphalerite, arsenopyrite and tetrahedrite mineralization. Native gold and bismuthinite(?) have been identified in nearby quartz vein float and outcrop samples. Mineralized veins have been traced over an area of approximately 450 metres in diameter.
Work History
The area was originally explored in the 1960s for copper-molybdenum mineralization similar to that of the Brenda (MINFILE 092HNE047) deposit to the east.
During 1986 through 1990, Fairfield Minerals Ltd. completed prospecting in the area and subsequently staked the claims in 1990. In 1991, Fairfield Minerals Ltd. conducted soil sampling and prospecting consisting of 2886 soil and 35 rock samples. Several reconnaissance rock samples returned significant gold values, including sample PEN91-R30, returning 5.95 grams per tonne gold and 15.1 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 22304). In 1992, Fairfield Minerals Ltd. followed up on anomalous soil sites found in 1991 and completed prospecting that led to the discovery of the Pen 10 occurrence.
In 1993, Fairfield Minerals Ltd. collected 1156 soil, 11 rock and 3 stream sediment samples from the Pen claims. A grab sample (PEN93-R3) from an outcrop of siliceous and pyritic tuff with limonitic quartz vines and/or lenses up to 10 centimetres wide yielded 1.49 grams per tonne gold, whereas a nearby float sample (PEN93-R1) of angular quartz with disseminated pyrite assayed 35.80 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 23255).
In 1994, Fairfield Minerals Ltd. executed an exploration program of infill soil sampling, trenching and rock sampling on the Pen property. Two trenches totalling 122 metres were excavated, mapped and sampled. Highlights included chip sample PE941-3, which assayed 46.1 grams per tonne gold over 0.65 metre (Assessment Report 23919).
In 1995, Fairfield Minerals Ltd. completed soil geochemical surveys, rock sampling and 124.05 metres of diamond drilling in five holes. No significant mineralization was found in the drillcore. A select grab sample (PEN95-R2) of quartz veined bedrock assayed 112.00 grams per tonne gold and 25.8 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 24469).
In 1996, Fairfield Minerals Ltd. completed a program geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the area.
In 2012, the area was prospected and rock sampled by B. Kreft as the Brenda SE claim. A rock chip sample (RGNB12-R004) from a quartz-veined and silicified volcanic outcrop assayed 12.25 grams per tonne gold over 3.0 metres (Assessment Report 33473).
In 2016, Gorilla Minerals Corp. completed a soil and rock sampling program on the area as the New Brenda property. In 2018, Flow Metals Corp. completed a program of geological mapping, spectral and structural analysis and rock sampling on the New Brenda property. The following year, a program of geochemical (rock and soil) sampling, structural analysis and minor trenching was completed on the property. Also in 2018, Go Cobalt Mining Corp. completed a minor program of DEM lineament analysis and remote sensing, prospecting and rock sampling on the area as the New Brenda property.
In 2019, Flow Metals Corp. completed a limited program of trenching and soil sampling on the property.
