The Bigfoot prospect is located on the west shore of Harrison Lake, at the mouth of Simms Creek. Harrison Hot Springs is located 15 kilometres to the south-southeast.
The present Bigfoot property encompasses the former Sasquatch or Bigfoot property to the north and the SF or Little Bigfoot property (092HSW087) to the south. The Sasquatch property was originally staked in the early 1960s and again in 1967 as the Ho and Sun claims. In 1971, H.V. Barley restaked the property and optioned it to Delphi Resources in 1973. Geological mapping and soil geochemical sampling were carried out by Manex Mining. In 1974, Delphi Resources optioned the property to Quintana Minerals Corp. and a reconnaissance electromagnetic survey was completed. The option was dropped in 1975. In 1976, McIntyre Mines optioned the property and completed geological mapping, soil geochemical sampling and an electromagnetic survey. In 1982, the original Sasquatch showing was restaked as the Duke claims and optioned to Lornex Mining Corp. Ltd. in conjunction with the Little Bigfoot claims to the south. An extensive exploration program was carried out and in 1984, a 927-metre diamond drilling program was completed in 5 holes on the Main Road zone. Lornex later dropped their option. Briana Resources Ltd. acquired the claims and in 1986 and 1987 contracted Shangri-La Minerals Ltd. to carry out two exploration programs. Four target areas were outlined. In 1989, Briana contracted Searchlight Consultants Inc. to carry out heavy mineral sediment and soil geochemical sampling. The claims were allowed to lapse in 1990 and subsequently restaked by S.F. Coombes and later transferred to F. Marshall Smith. Winfield Resources Ltd. conducted geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys in 1992 and additional geophysical surveys in 1998.
To the south, the SF claims were first staked in 1972 and several zinc soil anomalies discovered. Further work in 1973 outlined a zone of anomalous zinc, copper, cadmium and silver soil values, underlain by hydrothermally altered volcanic flows and pyroclastics. In 1974, the claim group was optioned to Swim Lake Mines Ltd. and the claim area extended eastward. Several additional soil anomalies and coincident northwest trending conductors were outlined on the new ground. In 1976, Swim Lake Mines conducted a 457 metre percussion drilling program. Five 91.4-metre holes were completed on the Little Bigfoot grid area. One gold anomaly was intersected in drillhole PD-4 over 6.1 metres. The property was allowed to lapse in the early 1980s. The claims were restaked as the Woolybooger, Bigfoot and Little Bigfoot claims and optioned to Lornex Mining Corp. Ltd. in conjunction with the Bigfoot and Duke claims to the north.
Further geophysical surveys and drilling were conducted in 1984. The drillholes failed to intersect significant mineralization and Lornex relinquished their option. The claims were subsequently acquired by Stacia Ventures Inc. and Mountainside Management Ltd. was contracted to carry out an exploration program. The program outlined three soil geochemical anomalies coincident with favourable geology and two electromagnetic conductors associated with geochemical anomalies. The claims were allowed to lapse in 1990 and subsequently restaked by S.F. Coombes and later transferred to F. Marshall Smith.
The present Bigfoot property was optioned to Winfield Resources Ltd. in 1990. Searchlight Consultants Inc. was contracted to carry out further property exploration.
The dominant regional geological feature in the Harrison Lake region is the Harrison Lake fracture system, which forms a major, northwest trending structure over 100 kilometres in length along Harrison Lake. Rock types on the southwest side of this structure consist of a variety of volcanics, volcaniclastics and sedimentary rocks of the Lower Jurassic Camp Cove Formation, Middle Jurassic Harrison Lake Formation and Middle to Upper Jurassic Echo Island, Mysterious Creek, and Billhook Creek formations. These are overlain by the Lower Cretaceous Fire Lake Group and Lower to Middle Cretaceous Gambier Group. All the above rock types have been intruded by Cretaceous to Tertiary quartz diorite to tonalite intrusions of the Coast Plutonic Complex.
The Bigfoot prospect is underlain by a complex assemblage of volcanic flows, pyroclastics and epiclastics of the Harrison Lake Formation. Massive volcanics and pyroclastics range from basalt to rhyolite in composition, with andesite and rhyodacite predominating. Epiclastic rocks are transitional from lapilli to tuff, volcanic sandstone, argillaceous tuff, mudstone and siltstones. Volcanic conglomerates, greywackes, mudstones and siltstones comprise the epiclastic suite.
The most significant mineralization is exposed on the Bigfoot Grid is in the Main Road zone. The mineralization consists of pyrite, black sphalerite, chalcopyrite and minor galena with quartz and bladed barite as veins, patches and disseminations. This mineralization occurs in a northwest trending belt of dacitic and rhyodacitic pyroclastics.
Relatively fine grained, green rhyodacite or dacite lapilli tuff hosts mineralization at the Main Road zone. Epidote and sericite are common alteration minerals in the pyroclastics. Fine grained, disseminated pyrite occurs in fragments and groundmass, decreasing away from mineralized veinlets. Sphalerite with lesser chalcopyrite, galena and pyrite occur in vuggy quartz plus/minus barite vein filling fractures. Late veinlets and patches contain covellite and secondary lead and zinc minerals. On average, the veins strike 295 degrees and dip 80 degrees northwest to vertical. Individual veins are 20 to 100 millimetres wide and spaced up to 3 metres apart. The Main Road zone forms a northwest trending belt about 300 metres wide, bounded to the north by a probable fault parallel to Simms Creek.
In 1976, a 6.1 metre channel sample (Sample A) taken across the mineralized stringer zone assayed 0.51 gram per tonne gold, 24.6 grams per tonne silver, 5.68 per cent zinc, 0.58 per cent lead and 1.02 per cent copper (Assessment Report 22318). Approximately 180 metres to the northwest of the Main Road zone, and on strike with mineralized veins, a slumped test pit exposes disseminated pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite mineralization. A grab sample (Sample 952) taken from the pit in 1974 yielded 114 grams per tonne silver, 4.83 per cent zinc, 1.22 per cent copper and 0.14 per cent lead (Assessment Report 22318).
The Breccia zone, also located within the Bigfoot grid, consists of quartz veins up to 0.25 metre wide with patchy hematite staining. The veins are hosted in rhyodacite lapilli tuff containing chert fragments up to 0.10 metre diameter. A grab sample (Sample BF-II- 36) from one of these quartz veins yielded 1.43 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 22318). Numerous other sulphide showings are exposed on the Bigfoot Grid. Surface trenching in 1991 was unsuccessful in finding extensions of the known mineralization.
About 360 metres to the southeast at the 10 Mile showing, test pits and 1990 Trench B expose chalcopyrite, sphalerite and minor galena associated with disseminated pyrite within lapilli tuff. This occurrence differs from other sulphide mineralization elsewhere on the property in that it occurs mainly in lapilli tuff fragments. This is interpreted to indicate that, in part, mineralization formed syngenetically with volcanics.
At the Powerline zone, blast and excavator trenching has exposed additional sulphide mineralization. The mineralization is in replacement veins dominated by quartz and sphalerite with lesser pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena and sericite with minor tetrahedrite. The veins are up to 50 millimetres wide and hosted within porphyritic latite flows. Pyrite and sphalerite are also disseminated within the groundmass of the latite. The best grab sample from this zone (Sample BF-II-30) yielded 0.86 gram per tonne gold, 43.0 grams per tonne silver, 0.54 per cent copper, 0.24 per cent lead and 6.3 per cent lead (Assessment Report 22318).
Sulphide mineralization at the Camp showing consists of narrow veins or stringers of pyrite-sphalerite-quartz in bleached porphyritic andesitic dacite. Several other sulphide occurrences have been discovered within the Simms Creek canyon, east of the Main Road zone. These showings are mostly pyrite with minor gold values.
On the Little Bigfoot Grid, pyrite is the most abundant sulphide, occurring in areas of silicification and sericitization as disseminations, blebs, stringers and fracture coatings. Sphalerite and chalcopyrite are reported in several areas in the grid.
