The Getty South deposit is located in the northern headwaters of Witches Brook, 14.5 kilometres west-northwest of the community of Logan Lake.
The deposit lies on the southern boundary of an extensive area of post-mineral cover consisting of continental volcanic and interbedded sedimentary rocks of the Eocene Kamloops Group, which overlie plutonic rocks of the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Guichon Creek Batholith.
The deposit occurs within a broad northwest-trending zone, which is host to a number of mineralized porphyry systems including the Getty North deposit (MINFILE 092INE038), 3 kilometres to the north, and the Bethlehem mine (MINFILE 092ISE001), approximately 5 kilometres south. Typically, mineralization occurs within quartz diorites of the Guichon variety (Highland Valley phase) of the Guichon Creek Batholith, and within younger anastomosing dikes and small stocks. The dikes and stocks resemble quartz diorites of the Bethlehem phase of the batholith. The Kamloops Group rocks cover the northern half of the mineralized zone and have protected an older oxidized cap that is as much as 100 metres thick.
This mineralized zone is characterized by numerous subparallel, northwest-trending porphyry dikes, as well as by prominent fracture-related, but non-pervasive, chlorite-epidote-chalcopyrite±pyrite±bornite hydrothermal vein and fracture selvage assemblages. Smaller zones of pervasive chlorite-clay alteration, some containing strong chalcopyrite mineralization, occur frequently at the margins of porphyry dikes.
The Getty South deposit, previously known as the Trojan or South Seas deposit, occurs within a breccia zone just east of a major, north-striking regional fault. The breccia-hosted deposit is elliptical in shape and measures 575 by 550 metres. The deposit is hosted in Guichon variety quartz diorite, intruded by dacite and quartz diorite porphyritic dikes, and cut by widespread faulting. The breccia consists of fragments of quartz diorite and feldspar porphyry set in a matrix of finely broken rock, specular hematite, tourmaline, brown biotite, quartz and calcite. Chalcopyrite occurs as stringers and coarse blebs in the breccia matrix. Bornite, native copper, malachite, chrysocolla, azurite and tenorite have also been reported.
Work History
The occurrences were staked prior to 1903 as the Albatross group and were developed by trenches and two short adits. The claims were restaked in 1915 as the Canopus group but no exploration work was reported. Trojan Exploration acquired the property in 1955 and became Trojan Consolidated Mines Ltd. in 1956. Work from 1955 to 1958 included geophysical surveys, a shaft to 49 metres with 268.5 metres of crosscutting and 44 surface diamond drill holes, totalling 8934 metres. The property was under option to Newmont Mining Corporation in 1959 and three holes totalling 458 metres were completed. In August 1959, Rio Tinto Canadian Exploration Limited optioned the property, conducted an induced polarization survey and completed one diamond drill hole totalling 103.6 metres. Trojan resumed operation in 1960 and, from 1961 to 1962, diamond drilling was done underground (14 holes totalling 598.3 metres) and on the surface (6 holes totalling 580 metres). South Seas Mining Limited purchased 57 claims from Trojan in 1962 and excavated 408.4 metres of crosscuts and drifts in 1963. The Mitsui Mining and Smelting Company Limited optioned the property in 1964 and completed 4033.8 metres of diamond drilling in 23 holes. During 1966 and 1967, South Seas extended the underground workings by 787.9 metres. Phelps Dodge Corporation optioned the property in 1968 and carried out 358.7 metres of underground development, 1242.9 metres of surface diamond drilling, 291.4 metres of underground diamond drilling and an induced polarization survey. The option was dropped later in 1968. In 1969 to 1970, Pechiney Development Limited optioned the property and completed 18 diamond drill holes, totalling 2945.4 metres, and 8 percussion drill holes, totalling 588.2 metres. In 1972, Leemac Mines Ltd. optioned a 70 per cent interest from South Seas and drilled 50 percussion drill holes, totalling 1708.3 metres. The option expired in 1974. The property changed hands several more times in the 1970s and 1980s, with the only work reported being a 1982 magnetometer survey covering this zone and the Krain (Getty North) deposit (MINFILE 092INE038) and conducted by TRV Minerals Corporation.
Getty Copper Corporation acquired the claims at some point prior to 1995 and resumed exploration on the Getty South occurrence in 1996. In 1996, Getty drilled 13 diamond drill holes, totalling 3236 metres. During 1997, the company conducted a 1500-metre bedrock trenching program, which was reported to have encountered extensive oxidized mineralization of excellent grade along with smaller exposures of fresh, high-grade, copper sulphide mineralization.
More than 15 000 metres of diamond drilling and 1775 metres of underground development by previous operators has determined an initial deposit of 36 000 000 tonnes of open-pittable oxide and sulphide mineralization grading 0.47 per cent copper. Included in this deposit is 719 500 tonnes grading 1.41 per cent copper in three zones previously defined within the underground workings. The reserves were estimated by Gower, Thompson and Associates in 1992, and confirmed by independent consultants Watts, Griffis and McOuat in 1996 (Northern Miner - March 10, 1997 [insert] and Getty Copper Corp. website [http://www.gettycopper.com/projects.html]).
In 2005, Getty Copper Corp. completed a program of geological mapping and an induced polarization survey, totalling 193.5 line-kilometres, on the area as part of the Getty Copper property.
In 2010, Getty Copper released an NI 43-101 compliant update of the probable indicated and inferred resource evaluation of the Getty North and South deposits (Assessment Report 31541).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Deposit Indicated Resources Grade (millions of tonnes) Copper (%) Molybdenum (%) North 69.258 0.370 0.005 South 45.148 0.377 No Data Total 114.406 0.373 ----- Deposit Inferred Resources Grade (millions of tonnes) Copper (%) Molybdenum (%) North 18.166 0.271 0.005 South 23.593 0.278 No Data Total 41.759 0.275 ----- Deposit Probable Reserves Grade (millions of tonnes) Copper (%) Molybdenum (%) North 49.691 0.397 0.005 South 36.870 0.405 No Data Total 86.561 0.400 ----- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
In 2011, a ground magnetic survey, totalling 19.2 line-kilometres, and an induced polarization survey, totalling 23.2 line-kilometres, were completed on the area.
In 2015, Peter E. Walcott & Associates Limited completed an inversion and 3D modelling of historical induced polarization survey data to model subsurface chargeability anomalies and a regional compilation of magnetics and gravity anomalies over the Getty property.
In 2018, Peter E. Walcott & Associates Limited conducted a 120 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey over the Getty South area. During the same year, a 4.5 line-kilometre direct current resistivity survey was completed.
In 2019, Peter E. Walcott & Associates Limited undertook a direct current resistivity survey on the Getty property, designed to continue features of interest from the 2018 resistivity survey, 16 line-kilometres of gravity surveys and 120 line-kilometres of ground magnetics. A 3D inversion of historical magnetotelluric data over the Getty North deposit and a follow up ELF survey over 33 line-kilometres throughout the historical areas, Getty South, and Glossie areas were also completed. Getty Copper Inc. collected 194 pine bark samples throughout the Getty property.
Please refer also to the Getty North deposit (MINFILE 092INE038), located 3 kilometres north, for further details and related bibliographic references.
