The Transvaal (Getty West) occurrence is located on the northern slopes of South Forge Mountain, approximately 16.8 kilometres northwest of the community of Logan Lake.
The area is located within the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Guichon Creek Batholith and is underlain by Guichon variety (Highland Valley phase) quartz diorite, which has been intruded by Bethlehem phase quartz diorite porphyry dikes and stocks. Numerous intensely altered, well-mineralized granitic crush zones are exposed at the surface. West and northwest of this area these rocks have been intruded by what appears to be a Paleogene or Neogene (?) biotite quartz latite plug and associated dikes.
Locally, veins occur in fractures and joint planes in the batholithic hostrocks and a zone of fracturing has been traced for 91 metres in a north-south direction. Veins consist of black, sooty tourmaline, quartz and fractured wallrock mineralized with minor amounts of azurite, malachite, chrysocolla, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, hematite and magnetite. The veins range in width from 0.5 centimetre to 1 metre, but are generally less than 30 centimetres wide. The length of any one continuous section of a vein is not more than 6 metres.
Work History
From 1996 to 1997, Getty Copper Corp. completed 11 diamond drill holes, totalling 3374 metres, in the Transvaal showing area. The drillholes intersected significant oxide and sulphide copper mineralization, indicating that both types of mineralization are more widespread than previously indicated by surface and underground showings. One 42-metre intersection assayed 0.26 per cent copper and 0.02 per cent molybdenum (George Cross News Letter No.101, 1997).
The Transvaal property was originally staked in 1899 and owned by J. Hosking, W. Knight and G. Novak. The claims were explored in 1901 and 1902, and extensive work was done in 1906 and 1907, while the property was under bond to the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited. Further work was done by G. Novak in 1929 to 1931. The workings consist of two shafts and an adit. Minister of Mines Annual Reports indicate that the main shaft was sunk for 61 metres. On the 30-metre level a drift was run to the west for 49 metres, and another was run to the east for 55 metres. A 12-metre crosscut was run from the east drift. On the 60-metre level a drift was run to the east for 23 metres. Approximately 274 metres northeast of the shaft a sinuous adit was run in for 106 metres. Lateral work in two main branch workings in the adit totalled approximately 86 metres. Numerous cuts and surface trenches are located between the adit and shaft and for 91 metres to the north.
In 1955, Jackson Basin Mining Co. Ltd. (name changed to Jackson Mines Limited) rehabilitated the Transvaal shaft and conducted some cleanup in the 30- and 60-metre levels; a diamond drilling program was also started. In 1956, Trojan Consolidated Mines Ltd. (merged as one company from the voluntary liquidation of Trojan Exploration Limited, Jackson Mines Limited and Tri-Side Mining Corporation Limited) cleaned out the 30- and 60-metre levels of the Transvaal shaft and erected a new headframe; underground work was discontinued following some sampling and diamond drilling. In 1962, Highland Valley Mining Corporation Ltd. mapped and sampled the surface showings and the adit, and diamond drilled nine surface holes, totalling 436 metres. In 1968, Taseko Mines Limited, on behalf of K.D. Houghton, conducted surface diamond drilling of five holes, totalling 457 metres, digging of eight trenches totalling 914 metres, blasting of four pits and an induced polarization survey. More recently, Cominco Ltd. conducted an induced polarization survey over the showings in 1989.
In 1995 and 1996, Getty Copper Corp. conducted a large-scale exploration program on the Getty property, which consists of Getty North (MINFILE 092INE038; historically known as the Krain deposit), Getty South (MINFILE 092INE043; historically known as the Trojan/South Seas deposit) and Getty West (historically known as the Transvaal deposit). As part of this program a soil and stream sediment survey covered the Transvaal showings; eight diamond drill holes, totalling 2330 metres, were completed and an induced polarization and ground magnetic survey was conducted.
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 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 2017, Peter E. Walcott & Associates completed a 16 line-kilometre induced polarization survey, designed to expand previous survey areas and test the thickness of volcanic cover. Getty Copper Inc. carried out 36 line-kilometres of gravitational surveying and 79 line-kilometre of ground magnetic surveying over the Getty West and Getty North portions of the Getty property.
In 2019, Peter E. Walcott & Associates undertook 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.
Please refer also to the Getty North deposit (MINFILE 092INE038) for further details and related bibliographic references.
