The Gin showing is located 200 metres south of the west end of Cerulean Lake, south of Tenquille Creek.
The region is underlain by a large northwest trending, northeast dipping, right-side-up, roof pendant consisting of volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Upper Triassic Cadwallader Group. The pendant is contained within intrusive rock, ranging from granite to granodiorite to quartz diorite, of the Jurassic to Cretaceous Coast Plutonic Complex. The Cadwallader Group is unconformably overlain by a relatively thin section of volcano-sedimentary rocks thought to be of Jurassic or Cretaceous age. The Spetch Creek pluton intrudes these two stratigraphic packages. Isolated exposures of Tertiary basalts overlie the above rock units.
At the Gin showing the Cadwallader Group has been subdivided into five units which from oldest to youngest are: 1) massive andesite, 2) mixed pyroclastic, 3) felsic volcanic, 4) mixed pyroclastic and 5) sedimentary. The massive andesite units consists of dark green massive basaltic andesite flows. The mixed pyroclastic unit consists of pale to dark green andesitic to dacitic fine tuffs, lthic tuffs, feldspar crystal tuffs and lapilli tuff with minor interbedded porphyritic flows. The felsic volcanic unit consists of light grey to pale green rhyolite and rhyodacite flows, commonly feldspar porphyritic. The mixed pyroclastic and sedimentary unit consists of well bedded andesite to dacite, lithic and lapilli tuffs with abundant limestone, limestone breccias, calcareous feldspar-rich wackes, black shale, siltstone and chert interbeds. The upper sedimentary unit consists of an upward fining sequence of cobble conglomerate, feldspar-rich greywackes and sandstones, black shale and chert. The showing is hosted by limestone in an assemblage of andesite and dacite flows, breccia and tuff and sedimentary rocks.
The Gin showing consists of massive pyrrhotite skarn, with sphalerite and chalcopyrite adjacent to the Spetch Creek pluton. Copper and zinc concentrations are patchy. The mineralized zone is 3 metres wide by 300 metres long. The adjacent granite is extremely oxidized and rusty, containing fine seams and clots of pyrite and chalcopyrite. Pyritic seams within the Spetch pluton contains up to 0.13 per cent copper (Sample 14206) (Assessment Report 21274). Lenses of pyrrhotite, with occasional trace chalcopyrite and sphalerite are hosted in mudstones and cherty beds. Associated rocks are well bedded lithic tuffs and feldspar-rich wackes of the Cadwallader Group. Local patchy oxidized pyrrhotite clots occur throughout the hostrocks. The mineralization appears to be due to hornfelsing of more calcareous beds.
The best results from seven samples taken from the Gin showing yielded 0.10 per cent copper, 1.30 per cent zinc, 0.6 grams per tonne silver, 0.12 per cent cobalt, 0.59 per cent bismuth and 0.58 per cent manganese (Assessment Report 21274).
Work History
Mineral exploration began in the Tenquille Lake area in 1916, during the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. Between 1923 and 1937, work was conducted on the Gold King (092JNE054) and Dora May claims, and the Li-Li-Kel (092JNE052) property. The zinc-rich skarn and shear-hosted vein type mineralization on the Gold King and Dora May were explored by several opencuts and diamond drilling. Little other work was conducted until the 1960s when Phelps Dodge Corp. carried out exploration work in the area. Various other companies have conducted limited exploration throughout the surrounding area since. In 1990, Teck Corp. staked the Apollo, Sun and God claims of the Sungod property covering the Gin showing. In 2003, the area was staked as the Gold King property by J.T. Shearer. During 2004 through 2006, Goldking Mining Ltd. (later Wolverine Minerals Corp.) completed programs of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping and an induced polarization survey on the area.
