The Ajax occurrence lies on a north eastern ridge of Merry Widow Mountain, approximately 500 metres east of Newt Lake.

Regionally, the area is underlain by basaltic volcanic rocks of the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation (Vancouver Group), which are overlain sequentially by limestone of the Upper Triassic Quatsino Formation (Vancouver Group); limestone, mudstone and siltstone of the Upper Triassic Parson Bay Formation (Bonanza Group) and mixed volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Lower Jurassic LeMare Lake volcanic unit (Bonanza Group). The volcanic and sedimentary rocks have been intruded by gabbro to quartz diorite of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite.

The occurrence, consisting of an Upper and Lower zone, lies 150 metres east of the gabbro-diorite "Coast Copper Stock" of the Upper Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite. Mineralization occurs near the contact between Upper Triassic Vancouver Group, Quatsino Formation limestone and Lower Jurassic Bonanza Group fragmental andesite. A greenstone dike or sill lies immediately east of the occurrence. Several faults localize the magnetite mineralization.

Lamb (1961) recognized two ore zones. The Upper Zone outcrops over an area of 30 by 25 metres, in which narrow bands of disseminated magnetite replace skarned volcanics, with interlacing small, often vuggy, magnetite veinlets. The Lower Zone, exposed over an area of 12 by 15 metres, contains a 6 metre wide, 30-degree northwest dipping band of massive magnetite replacing limestone near a northeast striking fault contact with greenstone.

Lamb (1961) reports a dip needle survey which outlined an anomalous area of 120 by 90 metres. Sangster (Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 172, page 66) also reports a breccia of altered volcanic rocks in a matrix of garnet skarn, and fragments of skarn in turn surrounded by massive magnetite. He also reports vuggy clusters of chlorite in massive magnetite.

Work History

The area has been explored in conjunction with the Merry Widow (MINFILE 092L 044) deposits since the early 1900’s. In 1968, Quatsino Copper Gold completed a program of airborne magnetic and radiometric geophysical surveys on the area. In 1970, Alice Lake Minerals completed an aeromagnetic survey. During 1989, through 1992, Taywin Resources completed programs of geological mapping, trenching and surface sampling on the area. During 2005 through 2012, Grande Portage Resources completed programs of rock, silt and soil sampling, geological mapping, airborne electromagnetic and magnetic surveys and a ground magnetometer survey on the area. In 2016 and 2017, Bridgeland Minerals completed a radar satellite and LiDAR orthophoto geological interpretation program on the area as the Blue Gold/Merry Widow property. In 2019, Mirva Properties Ltd. completed a rock sampling program on the Merry Widow property. In 2020, Roughrider Exploration Ltd. completed a program of rock, silt and soil sampling on the area as the Empire Mine property.