The Bluebird 1 occurrence is located on a ridge north of Merry Widow Creek, approximately 1.3 kilometres south-southeast 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 diabase and basaltic intrusive rocks of the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Bonanza Group to the north and gabbro to quartz diorite of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite to the west.

The occurrence consists of a narrow lens of massive sulphides containing abundant pyrrhotite with lesser magnetite, chalcopyrite, black sphalerite, arsenopyrite and trace gold and cobaltite. Within the sulphides are small quantities of carbonate, epidote, garnet and chlorite. The sulphide lens is gently dipping and is hosted in thinly-bedded tuffs of the Lower Jurassic Bonanza Group (Open File 1991-8).

In 2020, grab samples of silicified volcanics hosting disseminated pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite exposed along a deactivated roadcut in the Bluebird 1 occurrence area yielded up to 11.2 grams per tonne gold, 36.8 grams per tonne silver, 0.076 per cent cobalt and 2.13 per cent copper (Assessment Report 39420).

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.