The Gold Creek Zone occurrence is located on the north side of the Teihsum River, approximately 4.4 kilometres east-southeast of the river mouth. Access is by logging roads from Port Alice to the V.L. Main. From there, a gated logging road (Western Forest Products, 1994) proceeds up the Teishum River. Access has been poor due to several washouts but they road may have been repaired over time.
The area is underlain primarily by volcanic rocks of the Lower Jurassic Bonanza Group. Carbonates of the Triassic Parson's Bay Formation are exposed in the river valley. It is these rocks that host the mineralization. Many basic to felsic dikes criss-cross the area. The overlying volcanic rocks comprise green and maroon basalt flows with some limestone interbeds. The Parson's Bay Formation carbonates exposed in the valley comprise black, thin- bedded, tuffaceous limestone, limestone agglomerate (breccia?) and reefal limestone with well-preserved shell fossils. Felsite dikes and sills intrude the limestone and are often mineralized. Later diorite dikes are also present.
Locally, mineralization is exposed in shear zones and as replacements over a distance of 100 metres.
A 0.5-metre-wide shear zone, striking north-northeast and dipping steeply, hosts malachite, chalcopyrite, pyrite and minor realgar mineralization. In 1994, a 0.5 metre chip sample (AR-1) assayed 0.823 gram per tonne gold, 0.167 per cent copper and 11.6 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 23645).
A diorite dike, striking north-south, cuts tuffaceous limestone in the vicinity of the previous shear and shows replacement mineralization of malachite, chalcopyrite and pyrite over a 5 metre width along the dike edge. In 1994, a chip sample (AR-3) assayed 9.47 grams per tonne gold, 35.4 grams per tonne silver and 2.09 per cent copper over an area of 1 by 2 metres (Assessment Report 23645).
In 1997, a panel sample taken over a 0.5 by 0.5 metre area of a malachite-stained rusty pod assayed 3.87 grams per tonne gold, 14.06 grams per tonne silver and 1.07 per cent copper (Assessment Report 24971).
In 2005, a 0.5 metre channel sample (TGC-1) assayed 13.72 grams per tonne gold and 5.3 per cent copper (Assessment Report 27807).
Work History
Documented exploration in the area began in 1984 when the "Vancouver Island Syndicate" performed some regional geochemical surveys west of the property. This was followed by some geochemical work by Westmin in 1985 that covered the area of the showings. This work identified a strong gold geochemical anomaly in the area of Deadfall Creek (Gold Creek Zone). In 1990, Granges did some work in the area but did not pursue it aggressively. In 1994, J.W. Laird prospected the area as the A 1-4 claims. In 1997, Cascade Metals completed a program of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping and ground geophysical surveys on the area as the Teihsum River Gold project.
In 2003, J.W. Laird prospected the area as the J 1-4 claims. In 2004 and 2005, Red Lake Resources completed a program of geological sampling and one 96.93-metre-long drill hole. In 2007, Grande Portage Resources Ltd. completed a program of geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and a 1748.1 line-kilometre airborne magnetic survey on the area as the Merry Widow and Merry Widow Extension properties. During 2011 through 2013, Homegold Resources completed limited programs of prospecting, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and air photo geological interpretation on the area as the Raging River project. In 2020, Roughrider Exploration Ltd. completed a program of rock, silt and soil sampling on the area as the Empire Mine property.
