The Hayfield Bluffs occurrence is located on a ridge separating Bluff Lake and a southwestern tributary of Butler Creek.
The area is underlain by Middle to Upper Triassic basaltic volcanics and sediments of the Cadwallader Group, intruded by quartz diorite of the Late Triassic Cadwallader plutonic suite formerly assigned to the Jurassic to Tertiary Coast Plutonic Complex (Geological Survey of Canada Open File 1163, Map 1713A). The area lies between two major northwest-striking faults, the Yalakom and Tchaikazan faults, along the northeastern margin of the Coast Plutonic Complex. A splay of the latter, the Niut fault, occurs just south of the area of interest (Geological Survey of Canada Open File 1163). Locally, a broad quartz-tourmaline zone with chalcopyrite is exposed in an area of malachite coated cliff faces.
In late 2006, Newmac Resoures Inc. completed an option agreement for the Bluff Claims and were followed closely by a geophysical survey totalling 28.2 kilometers of IP and magnetics. The geophysical program delineated several targets to be followed up by diamond drilling.
In 2007, Newmac Resources completed a 14-hole diamond drill program on its Bluff claims, totalling 2389.4 metres. A drill core sample (8084) assayed 0.743 per cent copper and 3.6 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 29526). Results of the program were inconclusive. Drill core was not systematically sampled and that core which was assayed was reported to not be of significance. However, un-split core stored on site at the Rolston Ranch shows varying degrees of copper mineralization, particularly in holes 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8.
Hole 07-2 was drilled to a depth of 249.5 metres and was set to test the flanks of a local mag anomaly in close proximity to an area where chalcopyrite and tourmaline are locally common fracture constituents. Hole BL 07-03 was collared from the same set up as hole 2 but turned to 100/-60 to penetrate the flanks of a local high magnetic expression in order to cross local structures, which might host shear or vein style mineralization. (Some of Sue Rolston's best samples were strongly magnetic.) From 8.2 metres to 196.7 metres the drill was in andesite agglomerate with common quartz tourmaline along fractures. Minor chalcopyrite was encountered with the quartz-tourmaline mineralization. At 196.7 metres to 249 metres the rock was a grey quartz diorite, without any significant mineralization.
The Pretty Pile showing with tourmaline breccia (pipes or dikes) and breccia shears (10 to 20 centimetres wide) is located in the Hayfield Bluffs zone where drill hole BL 07-03 was put down in 2007 (Assessment Report 35754). The breccia contains chalcopyrite, bornite and pyrite. The 2019 Tchaikazan program was successful in extending copper-rich tourmaline breccia from its discovery outcrop to 500 metres to the northwest along a 330-degree to 340-degree trend along the Hayfield Bluffs. Sampling in the area of the Painted Bluff extended that mineralized zone some 150 to the south-east along a 135 degrees trend.
WORK HISTORY
In early 2007, a diamond drilling program was initiated by Newmac Resoures Inc. who completed 2389.4 metres of NQ coring in 14 holes (Assessment Report 29526). Drilling was done in the Rolston Ranch (“C” grid) area. Holes 07-09 to 14 tested IP changeability anomalies and failed to locate economic mineralization.
In 2012, Susan Rolston formed Tchaikazan Resources Ltd. to manage the expanding land holdings. Work since that time, has been undertaken on behalf of the company. The 2012 geochemical program consisted of rock sampling on three areas of the Bluff claim block.
In 2015, Tchaikazan's work program included prospecting in the West Butler Creek area just upstream from the confluence of East and West Butler Creeks in the Bornite zone (Assessment Report 35754). Fifteen samples, six grabs and nine chips, were collected for assay. In addition, a review of mineralized structures in the “Pretty Pile” area, the Painted Bluffs and the Slide area was undertaken to more accurately locate and orient the local copper/gold and molybdenum mineralization (Figure 5 and 6, Assessment Report 35754).
The 2016 geochemical program Tchaikazan Resources Inc. consisted of the collection of 33 soil samples and produced a coincident copper/arsenic/antimony geochemical anomaly over the geophysical anomaly defined in the 2015 program (Assessment Report 36772). Mapping along the Hayfield Bluff (BL7-3) indicated a possible mineralized system in the vicinity of the Painted Bluff copper showing and diamond drill hole BL07-08.
The 2019 program was successful in extending copper-rich tourmaline breccia from its discovery outcrop to 500 metres to the northwest along a 330-degree to 340-degree trend along the Hayfield Bluffs (Assessment Report 38580). Sampling in the area of the Painted Bluff extended that mineralized zone some 150 to the south-east along a 135 degrees trend. Samples POI5 through POI8 and WP3 were collected on the Bluff claim from the Painted Bluff, Slide and Hayfield Bluffs areas by Susan Rolston.
In 2020, Rolston had a geophysical interpretation report completed on the Bluff Copper-Gold property (Assessment Report 39146). S.J.V. Consultants Ltd. was retained to evaluate historical geophysical data, including an airborne magnetic, VLF-EM and EM survey data, acquired by Aerodat Limited in 1989 and several vintages of induced polarization data gathered by various companies and contractors from 1990 to 2006.
Refer to Roadcut (092N 070), MAC (092N 054), Newmac (092N 054) and BU (092N 030) for related geological and work history details.
