The Dominion Creek occurrence is located along Dominion Creek, a tributary of Haggen Creek, approximately 43 kilometres north of Wells.
The regional geology is comprised of Upper Proterozoic to Cambrian continental margin sediments including quartzite, sandstone, siltstone, shale and limestone. The rocks are considered part of the Cariboo sub-terrane which is part of the Cassiar Terrane consisting of displaced continental margin sediments. These rocks have been grouped with the Upper Proterozoic Windermere tectonic assemblage, which consists mainly of clastic continental margin sediments of the Lower Cambrian Gog tectonic assemblage which consists of rifted and passive continental margin sediments.
On the property only rocks of the Hadrynian (Upper Proterozoic), Isaac and Cunningham formations (Cariboo Group) occur. The area has been deformed into a series of northwest plunging fold structures. The northwest trending Isaac Lake fault which roughly cuts through the centre of the property separates the Isaac Lake synclinorium to the east and the Lanezi arch or anticlinorium to the west.
The Isaac Lake Formation consists predominantly of dark grey to black, fine grained, finely laminated, fissile, phyllitic to slaty argillite. It is variably graphitic, calcareous and pyritic. Grey to black micritic limestone also forms a major component of the Isaac Formation, especially near the upper gradational contact with the Cunningham Formation. The overlying Cunningham Formation consists of massive to faintly laminated, micritic to finely crystalline limestone.
The bedding attitudes are consistently northwest to west and moderate to steeply dipping southwest. Two prominent jointing sets were reported, the first is generally parallel to foliation (parallel to bedding) and the second set is generally perpendicular to foliation and dips steeply to the east.
Two mineralized zones, the South and North zones occur on the property. The South zone consists of a massive white quartz and silicified quartz breccia vein with up to 10 per cent galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite at the fault contact between siltstones and limestones. The structure parallels the fault and crosscuts the bedding. Other veins in the South zone have similar mineralogy but tend to be parallel with bedding and dips at about 70 degrees. The best assay from this zone was 27.53 grams per tonne gold over 0.65 metre. The North zone consists of two gold-bearing quartz veins with widths ranging from 0.25 to 2.0 metres.
In 1984, a provincial government Regional Geochemical Survey conducted in this area identified significant geochemical anomalies (lead, arsenic, antimony, cobalt and iron) along the watersheds in the Isaac Lake fault structure. Several geochemical anomalies along the upper reaches of Dominion Creek were within the 95th and 98th percentile of all samples taken in the survey. The government returned in 1985 for a follow-up survey of the Dominion Creek area. Silt and panned concentrate samples confirmed anomalous values in lead, arsenic and antimony. Maximum gold values from silt samples were 20 parts per billion (ppb) and up to 1000 ppb from panned concentrate. In 1985, high grade gold vein mineralization was discovered near Dominion Creek by Nathen Kencayd. The claims were optioned to Noranda Exploration Company Ltd. which carried out exploration programs from 1986 to 1988. They discovered two mineralized showings at the junction of the Discovery (Camp) Creek and Dominion Creek (North and South [Main or 155] zones). Noranda Exploration Company Ltd.’s exploration program included a stream sediment survey, a grid soil survey, trenching and 53 diamond-drill holes totalling 3484 metres. Drill results included 18 intercepts of 1-10 metres in thickness with gold grades ranging from 4 to 40 grams per tonne.
In 1989, Noranda Exploration Company Ltd. terminated all exploration in British Columbia and returned the property to Mr. Kencayd. Mr. A. Raven purchased the property in that same year. He exposed the South zone and stockpiled ore-grade material. Mr. Raven entered into a joint venture with Aquila Resources Ltd. in 1990. In 1992, the joint venture partners completed an 1180-tonne bulk sample averaging 14.0 grams per tonne gold which was removed from the above two vein structures, now known as the Pit Vein and the 16 Vein. A grab sample from the remaining stockpile returned 108 grams per tonne gold and 211.6 grams per tonne silver. The bulk sample from the South zone was mined and milled. Mill head grades averaged 14.1 grams per tonne gold and recovery averaged about 93 per cent (G. Hawthorn, personal communication, 1992). Approximately 80 tonnes of concentrate were recovered and shipped to the Cominco smelter in Trail for processing.
Gold City Industries Ltd. acquired claims adjoining the Dominion Creek property in the mid-1990s after identifying the potential along the Isaac Lake fault and south of the known mineralized zones. A combination of extremely anomalous results above the North and South zones from the government surveys, anomalies at the headwaters of Littlefield Creek and the northwesterly direction of glacial ice indicates the very good potential for additional mineralization within the Domin Project area. In 1998, Raven undertook a detailed float prospecting and soil geochemistry program.
Gold City Industries Ltd. acquired the option to the Dominion Creek claims on April 17, 2000 and completed an exploration program consisting of geological mapping, a stream sediment survey, a soil geochemistry survey and prospecting followed by a 17 hole, 1100 metre drill program on the South zone.
In 2001, sampling of the 2B vein structure returned values of 17 grams per tonne over 4.9 metres and 0.8 metre of 77 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 26435).
In 2004, an amended option agreement was made between Gold City Industries Ltd. and Ron MacArthur and Alan Raven (the vendors), whereby the company has the option to earn a 100 per cent interest in the Dominion Creek property. In the same year, a program of soil geochemical surveys was completed to further delineate anomalous areas south of the main zone.
In 2015, High Range Exploration Ltd. and Angel Jade Mines Ltd. conducted a program of research, data compilation, ARD/ML sampling and testing, data analysis/interpretation and field work in support of a 10,000-tonne bulk sample program to be carried out upon the issuance of the required permits by Ministry of Mines.
