In the Ace prospect area, a prominent gossan exists along a northeast trending series of granodiorite dike swarms related to the Late Cretaceous Bulkley Plutonic Suite. These dikes and related hornfelsed rocks cover an area in excess of 1 by 2 kilometres.
Mineralization consists of porphyry style disseminated copper, silver, gold and molybdenum within the altered dikes and gold, silver, lead, zinc and antimony bearing massive sulphide veins within the hornfelsed sediments of the Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Bowser Lake Group. The Bowser sediments consist of argillites, siltstone with lesser sandstone. Most samples of sericite-altered granodiorite also contain varying amounts of quartz stockwork.
The quartz veinlets range from 0.5 to 20 centimetres in thickness and form true stockwork systems with a number of veinlet orientations. These milky white quartz veins comprise 10-40 per cent of the rock mass. In general, it is estimated that 1 to 5 per cent disseminated pyrite is present with lesser amounts of chalcopyrite, molybdenite, manganese, stibnite and sphalerite.
WORK HISTORY
The area was explored by Mastodon-Highland Bell Mines Ltd. in 1967 following up on a regional silt sampling program. The company completed geology and geochemical surveys over an area that had been identified as having “widespread copper mineralization over a substantial area” (Assessment Report 1066). At that time, the company had outlined an open ended soil anomaly, generally greater than 500 to 1500 parts per million copper and up to 500 parts per million molybdenum, in an area in excess of 800 by 1800 metres (Assessment Report 1066).
Noranda Exploration staked the Ace area repeatedly between 1971 and 1987 but no records of any work completed have been located in the public domain.
In 1997, Teck Corp. completed geological and geochemical surveys in the central part of the Ace soil anomaly. Twenty-four rock and 50 soil samples were collected. Results confirmed the anomalous soils over an area up to 500 metre wide and identified the presence of significant porphyry style mineralization in sericite altered granodiorite. Rock sampling yielded copper assays commonly 0.1 to 0.48 per cent, silver values between 0.4 to 578 grams per tonne and gold values up to 0.9 gram per tonne; chip sampling assayed 0.91 gram per tonne gold, 36.2 grams per tonne silver and 0.117 per cent copper and 0.05 per cent lead over 5 metres from moderately sericite altered granodiorite with moderate quartz stockwork with occasional arsenopyrite veinlets (Sample NE-15, Assessment Report 25531).
Paget Resources completed a two day evaluation of the Ace target in 2008 with select rock samples yielding results up to 0.6 per cent copper, 0.245 per cent molybdenum, 3.27 grams per tonne gold and 200 grams per tonne silver from samples of mineralized intrusive and sedimentary rocks (Assessment Report 30324).
In 2011/2012, analysis of orthorectified ASTER satellite images revealed accumulations of “probable iron oxide”, “probable hydroxyl”, “probable sericite” and “probable silica” alteration in the contact area of the Bulkley intrusion. The Ace claims were owned by Ken Galambos and under option to Stratton Resources.
In 2012, Ken Galambos visited the claim area twice collecting 14 rock and 89 soil samples, in the Ace showing vicinity. Results from the program suggested the area was the top of a high level porphyry environment. Narrow sulphide veining contained abundant arsenopyrite which yielded precious metal values of 177 to 210 grams per tonne silver and up to 3.16 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 33969). Sheeted quartz veins and stockwork quartz plus/minus sulphides were in evidence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Significant results include (Stockwatch, November 29, 2012):
Sample ID Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (ppm) Zn (ppm) Pb (ppm)
1043606 3.16 210 8060 3320 2690
1043608 1.21 134 1590 1790 1670
1043613 0.74 177 1270 344 925
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In 2013, Ken Galambos collected 78 rock and 167 soil samples in the Ace showing vicinity (Assessment Report 34243). Rock samples were collected primarily in the vicinity of the 2012 C-horizon silver anomaly near the Ace showing and of the "Ah" gold anomaly 2000 metres to the west. Bedrock exposures were reported to be good in both areas. In the Ace showing area, several semi-massive sulphide and quartz sulphide veins were identified which yielded significant values from chip and selective grab sampling.
