The Wrede Creek occurrence is located near the headwaters of Wrede Creek, approximately 5 kilometres south of Fleet Peak, 40 kilometres south of the Kemess mine and 215 kilometres north of Smithers. The showing lies in the approximate centre of the Red 013 claim at the southeast end of the Red property (MINFILE 094D 034).
The regional geology is similar to that of the Shred occurrence (MINFILE 094D 111). Takla Group volcanics overlie an Early Permian Asitka Group volcano-sedimentary package. A broadly granitic suite of Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous intermediate to felsic intrusions intrude the Takla volcanics. Structure in the area is dominated by a series of north-northwest–trending faults that form terrane boundaries between the Stikine, Quesnel and Cassiar terranes.
Locally, the Red property is underlain by Upper Triassic Takla Group augite±feldspar phyric basalts, basaltic andesite flows, tuffs (including lapilli tuff and volcanic breccias) and related intrusions, argillites and dark carbonate rocks. The Takla Group rocks are intruded by diorite, quartz diorite, hornblende diorite, quartz diorite porphyry and diorite porphyry related to the Early Jurassic Fleet Peak pluton. The dioritic rocks predominantly occur as dikes and sills and generally form west-northwest–trending lenticular slivers. The Red property is characterized by a northwest-trending structural corridor that controls the emplacement of the broadly dioritic intrusive complex. The dioritic intrusives are located between the North Lineament and South Lineament creeks’ drainage and the Bird and North Canyon creeks’ drainage.
Alteration is generally phyllic and argillic, becoming increasingly more propylitic with depth. Alteration minerals include sericite, quartz, epidote, chlorite, pyrophyllite and calcite.
Mineralization occurs in a pyritic quartz vein approximately 45 centimetres in width (Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 251, p. 59). The vein strikes north and cuts through gossanous, pyritic greenstones. A grab sample assayed 2.57 grams per tonne gold and 7.37 grams per tonne silver (Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 251, p. 59).
Work History
The first placer operations began in the area in the early 1900s. In the 1930s, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada staked an area with prominent gossanous alteration, iron staining and gold- and copper-bearing quartz veins in the approximate area of the current Red property. The claims were allowed to lapse but the company, then known as Cominco, restaked the claims in 1968 after recognizing the potential for a bulk-tonnage, low-grade copper deposit. That year, exploration consisted of geological mapping, prospecting, and soil sampling. A 450 by 2400-metre copper soil anomaly was defined by the soil sampling program. In 1969, Cominco completed five diamond drill holes totalling 303.9 metres. Four of the drillholes intersected anomalous copper values, including drillhole R84-03 with 20.12 metres (66 feet) grading 0.46 per cent copper and 0.015 per cent molybdenum (Assessment Report 28496).
In 1973, Union Miniere Explorations and Mining Corporation Ltd. conducted grid soil sampling and ground magnetic surveying on the Bow claims, approximately 3 kilometres to the northwest. The following year, one drillhole was completed to 61.6 metres depth. In 1974, BP Minerals Ltd. carried out geological mapping, soil, stream and seep sediment sampling, drilling and ground magnetic and induced polarization geophysical surveying on the Bird claims (MINFILE 094D 101) to the northwest of the Red showing, an area that overlaps and extends north. Two diamond drill holes totalling 285.3 metres were completed. The drillholes intersected propylitically altered diorite with pyrite, pyrrhotite and minor chalcopyrite and molybdenite.
From 1976 to 1977, BP Minerals carried out grid soil, talus and steam sampling, geophysical surveying and overburden drilling on the Shred claims (MINFILE 094D 111). At approximately the same time, Cominco staked additional land in the area and carried out induced polarization, resistivity and magnetic geophysical surveys that led to the delineation of a northwest-trending high-chargeability, low-resistivity anomaly. Between 1978 and 1979, BP Minerals followed up previous exploration results with a program of overburden and core drilling. In 1981, BP Minerals carried out rock-chip sampling and reanalyzed previous soil and stream sediment samples collected in 1974. Cominco and BP Resources Canada Ltd. formed a joint exploration venture in 1984 to confirm historical copper values and to determine the gold potential of the area. The joint exploration program consisted of geological mapping, rock and soil geochemical sampling, electromagnetic, magnetic, and induced polarization geophysical surveying and diamond drilling. Seven drillholes were completed totalling 1003.5 metres. Mineralization encountered in the drill core included vein- and fracture-controlled pyrite and minor fracture-controlled chalcopyrite and molybdenite.
The Red, Hat, Bird and Shred claims were eventually permitted to lapse and were acquired by D.L. Cooke and Associates Ltd. in 2001. That year, Brett Resources Inc. optioned the property and carried out geological mapping, stream sediment and rock sampling and drilling. Drilling encountered weak low-grade copper porphyry mineralization associated with chlorite–trace sulphide assemblages. Solomon Resources Ltd. acquired an option on the property in 2002 and carried out 3 line-kilometres of pole-dipole induced polarization geophysical surveying on the Red property to further investigate porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization encountered during previous exploration programs. Later that year, Solomon Resources terminated all agreements with Brett Resources and the property was relinquished back to D.L. Cooke. In 2004, Gitennes Explorations Inc. optioned the property and hired Equity Engineering Ltd. to carry out a two-phase exploration program of geological mapping, prospecting, soil sampling, induced polarization geophysical surveying and diamond drilling. Two diamond drill holes totalling 448.7 metres were completed on induced polarization and geochemical anomalies.
In 2005, Buffalo Gold Ltd. acquired a 60 per cent interest in the property from Gitennes Exploration Inc. That same year, Buffalo hired APEX Geoscience Ltd. to manage a drill program on the property. Four diamond drill holes totalling 626 metres were completed on targets outlined by geochemical soil and induced polarization anomalies identified by Gitennes Exploration during the 2004 exploration season.
In 2007, Serengeti Resources Ltd. carried out a geophysical survey over the Fleet claims which included: airborne EM, magnetic, and radiometric surveys over 434 kilometres. The radiometric survey highlighted an area of high potassic/low thorium count in the extreme north of the claim block which could be indicative of potassic alteration. A number of magnetic highs were also outlined which are generally indicative of intrusive bodies. The survey covered the following MINFILE showings (Assessment Report 29768): Wrede Creek (094D 009), QUYZVHX (094D 010), Wrede Creek Chromite (094D 026), Red (094D 034), (NIK (094D 109), Shred (094D 111), Fox (094D 156), Hound (094D 157), Hat (094D 158), Midas (094D 159), Fisher (094D 160), Inge (094D 161), Redgold (094D 162), Grapes (094D 163), 04PSC-94 (094D 186). The magnetic survey showed a sharp linear gradient trending northwest through the southern-central portion of the survey block, indicative of a fault contact between intrusive rocks on the east and Takla volcaniclastics on the west. A linear northwest trending magnetic high is seen to the west of the northwest trending fault. The Shred, Hound, Fox, Wrede Creek and possibly Fisher showings appear to be related to it, at least spatially.
In 2008/2009, a limited induced polarization (IP) and magnetic survey was conducted on the Nik and the Fleet claims on behalf of Serengeti Resources Inc. Although the results on the Nik were complicated by the strike direction, three zones of higher chargeability were observed generally trending northwest across the lines, while a wide zone trending in the same direction was detected on the Fleet (Airborne Magnetic Survey Maps (Fleet Project), Assessment Report 31136). The Midas occurrence and some of the headwaters of the creek were covered by the geophysics survey completed on the Fleet property.
In 2015, on behalf of D.L. Cooke, a survey of linear features mapped from satellite remote sensing data was completed (Assessment Report 35425). The purpose of the study was to identify geological structures which may be associated with gold and/or copper occurrences several of which occur in the area of interest: Wrede Creek (094D 009), Red (094D 034), Bird (094D 101), Shred (094D 111), Hat (094D 158).
In 2018 to 2019, Intact Gold Corp. held the Little Phoenix Property which covered the following mineral occurrences: Hound (094D 157), Fox (094D 156), Shred (094D 111), QUYZVHX (094D 010), Fisher (094D 160), and Inge (094D 161). Precision Geo Surveys Inc. completed a 349-kilometre magnetic airborne survey on behalf of Intact (Assessment Report 38448).
In 2021, Wedgemount Resources Corp. completed a program of geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and spectral analysis on the area as the regionally extensive Cookie property.
