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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  25-Jan-2021 by Karl A. Flower (KAF)

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NMI 094E11 Cu2
Name MOOSE, HARMON, BEAR, COUGAR, PASS Mining Division Liard, Omineca
BCGS Map 094E055
Status Showing NTS Map 094E11E
Latitude 057º 34' 23'' UTM 09 (NAD 83)
Longitude 127º 11' 06'' Northing 6382630
Easting 608549
Commodities Copper, Silver, Molybdenum, Bismuth, Gold Deposit Types L04 : Porphyry Cu +/- Mo +/- Au
K01 : Cu skarn
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Stikine, Plutonic Rocks
Capsule Geology

The Moose occurrence is located approximately 2.5 kilometres northwest of Breccia Peak about 310 kilometres north of the community of Smithers.

The showing is situated within a Mesozoic volcanic arc assemblage which lies along the eastern margin of the Intermontane Belt, a northwest-trending belt of Paleozoic to Tertiary sediments, volcanics and intrusions bounded to the east by the Omineca Belt and to the west and southwest by the Sustut and Bowser basins.

Devonian-Permian Asitka Group crystalline limestones are the oldest rocks exposed in the region. They are commonly in thrust contact with Upper Triassic Stuhini Group andesite flows and pyroclastic rocks. Stuhini volcanics have been intruded by the granodiorite to quartz monzonite Black Lake Suite of Early Jurassic age and are in turn unconformably overlain by or faulted against Lower Jurassic calcalkaline volcanics of the Toodoggone Formation (Hazelton Group).

The dominant structures in the area are steeply dipping faults which define a prominent regional northwest structural fabric trending 140 to 170 degrees. In turn, high angle, northeast-striking faults (approximately 060 degrees) appear to truncate and displace northwest-striking faults. Collectively these faults form a boundary for variably rotated and tilted blocks underlain by monoclinal strata.

The Moose showing is underlain by Stuhini Group augite porphyry andesite flows and tuffs and Toodoggone Formation (Hazelton Group) porphyritic andesite, lapilli tuff, rhyolite, feldspar porphyry and volcanic breccia (McClair Member). These units are intruded to the north by foliated granodiorite and quartz diorite of the Early Jurassic Black Lake stock.

Widespread disseminated chalcopyrite and pyrite and up to 25 per cent hematite occurs sporadically throughout the area in all units. Rare sparsely mineralized quartz veins, striking 150 degrees and dipping 80 degrees to the east, occur in the Toodoggone volcanics. Intensive oxidation has developed extensive areas of limonite gossans, the largest of which measures 2000 by 200 metres and outcrops along a southerly flowing tributary of Hiamadam Creek. The gossans contain malachite and azurite in a number of locations. A high grade grab sample of this material assayed 0.36 per cent copper and 2.7 grams per tonne silver (sample 6233, Assessment Report 8112).

In 1969, Kennco Explorations Limited held the Harmon 1-36 claims in the area. Work included a reconnaissance induced polarization and resistivity survey over 6.8 line-kilometres on the northern half of the claim group.

In 1979, prospecting occurred on the Moose 1-4 claims by owner S. Young.

In 1981, Serem Inc. carried out an exploration program south of Breccia Peak (Eagle 1, Eagle 3 claims) and a number of anomalous gold and silver silt and soil samples were obtained. Silicified zones and quartz veins were found, but no significant mineralization was located. In 1986, Cove Energy Corp. reported work on the ground covered by the Cove property comprising an airborne magnetic and VLF-EM survey. The airborne survey located two magnetic anomalies and several weak VLF-electromagnetic anomalies. In 1987, Western Geophysical Aero Data Ltd. flew an airborne magnetic survey. Approximately 428 line-kilometres of data was examined to evaluate the subject properties.

In 1988, Cove Energy Corp. covered the area of the Moose showing with 10 mineral claims called the Bear 1-4, Cougar 1-3 and Eagle 1-3. During this time 116 rock samples and 266 soil samples were collected. The 1988 fieldwork defined several areas with anomalous precious and base metal values. A rock sample (32830) over 0.1 metre of quartz vein with chalcopyrite and hematite in a granodiorite from the Moose occurrence area assayed 2.4 grams per tonne silver and 0.456 per cent copper, whereas a grab sample (32433) of an oxidized rock with malachite, located approximately 3.5 kilometres to the east, assayed 6.8 grams per tonne silver and 0.840 per cent copper (Assessment Report 18338).

In 2004, Stealth Minerals Ltd. collected several samples in the area of the plotted location of the Moose showing (Assessment Report 27635). Refer to Har (094E 053) for a details of the Breccia-Claw area work history.

In 2006, A. Birkeland, owner of the Pass Claim claim group, collected 27 rock chip samples from various locations on the property that also covered the Moose showing. Visible chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite mineralization was noted in several samples. The mineralization may be skarn related where a possible mineralized porphyry system may be in contact with the Stuhini sediments. Three samples (128710, 128711 and 128721) of possible skarn mineralization, located approximately 2 kilometres to the northwest, each yielded values of greater than 1.00 per cent copper and up to 0.056 per cent molybdenum, 0.098 per cent bismuth and 14.7 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 29309). Also at this time, a float sample (128787) of mineralized quartz veining, collected approximately 1.9 kilometres to the north, assayed greater than 1.00 per cent each of copper, lead and zinc, greater than 0.200 per cent cadmium, greater than 100 grams per tonne silver and 22 grams per tonne gold, whereas another quartz vein float sample (128804), located approximately 550 metres to the northeast, yielded 68.4 grams per tonne silver and greater than 100 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 29309).

In 2015, Freeport-McMoran Canada Ltd. acquired and conducted property-wide reconnaissance prospecting and geological/alteration mapping on its Harmon claims which surround the Moose showing. This work identified two zones of quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration located west and northwest of the Moose occurrence. The altered zones are cored by feldspar porphyry and medium-grained diorite to monzodiorite dike(s) that are intruded into hornfelsed shale, and andesite tuff of the Toodoggone Formation . Some pin-points of chalcopyrite were observed within the monzodiorite, which is generally chlorite-magnetite-pyrite altered.

Bibliography
EMPR ASS RPT 1872, 1981, *8112, *18338, *29309, 36069
EMPR BULL 86
EMPR EXPL 1975-E163-E167; 1976-E175-E177; 1977-E216-E217; 1978-E244-E246; 1979-265-267; 1980-421-436; 1982-330-345; 1983-475-488; 1984-348-357; 1985-C349-C362; 1986-C388-C414; 1987-C328-C346; 1988-C185-C194
EMPR FIELDWORK 1980, pp. 124-129; 1981, pp. 122-129, 135-141; 1982, pp. 125-127; 1983, pp. 137-138, 142-148; 1984, pp. 139-145, 291-293; 1985, pp. 299-300; 1986, pp. 167-174, ; 1987, pp. 111, 114-115; 1989, pp. 409-415; 1991, pp. 207-216
EMPR GEM 1969-102-103; 1971-63-71; 1973-456-463
EMPR GEOLOGY 1977-1981, pp. 156-161
EMPR MAP 61 (1985); 65 (1989)
EMPR PF (Photogeologic Interpretation Map of the Northern Omineca area, Oct. 1964, Canadian Superior Exploration Limited-in 94E General File)
GSC BULL 270
GSC OF 306; 483
GSC P 76-1A, pp. 87-90; 80-1A, pp. 27-32; 80-1B, pp. 207-211
GSC MAP 14-1973
W MINER April, 1982
N MINER Oct.13, 1986
N MINER MAG March 1988, p. 1
GCNL #23(Feb.1), 1985; #165(Aug.27), 1986
IPDM Nov/Dec 1983
ECON GEOL Vol. 86, pp. 529-554, 1991
MIN REV September/October, 1982; July/August, 1986
WIN Vol. 1, #7, June 1987
Forster, D.B. (1984): Geology, Petrology and Precious Metal Mineralization, Toodoggone River Area, North-Central British Columbia, Unpub. Ph.D. Thesis, University of British Columbia
Diakow, L.J. (1990): Volcanism and Evolution of the Early and Middle Jurassic Toodoggone Formation, Toodoggone Mining District, British Columbia, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Western Ontario

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