The Vip 7 (North zone) occurrence is located about 11 kilometres north of the north end of Thutade Lake approximately 204 kilometres north-northwest of the community of Germansen Landing.
The Vip 7 showing is at the southern end of the Toodoggone Gold Camp which lies within the eastern margin of the Intermontane Belt and is underlain by a northwest-trending belt of Paleozoic to Tertiary sediments, volcanics and intrusions. The showing is situated within a Mesozoic volcanic arc assemblage bounded to the east by the Omineca Belt and to the west and southwest by the Sustut and Bowser basins.
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 Vip 7 showing is underlain predominantly by granodiorite of the Black Lake stock with several roof pendants of grey micaceous metasiltstone and white, coarsely crystalline marble of the Asitka and/or Stuhini groups. Late porphyritic monzonite dikes striking northwesterly, intrude both granodiorite and metasedimentary rocks.
An irregular north-northeast trending lens of limestone, approximately 630 metres long by 97.5 metre wide, and adjacent metasiltstones host numerous skarn outcrops comprising the Vip 7 showing. Skarn mineralization consists of massive garnet with variable amounts of magnetite, specularite, hematite, diopside, wollastonite, epidote and chlorite. The mineralization usually varies from epidote-rich to diopside-garnet-magnetite rich skarn in the core areas. Chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite and specularite occur as disseminations and fracture fillings throughout skarn areas. Widespread talc-sericite-chlorite alteration of hostrocks occurs locally adjacent to skarn mineralization.
Sampling of these skarn outcrops had been conducted during property work from 1974 yielding numerous anomalous silver, copper, zinc and gold results. In 1984, two samples taken from a garnet-magnetite skarn outcrop on the eastern side of the limestone body analyzed as follows: sample MT 22 assayed 20.98 grams per tonne silver, 5.2 per cent copper, 0.34 gram per tonne gold, 0.011 per cent zinc and 0.0008 per cent lead; sample MT 23 assayed 10.29 grams per tonne silver, 9.4 per cent copper, 1.44 per cent zinc, 0.0002 per cent lead and 0.23 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 13057).
The following major mineral assemblages are associated with each skarn zone in the Vip area (Assessment Report 27160): Vip 30 (West zone) (094E 048); chalcopyrite plus/minus pyrite (minor minerals include sphalerite, magnetite, hematite); Vip 7 (North zone) (094E 047) consisting of magnetite plus/minus hematite plus/minus chalcopyrite; Grace 1 (East zone) (094E 129) consisting of bornite plus/minus chalcopyrite plus/minus sulphosalts, magnetite plus/minus chalcopyrite and pyrite plus/minus pyrrhotite (minor minerals include hematite); Vip Northeast (see 094E 129) consisting of pyrite plus/minus hematite. Chalcocite, covellite and malachite replace copper sulphide. Hematite or limonite occur rimming and partly replacing sulphide minerals and occur lining open vugs or boxwork and infilling fractures. Some quartz veins/veinlets related and unrelated to the skarn zones contain trace molybdenum.
In 2003, Stealth Minerals drilled holes V03-07, 08 towards the northwest, under the North skarn trench 025 which yielded 1.16 per cent copper, 52 grams per tonne silver and 3.6 grams per tonne gold over 6 metres (Assessment Report 27429).
Between 1968 and 1973, Kennco Exploration (Western) Ltd. performed porphyry copper exploration in the Toodoggone area. The Vip skarn prospects were also identified during this period. Amax Exploration Inc. staked the Vip claims in 1973. Geophysical and geochemical surveys and geological mapping were conducted in 1974 (Assessment Report 5144). The Vip claims lapsed in 1975 and were re-staked as the Grace claims in 1979. The VIP prospect was further explored and was reported to have been diamond drilled in 1984. During 1986, the Vip-Grace prospect was flown by a low-level airborne magnetic and VLF survey. Work in this area was followed up in 1987 with detailed soil sampling and magnetic and VLF surveys. The Vip and Grace claim areas covered the ground where Vip and Grace showings are documented (094E 047, 48, 49 and 129).
Stealth Minerals Limited (formerly Stealth Mining Corp.) optioned a large package of claims in the region during the summer of 1997 and additional claims were staked, covering the Goat, Wrich, VIP, Electrum, and Nub Mountain prospects. Most of Stealth’s subsequent work was initially directed towards the Pine deposit (094E 016) and later to a variety of other showings on the Pine property. Reconnaissance prospecting, mapping and rock sampling on various showings including the VIP and Electrum were done in 1999. During 2000, Stealth further evaluated the potential of several prospects including the VIP with geological mapping, detailed prospecting and rock sampling.
In 2002, prospecting at the VIP prospect and nearby 343-Creek (southwest of VIP) produced a total of 58 grab, float, and continuous chip rock samples. Machine trenching was also carried out on the Wrich and VIP prospects. Ground induced polarization and resistivity surveys ware performed on the Mex, VIP and Wrich prospects. Magnetometer surveys were performed at the Mex and the VIP prospects. Discussion of results by Stealth indicates at least four skarn zones (Assessment Report 27160). In 2003, drilling of 10 diamond-drill holes was completed by Stealth Minerals on the VIP prospect. Trenching was performed on the VIP East, North and West prospects to follow up on 2002 results. Drilling on the VIP target indicated that mineralization exposed in trenches may be complicated by lithological facies change, stratigraphic and structural control that effect the distribution of potentially economic grade and width of mineralization. Zones of significant mineralization identified in 2002 may have a strong structural control in proximity with a feldspar porphyry dike and trend northwest, subparallel to drilling and remains open in this direction. Diamond drilling at the VIP prospect targeted skarn zones approximately 50-75 metres below trenches yielding significant values in 2002, but drill testing resulted in generally low concentrations of base and precious metals. One intercept across 0.5 metre assayed 1.44 grams per tonne gold, 19.6 grams per tonne silver, and 1.26 per cent copper from garnet-diopside-magnetite skarn altered marble and metasediment of the Asitka Group (Assessment Report 27429; Exploration in British Columbia 2003). The source and extent of induced polarization anomalies and copper showings in trenches to the northwest and southwest of the VIP grid remain unknown. Drilling appears to be closest to the previous occurrences Grace 1 (094E 129) and VIP 7 (094E 047). In 2009, program activities by Goldfields/Cascadero included a 2778-line kilometre airborne magnetic survey over most of the claim group including the VIP/Grace area (Assessment Report 31564). Also, a prospect-specific field mapping and sampling program (soil, rock, talus fines and stream sediment samples) was completed over several prospects including those in the VIP area. Old trenches and ground-truthing aeromagnetic anomalies was completed. Samples were taken in the VIP 30 (094E 048) and VIP 7 (094E 047) areas.
Refer to the Pine (094E 016) for details of the Pine property which contained the VIP/Grace occurrences from the late 1990s to present (ca. 2014). Also see the Electrum (094E 125) for details of historic property ownership and related occurrences. Also see Grace 1 (094E 129) for further details on the VIP skarn deposits.
