The Moosehorn occurrence is located approximately 7.5 kilometres northwest of the Lawyers mine (094E 066), approximately 280 kilometres north of Smithers. The prospect lies within the Omineca-Cassiar mountains at the southern end of the Toodoggone Gold Camp.
The Moosehorn prospect 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. Permian Asitka Group crystalline limestones are the oldest rocks exposed in the region. They are commonly in thrust contact with Upper Triassic Takla Group andesite flows and pyroclastic rocks. Takla 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.
Hostrocks of the Moosehorn prospect are propylitized porphyritic trachyte to andesite flows and tuffs, part of a larger package of Toodoggone volcanics assigned to the Metsantan and Attycelley members. Lithologies of the Metsantan Member include mostly latite lava flows with interflow lahar, and mixed epiclastic and pyroclastic rocks. The overlying lithologies of the Attycelley Member consist of lapilli-ash and block tuffs, interspersed ash and lava flows, and interbedded epiclastic rocks.
The Moosehorn prospect is exposed in the walls of the Moosehorn canyon over a north-south distance of 900 metres. The Moosehorn alteration zone, about 270 metres long by 75 metres wide, is part of a broad band of hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks along the Attorney fault system. The zone is characterized by quartz stockworks, up to 70 per cent potassium feldspar and 0.1 per cent disseminated pyrite, chalcedonic, amethystine and vuggy quartz and quartz banding and lies within a broad zone of argillic, silica and feldspar-altered porphyritic trachyandesite, striking 150 degrees and dipping 80 degrees west. Two distinct vein systems occur in a broad zone of alteration (the East and West zones). The vein systems are about 130 metres apart.
In 1986, detailed sampling, hand trenching, and twelve diamond-drill holes in this zone did not identify a continuous zone of mineralization. Some anomalous gold and silver values were obtained from analyses from the Moosehorn vein (West zone) on the west side of the Moosehorn canyon and in the Amethyst trench (East zone) on the east side of the canyon.
Three areas were diamond drilled over a length of 1410 metres along the Moosehorn zone; total drilling was 1067 metres. Silicified and/or feldspathized intervals were sampled through 241 metres. The highest assay was from DDH 86-8 which graded 1.59 grams per tonne gold and 339.6 grams per tonne silver over 3 metres (7.0 to 10.0 metres drill depth) (Assessment Report 15469).
The West zone, consisting of two or more parallel quartz veins 10 to 30 metres apart, are enclosed between two trachyte flows. A 25-metre sequence of varicoloured greywackes overlies the flows but is unmineralized. The principal vein, the Moosehorn vein, strikes about 330 degrees and dips 80 degrees west. It is 3 to 6 metres wide with silicification extending up to 10 metres into host wallrock. Alteration varies from propylitic to partial replacement by potassium feldspar. Up to 0.1 per cent fine-grained pyrite occurs in alteration zones.
Kenco Explorations initially explored the Louis Claims in the early 1970s. This early work involved geochemical analysis and ground geophysics. Exploration was activated again in the early 1980s and continued through to the early 1990s following the production decisions on three gold-silver mines in the Toodoggone District. Five epithermal MINFILE showings were established from this work: the Round Mountain East showing (094E 158), a strong argillic altered zone; the Round Mountain West showing (094E 159), a chalcedonic quartz vein with anomalous gold and silver values; the Kodah showing (094E 068), comprising a one metre chip sample across a pyritic quartz vein with 2.22 grams per tonne gold and 4.6 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 20629); the Moosehorn zone (094E 086); and the Moosehorn East zone (094E 261).
In 1982, Great Western Petroleum Ltd. conducted a broad geochemical survey over the Moosehorn Creek claims and also sampled rock outcrops in Moosehorn Canyon. In 1984, petrographic and fluid inclusion geothermometry on rocks from Moosehorn canyon concluded that the epithermal assemblage of Moosehorn canyon occurs well up in the epithermal system, about 100 metres beneath the paleosurface. This predicts that if gold-silver mineralization of ore-making volumes were emplaced, they have not been removed by erosion and it may exist between the present surface and 150 to 200 metres depth (Assessment report 14697).
In 1986, Cyprus Metals (Canada) Ltd. obtained ownership of the Louis claims. Detailed geological mapping of Moosehorn Canyon and Round Mountain, silt and soil sampling, trenching and 13 diamond-drill holes where completed. Thirteen kilometres of stream sampling collected 108 silt samples. Soil grids were cut on both the Moosehorn Creek area and Round Mountain; a total of 1011 soil samples were collected for geochemical analysis. Both hand and blast trenching were done in several locations on the west and east sides of Moosehorn Creek exposing the Moosehorn vein. Twelve diamond-drill holes for a total of 10,668 metres were drilled in the Moosehorn zone.
In 1987, geochemical surveys, geophysical surveys, backhoe trenching and diamond drilling were carried out by Cyprus Metals Canada. Soil sampling from west of Moosehorn Creek and on Round Mountain brought in 2050 soil samples. Soil samples were analyzed for gold and silver and yielded low values in the west central portion of Round Mountain. Fieldwork in 1987 also found at least two veins 120 to 150 metres apart in the Moosehorn Creek zone (Assessment report 17299). Two float samples from the Moosehorn East vein (094E 261) assayed 12.4 grams per tonne gold and 1010 grams per tonne silver, and 10.4 grams per tonne gold and 1280 grams per tonne silver, respectively (Assessment Report 27661).
Very Low Frequency resistivity and induced polarization surveys were conducted along existing soil grids. Trenching and drilling in the anomalous Very Low Frequency resistivity and induced polarization areas was conducted in 1987 and 1988. Eight trenches were dug with a backhoe for a cumulative length of 237 metres with depths varying from 1.5 to 3.0 metres on the east side of Moosehorn Creek. These trenches were trying to uncover the Moosehorn vein intersected in DDH 86-8. No veins were uncovered in any of the trenches although significant quartz float was found in muck in trench 3 (Assessment report 17299). Eleven diamond-drill holes in 1987 totalling 1018 metres were drilled testing the Moosehorn East and West quartz zones.
During 1988 and 1989, Cyprus Metals Canada Ltd. conducted further trench work in both the Moosehorn and Round Mountain zones. Continued drilling attempting to locate the Moosehorn East and West veins (094E 261) resulted in 13 diamond-drill holes totalling 1276.6 metres in 1988 and seven diamond-drill holes totalling 745.8 metres in 1989.
As part of a 2003 Private-Public Partnership with the governments of Canada and British Columbia, the Louis claims were flown as part of a multi-parameter helicopter-borne geophysical survey and data are now publicly available on the MapPlace website. A high-total potassium anomaly and thorium-potassium ratio low was detected in the Moosehorn zone as well as a thorium-potassium low on Round Mountain.
In the Moosehorn showing area, a semi-circular airborne potassium high and a coincident thorium-potassium low are marginal to a magnetic high in the area of Kodah Lake. This geophysical pattern may indicate a strong potassically altered halo to an intrusive body at relatively shallow depth. This signature is validated by the high degree of potassic alteration described in drill core and the low temperature silica phase of the low sulphidation epithermal precious metal vein systems.
In 2004, Stealth Minerals completed PIMA spectroscopy analysis on the existing 1986 and 1987 diamond drill core to examine alteration (approximately 450 samples). In addition to the PIMA analysis, eleven surface rock samples from outcrop and float were collected for geochemical analysis. This work identified two phases of alteration possibly associated with the Attorney and Cliff Creek faults. Primary alteration appears to be chloritic and potassic while the second phase is more argillic (illite, kaolinite). Anomalous gold in the 1986 and 1987 drill core appears to be associated with quartz veins, quartz veinlets, and brecciation. High temperature (alunite, dickite) alteration was noted on Round Mountain. This alteration may have occurred with the cracking of the Cliff Creek fault or from more local faulting. Both the Cliff Creek fault and the Attorney fault, which trend northwest through the Louis Claims, are known mineral producers (Baker Mine and Lawyers Mine, respectively). The alteration work suggests that fluids carrying mineralization may be associated with these faults (Assessment Report 27661).
The 2005 exploration work on the Louis claims by Stealth Minerals Ltd. involved field mapping lithologic units, contacts, and alteration patterns. A minor amount of rock sampling was also completed during 2005. In 2006, exploration work by Stealth Resources on the Louis claims involved field checking lithologic units, contacts, and alteration patterns, minor prospecting in the Kodah showing area and two lines of mobile metal ion soil geochemical sampling. These lines were completed in a northeast direction as to cross structural and lithological controls to mineralization identified to date on the claims. One of the lines runs to the immediate west of the Round Mountain West showing (094E 159).
Between 2003 and 2006, Stealth Minerals conducted mobile metal ion soil sampling and PIMA spectroscopy analysis on rocks in the Round Mountain showings area. The mobile metal ion line was run to the immediate west of the Round Mountain West showing in 2006.
Tower Resources acquired the Moosehorn zones through staking in 2011 to create a contiguous claims package with its JD property to the northeast. In 2012, two holes totalling 380 metres were drilled by Tower on the Moosehorn East zone (094E 261). A 13.0-metre interval grading 1.2 grams per tonne gold and 33.5 grams per tonne silver was intersected (Assessment Report 33556). In addition, a small 200 metre spaced grid was completed near the Moosehorn target.
The Round Mountain showings and the Kodah showing (094E 068) were contained in the Louis property of Stealth Resources in the mid-2000s. By 2014, these occurrences were contained within a claim block held by Phoenix Precious Metals Corp. as part of their Lawyers property (094E 066).
See Moosehorn East (094E 261) for related details. See JD (Finn) (094E 171) for JD property work history.
