The New Mess 2 occurrence is located in the southern end of the Toodoggone Gold Camp, north of Kemess Creek and approximately 8.4 kilometres east of Duncan Lake, about 250 kilometres north of the community of Smithers.
The Toodoggone gold camp lies within the eastern margin of the Intermontane Belt and is underlain by a northwest-trending belt of Paleozoic to Paleogene sediments, volcanics and intrusions. Regionally, the area 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. Devonian to Permian Asitka Group crystalline limestones are the oldest rocks exposed in the region and are commonly in thrust contact with Upper Triassic Stuhini Group marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks, andesite flows and pyroclastic rocks. These units have been intruded by the granodiorite to quartz monzonite of the Early Jurassic Black Lake Suite and are in turn unconformably overlain by or faulted against dacitic volcanics and volcaniclastics of the Lower Jurassic Toodoggone Formation (Hazelton Group).
The dominant structures in the area are steeply dipping faults that define a prominent regional northwest structural fabric trending 140 to 170 degrees. 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 geology of the area is separated into four northwest trending, fault-bound panels. The occurrence is underlain by the west-central panel, an upfaulted panel of regionally propylitic-altered Toodoggone volcanics in the south portion and Stuhini volcanics in the northern portion. A major north-northwest striking fault separates the hosting panel from structurally higher, zeolitized Toodoggone volcanics to the east. Stuhini Group volcanics are characterized by augite and plagioclase porphyry, basalt and andesite flows and breccias. Several members of the Toodoggone Formation are present. Lithologies of the Toodoggone Formation include reddish to mauve, variably welded ash-flow and lapilli-ash tuffs with subordinate block-lapilli tuff, epiclastics and rare andesitic lava flows interbedded with ash-flow tuffs (Bulletin 86). These rocks are propylitically altered with argillic overprinting.
Mineralization is of deep epithermal character, hosted in the Stuhini and Toodoggone volcanic assemblages. The mineralization consists of propylitic-altered volcanics hosting at least seven low sulphide, quartz-amethyst-barite veins adjacent to a major north-northwest striking shear zone. The vein consists of white, vuggy, fine-grained quartz, up to 0.4 metre wide, associated with a thin selvage of limonite-ankerite carbonate. The vein strikes 300 to 320 degrees and dips 38 to 40 degrees east.
In 1981, three rock samples (SC-22-81-8, SC-20-81-23 and GD-23-81-9) yielded from 0.24 to 0.39 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 10235). In 1986, a chip sample (MR-36) yielded 0.53 gram per tonne gold over 10 metres, whereas a grab sample (MR-27) assayed 38.6 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 15184). In 1989, two samples were taken from this vein, neither of which contained visible sulphide mineralization. Sample M-89-TR9-01 consisted of a 0.3-metre composite sample taken across 20 to 30 centimetres of quartz, barite and manganese oxide vein. Analytical results from this sample were 43.8 grams per tonne silver, 0.1311 per cent zinc, 0.1083 per cent lead, 0.1004 per cent barite, 0.333 gram per tonne gold and 0.0048 per cent copper (Assessment Report 19789). A second sample of the vein, M-89-TR9-02, which exhibited predominantly banded chalcedonic quartz, yielded 115.9 grams per tonne silver, 1.892 grams per tonne gold, 0.0912 per cent barite, 0.0652 per cent lead, 0.0406 per cent zinc and 0.0088 per cent copper (Assessment Report 19789).
In 2003, samples taken from three mineralized zones with dimensions of 50 to 80 metres in width by 200 to 450 metres in length yielded values from 0.10 to 37.54 grams per tonne gold and 92.0 to 403.0 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 27429). In 2004, six rock samples from the area yielded greater than 1 gram per tonne gold and up to 10.0 grams per tonne gold, 23,600 grams per tonne silver, 0.203 per cent copper and greater than 1.00 per cent each of lead and zinc (Assessment Report 27636).
The area has been explored in conjunction with the nearby Mess occurrence (094E 070) located 740 metres north since the early 1980s.
In 1980, Serem Ltd. completed a program of soil and silt sampling and geological mapping on the area as the Mess 1-4 claims. In 1981, a program of geological mapping and rock, silt and soil sampling was completed. In 1986, Western Premium Resource Corp. completed a program of geochemical (heavy mineral, rock, silt and soil) sampling and an airborne magnetometer and VLF-EM survey on the area. This work outlined numerous precious metal soil anomalies with gold up 1680 parts per billion over an area of approximately 2.5 by 1 kilometre. The New Mess claim was staked in July to cover the area of the southern airborne anomalies. Rock and soil geochemistry, done on behalf of Western Premium Resource Corporation in 1986, confirmed the presence of significant silver and gold mineralization on the property. Soil and stream geochemistry also indicated other anomalous areas that warrant further investigation. In 1989, Inco Gold Management Ltd. performed a program of prospecting, hand trenching and seven diamond-drill holes totalling 365.7 metres on the area on behalf of Western Premium Resource Corp.
During 2003 through 2006, Stealth Minerals Ltd. completed programs of prospecting, geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and geological mapping in the area as the Fog-Mess property.
During 2014 through 2017, Serengeti Resources Inc. completed programs of prospecting, rock, silt and soil sampling, and a 9.0 line kilometre induced polarization survey on the area as the UDS property.
