The Gasp mineral prospect is located 480 metres west of the Finn zone (MINFILE 094E 171), approximately 4.5 kilometres north-northeast of Kadah Lake and 4.5 kilometres south of Oxide Peak. The prospect consists of two individual zones; the Gasp and the MVT. It lies within the Omineca-Cassiar mountains at the southern end of the Toodoggone gold camp.
The Gasp 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 intrusives 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. These Takla rocks have been intruded by plutons and other bodies of the mainly granodiorite to quartz monzonite Early Jurassic Black Lake Suite 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 Gasp prospect is underlain by a thick succession of Lower Jurassic volcanics of the Toodoggone Formation. The sequence has been subdivided into two members which are separated by a low angle thrust (?) fault. The upper McClair Member consists of heterogeneous, lapilli to block tuff, andesitic flows and numerous cogenetic dikes and subvolcanic plugs; minor mudstone and conglomerate (Bulletin 86). The underlying Metsantan Member consists of latite flows with lenses of lapilli tuff, and lahar; minor volcanic sandstone and conglomerate (Bulletin 86). Both members are dominated by flows and flow breccias around the JD-M1 prospect (Assessment report 18015). This sequence is cut by a series of steeply dipping diabasic and rhyolitic dikes.
Alteration on the Gasp prospect is structurally controlled and ranges from weak propylitic to intense silicic, argillic and sericitic. Propylitic alteration is the most widespread and important alteration type of the prospect, either hosting mineralized veins or forming haloes around more intensely altered and mineralized systems. Propylitic alteration consists of replacement of plagioclase phenocrysts by epidote or hematite and mafic phenocrysts by chlorite, epidote, actinolite, talc and disseminated calcite (Assessment Report 18015).
The Gasp zone is characterized by quartz-calcite +/- barite veins and breccia with some native gold over a 20 metre width. Host rocks consists of propylitically altered andesites of the McClair Creek formation of the Toodoggone volcanics. Individual veins are less than 1 millimetre to 20 centimetres wide. Quartz-calcite +/- barite-pyrite-galena-sphalerite-chalcopyrite comprises these veins. Angular propylitic altered andesite wallrock occur within wider veins. The veins occur in a northwest-trending lens-shaped zone, up to 100 metres wide and 350 metres long. Individual veins strike 280 to 295 degrees over strike lengths of up to 10 metres. These veins are thought to occupy sigmoidal tension gashes produced by a northwest oriented shear couple. Diabase dikes, 0.1 to 1.5 metres wide, are associated with, but not confined to, the Gasp prospect. These dikes intrude both hematite and propylitic altered andesites and mineralization and may have provided a heat source for the concentration of mineralization in veins.
In 1981, samples (18748 to 1851) of quartz vein breccia float from the area yielded from 0.31 to 9.25 grams per tonne gold with 9.9 to 39.1 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 9372). Later that year, two rock samples (71137 and 71142) from the area assayed 7.69 and 4.65 grams per tonne gold with 210.3 and greater than 50.0 grams per tonne silver, respectively (Assessment Report 9833).
In 1982, chip sampling of trench 3 yielded 0.28 gram per tonne gold and 12.2 grams per tonne silver over 37 metres, including 1.7 grams per tonne gold and 85.5 grams per tonne silver over 1.0 metre (Assessment Report 10739).
The best trench intersection (Trench J83P-11) was 24.49 grams per tonne gold and 6.45 grams per tonne silver over 5.0 metres (Assessment Report 18015). Follow up trenching in 1988, east of the main part of the Gasp prospect, intersected significant pyrite, galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite mineralization in silicified andesite. Assay results from channel samples were 5.3 grams per tonne gold and 3.8 grams per tonne silver over 6.0 metres (Assessment Report 18015). A 1-metre section analysed 23.0 grams per tonne gold and 16.5 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 18015). Gold mineralization at the Gasp prospect occurs over narrow intervals with the exception of trench J83P-11, and show a lack of continuity along strike and depth.
In 2012, a drillhole (JD-12-012) on the Gasp zone yielded intercepts including 0.63 and 1.73 grams per tonne gold with 16.7 and 4.2 grams per tonne silver over 7.3 and 2.1 metres, respectively (Assessment Report 33556).
The MVT zone is located approximately 100 metres southwest of the Gasp zone. It consists of a southeast-striking, moderately southwest-dipping base metal replacement and stringer-type zone. It is defined along a northwest-trending fault, localized along a volcaniclastic-andesite flow contact within the McClair Member of the Toodoggone Formation. The zone appears to narrow to the northwest and to the southeast.
Alteration is 2 to 8 metres wide extending to over 400 metres strike length and intermittently offset by north-trending cross faults. Intense calcite-quartz replacement with later open space quartz veining comprises alteration of this zone.
Mineralization within the MVT zone includes 1 to 10 per cent finely disseminated pyrite and variable amounts of plagioclase phenocrysts replacement by base metal mineralization including 1 to 3 per cent sphalerite and galena (Assessment Report 18015). The best intersection within this zone is 7.55 grams per tonne gold over two metres (Sample JD88-39) which is associated with the brecciated silicified hangingwall rock of the fault (Assessment Report 18015). Gold mineralization appears to be erratically distributed.
In 2012, samples from the MVT zone yielded up to 11.4 grams per tonne gold and 35.2 grams per tonne silver (sample 1713465; Assessment Report 33556).
Work History
AFC Americas Gold Corporation and Antares Mining and Exploration Corp. drilled 3 holes on the MVT zone in 1997. AGC acquired all the Toodoggone properties in July 1999. AGC is a subsidiary of Timebeat.com Enterprises Inc. Antares became Canesa Capital Corporation in September 1999.
Recent work History in the Gasp area included drilling and soil sampling in 2012 and aeromagnetic surveying in 2008.
In 2012, Tower Resources drillhole D-12-013 was collared 200 metres southwest of the edge of Finn zone. The hole was designed to test the southwestern extent of Finn zone mineralization in an area with strong mineralization in historic trenches and drill holes (Gumbo/Gasp zone), and where the Finn zone should trace southwards due to topography and its shallow dip. The hole was reported to have intersected a suite of zones in the uppermost 50 metres.
The Gumbo (094E 065) and Gasp zones were grouped by Tower Resources in 2013 and reported to be located 250 metres southwest of the Finn zone. This zone (or zones) consists of silicified and brecciated andesite cut by quartz and carbonate stringers and represents an extension of the Finn zone or part of the footwall. Limited drilling of this zone has yielded significant high grade intervals highlighted by 37.66 grams per tonne gold over 5.65 metres (Assessment Report 33567).
Refer to Gumbo (094E 065) and JD (Finn) (094E 171) for related details and a common work history of the JD property.
