The Oxide Peak mineral showing is located on the northern flank of Oxide Peak and 450 metres north of the summit proper. The showing is 310 kilometres north of Smithers. It lies within the Omineca- Cassiar Mountains in the north-central portion of the Toodoggone gold camp.
The Oxide Peak 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.
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 Oxide Peak showing lies south of the western contact of a fault bound wedge of Takla Group, within Toodoggone Formation volcanics. The Toodoggone volcanics are part of the McClair Member consisting of lavender and grey, crowded, fine to medium grained, plagioclase porphyritic flows with lesser lapilli tuffs, breccia and minor epiclastic beds (Assessment Report 15412). The Takla volcanics within this fault bound wedge are described as dark green augite porphyry basalt flows and breccias with minor interbedded siltstone, tuffaceous sediments and chert. It contains limestone lenses that may be part of the Asitka Group (Assessment Report 15412).
The Oxide Peak showing consists of a recessive weathering shear zone, approximately 350 metres long by 10 metres wide. The zone strikes 150 degrees and dips vertically. At least three resistant weathering silicified pods are found within this shear zone. Silicified zones range from quartz-barite stringers in pyritic andesites to intensely silicified and pyritic, porphyritic volcanics exposed in a 6 by 4-metre outcrop (Assessment Report 15412).
Another mineralized zone, located along Oxide Creek approximately 900 metres to the east, comprises highly fractured, rusty weathering, variably brecciated dacite porphyry, with a strong late chlorite-pyrite overprint. The rock is strongly magnetic with early secondary magnetite-biotite-chalcopyrite veinlets. Quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins cut the early veinlets and are in turn cut by late pyrite veins, which are exposed over approximately 30 metres. The zone is bounded on both sides by less-altered (quartz) monzonite porphyry dikes; at least two of these later dike phases are present, including a fine-grained and a coarse-grained phase. Some of the dikes contain a late phase of mineralization consisting of sheeted quartz veins with chalcopyrite, pyrite, galena and sphalerite.
In 1981, a sample (CG-42-81-5) of quartz-calcite vein breccia yielded 0.065 gram per tonne gold and 4.0 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 10242).
In 1985, chip samples from a silicified shear zone yielded values of up to 0.260 gram per tonne gold, 14.0 grams per tonne silver, 0.041 per cent copper, 0.015 per cent molybdenum, 0.312 per cent lead and 0.052 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 15412).
Assay results from rock sampling of this showing in 1986 were 14.0 grams per tonne silver (sample ED-23), 0.26 gram per tonne gold, 0.312 per cent lead (sample ED-25), 0.052 per cent zinc (sample ED-24), 0.0406 per cent copper (sample ED-24), 0.0148 per cent molybdenum (sample ED-23) and 0.332 per cent barium (sample ED-17) (Assessment Report 15412).
In 2016, a rock sample (M456702) of strongly pyritized and silicified to advanced argillic-altered rocks with sheeted quartz(-pyrite) veins, located on a ridge approximately 650 metres to the east-southeast, assayed 0.172 gram per tonne gold, while a sample (M456704) of strongly pyritized medium- to coarse-grained monzodiorite porphyry with patchy chlorite-magnetite alteration and magnetite stringers, located along Oxide Creek approximately 900 metres to the east-northeast, yielded 0.137 per cent copper (Assessment Report 36482).
Work History
The Oxide Peak property was acquired by Serem Inc in 1980 and reconnaissance geology and geochemistry was conducted on the Lou and Oxide claims. Work on the Poo and ON claims adjoining to the north, was conducted over the next two years. Reconnaissance sampling of Oxide Peak drainages produced anomalous base metal values and spotty precious metal highs. Sampling of drainages from the eastern part of the Lou claim (later East Ridge area of Amethyst Valley claim) produced consistent copper anomalies, but only spotty base metal values were found in limited soil sampling. A more limited effort in 1981 saw soil sampling of the 1700 metre contour on Oxide Peak and quartz breccia rock chip sampling along the East Ridge area.
In 1984, Charles Kowall (1984) mapped silicified and pyritized zones on the East Ridge but soil and rock chip sampling over leached areas did not yield anomalous precious metal values. In 1985, 134 rock samples were collected by Geostar Mining Corp in the Oxide Peak and Amthyst Valley areas, the latter area contained the Mist and East Ridge occurrences.
In 1987, Shayna Resources Inc conducting soil, stream and rock sampling, VLF-EM and magnetometer surveys, and, primarily on the Amethyst Valley claim, geological mapping.
In 1994, resistivity and induced polarization survey was carried out along one line over the Mist Vein located within the Amethyst Valley claim owned by Robert Card.
In 1996, resistivity and induced polarization surveys along with some soil sampling were carried out on behalf of Matrix Energy Corp, over a part of the Oxide Peak property (the Mist area). Soil sampling consisted of 17 samples picked up along the base line and line 100N.
In 2004, a number of rock and soil samples were taken in the East Ridge, Mist and Oxide Peak areas by Stealth Minerals. Stealth held these occurrences as part of its Gordo group of claims which stretched to the east over the Joanna and Falcon occurrences. See Joanna Gold (094E 172) for further details of the Stealth work. Minor advanced argillic alteration is evident on Oxide Peak by the alunite-illite association. A total of 30 soil samples were taken from a contour soil line along the eastern slope of Oxide peak. On Oxide Peak, the base metals appear to be possibly leached from the upper rocks in the acid alteration system. On Oxide Peak, evidence of high sulphidation style alteration is present.
In 2005, Stealth Minerals Ltd. completed a further program of prospecting, geological mapping and rock sampling on the Gordo-Too-Oxide property.
In the early 2010s Starfire Minerals Inc held the Oxide Peak, Mist and East Ridge showing areas as part of their Porphyry Pearl property but did not report any work there.
In 2016, Seven Devils Exploration Ltd. completed a program of prospecting and rock sampling on the area immediately east.
In 2018, Arcwest Exploration Inc. conducted a program of geological mapping and minor rock sampling on the area immediately east.
See Mist (094E 180) and East Ridge (094E 179) for further geological information and Porphyry Pearl (094E 084) for related information on the Porphyry Pearl property.
