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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  01-Apr-2022 by Karl A. Flower (KAF)

Summary Help Help

NMI 104A4 Ag24
Name TYEE (L. 4467), MAYFLOWER (L. 4468), MOTHER LODE, FRANKLIN, SURPRISE, MM 100, MM Mining Division Skeena
BCGS Map 104A001
Status Past Producer NTS Map 104A04W
Latitude 056º 00' 21'' UTM 09 (NAD 83)
Longitude 129º 55' 58'' Northing 6207121
Easting 441834
Commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Molybdenum, Tungsten Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Stikine
Capsule Geology

The Tyee occurrence is located about 8.5 kilometres north-northeast of Stewart, approximately 400 metres east of the Stewart highway (37A).

The area is underlain by a small Tertiary(?) stock of quartz monzonite/granodiorite which may be part of the Hyder pluton of the Coast Plutonic Complex (Bulletin 58; 63). The stock intrudes north striking, west dipping tuffaceous sediments and tuffs (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 175) of the Lower Jurassic Unuk River Formation (Hazelton Group) (Bulletin 58; 63). The latter rocks are unconformably overlain to the east by the Middle Jurassic Salmon River Formation (Hazelton Group). The Unuk River Formation rocks are also intruded to the east by north-northwest trending lamprophyre dikes (Bulletin 58; 63). Northeast trending shear zones are conspicuous in the area.

The Tyee occurrence is hosted in the quartz monzonite stock, close to the eastern contact with the tuffaceous rocks. Quartz veins and lenses, mineralized with pyrite, chalcopyrite and minor galena and sphalerite, occur along north to northwest trending joints and shears. Minor molybdenite and scheelite have also been reported (Assessment Report 10190). A shaft was emplaced on a 0.3 to 1.5 metre wide, 25 metres long, northwest trending vertical vein. The vein comprises approximately equal amounts of quartz and sulphides; pyrite predominates but some chalcopyrite is present (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 175). A chip(?) sample collected in 1981 from the shaft assayed 2.7 grams per tonne gold and 164.6 grams per tonne silver across 0.6 metre (Assessment Report 10190).

Three veins are exposed in an adit, immediately northwest of the shaft. At the portal, a 30 centimetre wide quartz-pyrite vein trends 345 degrees and dips 30 degrees to the northeast. At 21.6 metres from the portal, a 0.8 to 1.4 metre wide, well mineralized vein trends 327 degrees and dips 60 degrees to the southwest. A chip(?) sample across this vein assayed 5.5 grams per tonne gold, 178.3 grams per tonne silver and nil copper across 1.4 metres (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1936, page B19). At 30 metres from the portal, a sparsely mineralized vein, 36 centimetres wide and trending 350 degrees and dipping 70 degrees west, assayed negligible gold, silver and copper values.

The Mayflower occurrences lie east of the Tyee occurrence. Several northwest trending, southwest dipping quartz-carbonate fissure veins and shears are hosted in Unuk River Formation tuffaceous sediments and tuffs, just east of the intrusion that hosts the Tyee occurrence (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 175; Assessment Report 10190). Three short adits are reported along Mayflower Creek (Assessment Report 10190). The adits have been driven along well mineralized veins, 0.3 to 0.9 metre wide, that carry pyrite, galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 175). The No. 1 adit lies about 240 metres east of the Tyee adit on the south side of the creek. A grab sample collected from the No. 1 adit in 1981 assayed 78.2 grams per tonne gold and 1961.2 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 10190).

The No. 2 adit lies about 40 metres east-southeast of the No. 1 adit, also on the south side of the creek. A grab sample from an outcrop about 20 metres downstream from the No. 2 adit assayed 93.3 grams per tonne gold and 421.7 grams per tonne silver across 18 centimetres of quartz and sulphide (Assessment Report 10190).

The No. 3 adit lies about 110 metres east of the No. 1 adit, on the north side of the creek. A grab sample from a 10 centimetre wide sulphide vein(?) above the No. 3 adit assayed 33.6 grams per tonne gold, 1306.3 grams per tonne silver, 0.99 per cent copper, 3.65 per cent lead and 2.65 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 10190).

Early records indicate the Mother Lode claim, owned in 1906 by McKay, was restaked in about 1909 as the Tyee claim to protect a gold-silver showing. Opencuts were reported in 1909. The following year Northern Consolidated Mining and Development Co. apparently did some work on the Tyee claim; a shaft is mentioned but it is not clear whether it is the Tyee shaft or not. The Franklin (Surprise) group apparently covered another showing (the Surprise), later renamed the Mayflower(?) immediately to the east in 1908. Franklin Consolidated Mines was formed in 1910 to acquire the claims and emplaced opencuts and an adit. The Mayflower claim group was first mentioned in 1911 and may have been a restaking of the Franklin group; no work was reported at this time. In 1917, six metres of tunnel were reported on the Mayflower group, then owned by Gibson and Woodmore. A few tonnes of ore, assaying $60 per tonne gold (1918 gold price), was apparently shipped in 1918; it is not known whether the ore was from the Tyee or one of the veins on the Mayflower group. Gibson carried out intermittent exploration during 1917-28. Meanwhile, McKay and Bibeau had commenced driving a crosscut tunnel on the Tyee; in 1921 a shaft at the Tyee was reported to be 12.2 metres deep. In 1928, the Tyee and Mayflower properties were consolidated under the Mayflower Mining Company; the crosscut tunnel on the Tyee claim was reported to be 36.6 metres long at this time. The company charter was surrendered in 1931. Gibson and leasees conducted intermittent exploration during 1931-36. In 1936, 8.2 tonnes of ore were shipped from the property, from which 124.4 grams of gold and 4478.8 grams of silver were recovered. The source of the ore is not known; it may have been from the Tyee or Mayflower veins. No further work was reported until 1980 when Hopper staked the MM100 claim over the occurrences. Kingdom Resources Ltd. (later renamed KRL Resources Corp.) subsequently acquired the property and, during 1981-83, carried out geological mapping, prospecting, trenching, sampling and soil and rock geochemical surveys in the area. No further work was done until 1990 when KRL conducted airborne and ground VLF-EM and magnetometer surveys and geological mapping and prospecting; most of this work was done along Victoria Creek, about 900 metres east of the Tyee occurrence. During 2017 through 2020, Singer Resources Inc. and American Creek Resources Ltd. completed programs of geochemical sampling, a 13.5 line-kilometre induced polarization survey and a 438.5 line-kilometres airborne magnetic and LiDAR survey on the area as the Dunwell property.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1909-65; 1910-64; 1911-74; 1917-85; 1918-77; 1919-65; 1921-65; 1922-71; 1923-74; 1925-92; 1928-101; 1934-24; 1935-26; *1936-B17
EMPR ASS RPT 8391, *10190, 11915, 20379, *20975, 37511, 39167
EMPR BULL 58; 63
EMPR MAP 8
EMPR OF 1987-22; 1994-14
EMPR PF (KRL Resources Corp., Statement of Material Facts #16/91, February, 1991)
EMR MP CORPFILE (Mayflower Mining Company, Limited)
GSC MAP *28A; *216A; *217A; 307A; *315A; 9-1957; 1418A
GSC MEM 32, p. 43; 159, p. 40; 175, pp. 130,149
GSC OF 2582; 2779
GCNL #222, 1981; #4, 1984
McCrea, J.A. (2020-10-20): Technical Report on the Dunwell Property, Skeena Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada

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