The Burnie 1 area is underlain by Devonian to Permian marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Stikine Assemblage which area overlain by marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group. Lower Jurassic rock of the Hazelton groups overly the Stuhini rock.

The volcanic and sedimentary sequences were intruded by the Late Triassic and Eocene plutons of the Coast Plutonic Complex. A wide variety of intrusive phases are present including granodiorite, quartz monzonite and diorite. Small satellitic plugs from the main batholith are important for localizing mineralization.

Low grade regional metamorphism has occurred within the marine sediments, and the foliation is usually conformable with bedding. Fault and shear zones trend 135 degrees and about 045 degrees occassionally following bedding planes. Andesite and basalt dikes follow the 045 degree structures while felsite dikes are related to the 135 degrees structures.

Mineralization consists mainly of pyrite with traces of tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and galena in thin quartz and carbonate veins. These veins range in thicknesses from 1 millimetre to 1 metre, with silicification manifested by crystalline to opaque to grey-white milky quartz and calcite usually occurring as a secondary vein. Host rocks consist mainly of argillite, argillaceous siltstone and metasediments interbedded with basalt to rhyodacite flows and sills(?), fragmental tuff and lapilli tuff. Chlorite is abundant within these rocks which have undergone various degrees of propylitic, argillic or potassic alteration.

In 1987, a sample taken from a quartz vein within silicified metasediments assayed 0.45 gram per tonne gold, 15.8 grams per tonne silver, 0.01 per cent copper, 0.075 per cent lead and 0.018 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 16957). In 1984, two rock chip samples taken from this quartz vein system in Area B, within the silicified meta-sediments, assayed 5.8 grams per tonne gold, 61.7 grams per tonne silver, with 0.036 per cent zinc and 5.8 grams per tonne gold, 27.4 grams per tonne silver and 0.048 per cent zinc, respectively (Property File: Ikona, 1987).

In 1995, several samples were taken in the vicinity of the Burnie showing. One sample of tuff, several hundred metres north-northwest of the plotted MINFILE Burnie 1 showing contained pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. See Grace (104B 270), Burnie 2 (104B 271), Second Basin North (104B 314), Exposure (104B 316) and Dan 2 (104B 272) for related details and a common work history.

Work History

The first work recorded on the ground was performed by Anaconda Canada Exploration Ltd. for a Skyline Exploration Ltd., Placer Development Ltd. and Anaconda joint venture on the Burnie 14, Reg 10 and Stanley 7 claims around 1983. This program was carried out to follow-up on a helicopter-borne geophysical survey and consisted of geological mapping and limited trenching, prospecting, reconnaissance ground geophysics and stream sediment sampling. A total of 28 heavy mineral stream sediment samples and 20 rock samples were collected during the course of this program. The trenching and the five associated rock samples and the ground geophysics were conducted over an area just west of the present Eldorado claims. Anaconda’s work defined a silver-copper-lead-zinc-iron carbonate vein showing off the present Eldorado property with anomalous copper in heavy sediments in First Basin and anomalous gold in heavy sediments in Second Basin.

A total of 920 km of an electromagnetic/resistivity/magnetic survey was flown in 1983, over the Burnie 1-4, Stanley 7, Sky 1-3, Cooee 1-3 and Meg 10 claims, a property held by Placer Development Limited over, and south of, the confluence of the Craig and Jekill rivers Assessment Report 11327).

In 1987, Androne Resources Ltd. completed an exploration program on the Burnie 1-4 and Dan l-3 claims. Their work was comprised of geological mapping and prospecting (139 samples), silt sampling (56 samples) and contour soil sampling (272 samples). This program identified the Grace 2 showing, a northwest-trending shear zone with silicification and pyritization with malachite and which yielded significant gold, silver and copper assays. Androne also discovered the Grace 1 showing, a similarly-trending and mineralized shear zone, also with chalcopyrite and azurite..

Pezgold Resources Corp. conducted an exploration program in 1988 that was, in part, a continuation of the 1987 program that was halted due to adverse weather conditions. This program entailed grid-based soil sampling and VLF-EM surveys over the Grace showings and four trenches totalling 37 metres over the Grace 2 showing. A total of twelve chip samples were collected from two of these trenches. Results from these trenches were erratic and discouraging with maximum values of 11.9 grams per tonne gold and1.5 per cent copper over 20 centimetres. The soil survey identified numerous, multi-station, but discontinuous anomalies with the strongest response in gold and base metals in the northern part of the grid (near the Grace 1 showing) and the strongest response in gold and silver in the southern part of the grid. A total of 5.3 line-kilometres of VLF-EM surveying was conducted over this same grid. The most pronounced anomaly outlined by this survey was associated with the Grace 1 showing. Several samples were taken at the Second Basin North showing.

The Burnie and Dan claims were allowed to lapse in the fall and winter of 1994 and were restaked in 1995 by David Javorsky as the Eldorado l-4 mineral claims. In 1995, David Javorsky and John McGoran collected four samples from streams, processed by sluicing through a portable 30 by 120 centimetre box. During prospecting 29 rock samples were also collected. A re-evaluation of the previous trenching was carried out.

In 1996, a total of 115 soil samples and 21 rock samples were collected by Golden Band Resources Inc on the Eldoradao claims (Assessment Report 25009).

Richards (Assessment Report 29673) reports on the Burnie vein system in his 2007 report based on a private Skyline Gold report by Yeager from 1991. Drilling was reported to have occurred beneath the Burnie-1 vein sometime before 1991. However, Richards' report shows and states that the Burnie occurrence is 1200 metres northwest of the Grace occurrence, which is on the Burnie 2 claim. Claim maps also seem to indicate that the Burnie claims were not as far north as where the Burnie-1 vein of Richards and Yeager is plotted.