The Haskins Mountain occurrence is located on Mount Haskin between Hot and Poorman lakes and approximately 105 kilometres north of the community of Dease Lake.

On Mount Haskin, an isolated synclinal outlier of Lower Cambrian Atan Group limestone, underlain by siltstone, occurs near the summit. To the east lies the Eocene Major Hart pluton granite stock. A northwest-trending fault along the northeast end of the limestone separates Atan Group rocks from Upper Proterozoic Ingenika Group clastics to the northeast.

Locally, massive pyrrhotite-rich garnet skarn occurs at the carbonate-clastic contact, along the fault zone and in several stratigraphically lower horizons in the upper 30 metres of the siltstone. Mineralization includes abundant sphalerite and lesser amounts of chalcopyrite, galena, arsenopyrite and beryl (D. Hora, personal communication, 1993). Tin assays are also reported to be significant (approximately 0.1 per cent; Barnhill, 1982).

By 1949, at least three zones of mineralization had been identified and referred to as the Main (Fault) zone, the Summit zone and the Northeast Slope zone. The Main (Fault) zone sulphide mineralization has been intermittently identified along a northwest-southeast–trending fault zone over a strike length of approximately 810 metres and is best exposed in a gully on the northwest slope of Mount Haskin. The Summit zone is located near the summit of Mount Haskin and is associated with the same mineralized fault as the Main zone. The Northeast Slope zone is located along the northeast slope of Mount Haskin a short distance below the summit and comprises a contact of quartzite overlying limestone that can be traced along a northwest strike and dips southwest into the mountain. Sporadic mineralization occurs along the contact zone.

In 1949, intermittent sampling of the Main zone along a northwest trend is reported to have yielded 8.46 per cent zinc, 2.68 per cent lead and 83.1 grams per tonne silver over an area of 90 by 5.7 metres; and 8.93 per cent zinc, 0.13 per cent lead and 33.1 grams per tonne silver over an area of 222 by 3.5 metres, whereas sampling of the Summit and Northeast Slope zones yielded up to 9.24 and 7.83 per cent zinc, 1.21 and trace per cent lead with 40.0 and 75.0 grams per tonne silver, respectively (Assessment Report 48). Also at this time, a drill intersection is reported to have assayed 67.2 grams per tonne silver, 9.0 per cent zinc and 4.5 per cent lead over 3.6 metres (Assessment Report 48).

According to Carpenter and Gilmour (2008), the Fort Reliance zone, also known as the Snow zone and likely related to the circa 1949 Main (Fault) zone, has been prospected and trenched on surface over a horizontal distance of at least 300 metres. Mineralization is similar to that found at the Joem ‘A’ zone (MINFILE 104P 059): strong pyrrhotite, with sphalerite and galena. They report further in their 2008 technical report that according to Hodgson (1977) the Fort Reliance zone has a historically reported 386,000 tonnes of 1.94 per cent lead, 5.54 per cent zinc, 42.5 grams per tonne silver, 0.2 per cent copper and 0.1 per cent tin, reported by Westervelt for U.S. Steel in 1965 (Hodgson 1977) as reported by Carpenter and Gilmour (2008; available from www.sedar.com).

Work History

The area was first staked in part by Yukon Ranges Prospecting Syndicate in the spring of 1948 and the following year a program of geological mapping, sampling and trenching was performed. The property had been staked originally approximately 40 years before this and was the centre of a promotion that collapsed with the death of the promoter, Haskins.

Since 1949, two claims and a fraction have lapsed and were restaked in 1954 by G. Hope of Quartzrock Creek and J. Thompson of Watson Lake. Three claims owned by Mr. Turner of Telegraph Creek and two owned by G.C.F. Dalziel of Watson Lake were Crown granted. Since these first miners, the claims have been dropped and restaked many times as the price of metals fluctuated.

In 1997, Demand Gold Ltd. completed a program of geochemical (rock and soil) sampling, minor trenching and a 9.0 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the area as the Reed property. Also at this time, part of the occurrence area was prospected by Barry Ernewein as the Chi 1 and Geo 1 claims.

In 2006, the Haskin claim was prospected and sampled by G. Diakow and J. Hope.