The Wildcat occurrence is located approximately 4.7 kilometres south of McDame Lake, 90 kilometres north of the community of Dease Lake.
Gold- and silver-bearing white quartz veins occur in the Sylvester Allochthon, which is Upper Paleozoic in this area. The Sylvester Allochthon is a fault-bounded imbricate assemblage of Devonian to Triassic regionally metamorphosed (greenschist facies) oceanic rocks thrust over autochthonous North American sediments. In this area, the assemblage consists of Slide Mountain Complex greenstones, pillow metabasalts, serpentinite, listwanite and argillites. West-plunging veins occur on both limbs of a synclinal fold with an east-trending axis.
Locally, faulted segments of the eastern continuation of the Vollaug vein system occur at the contact between Upper Paleozoic Sylvester Allochthon (Slide Mountain Complex) greenstones and serpentinites and the overlying Upper Triassic Slide Mountain Complex argillites. The vein strikes 100 to 110 degrees and dips 30 to 60 degrees north. Most of the vein is less than 1 metre wide. Mineralization consists of disseminated tetrahedrite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite and native gold. Gold commonly occurs adjacent to graphitic stylolites in the quartz. Quartz-carbonate (listwanite) alteration zones occur preferentially between the vein and underlying greenstones and serpentinites. Azurite and malachite occur as oxidation products. The vein has been traced along strike for at least 1020 metres on the Wildcat claim group.
In 1985, indicated ore for the Wildcat zone was 34,690 tonnes grading 10.08 grams per tonne gold (E. Dussell, personal communication, 1986). Production is included with Erickson (MINFILE 104P 029).
Work history
In 1935, the Vollaug vein was discovered by John Vollaug and his partner Hans Erickson and, in 1936, the property was optioned by the Cassiar Syndicate; later that year the option was transferred to Cominco Ltd. In 1937, Cominco conducted a trenching and drilling program consisting of 37 holes. Cominco relinquished their option later that year. Table Mountain Mines Ltd. acquired claims in the area from Bob Wilms and associates in the early 1950s.
In 1961, approximately 72.6 tonnes of ore was milled at a small pilot plant. In 1963, the Wildcat property was acquired by Andew Babiy and during 1965 through 1971, a number of trenches were developed and approximately 600 metres of drilling was performed.
In 1973, a decline and drift were driven into the Vollaug vein for 75 metres. Also in 1973, Troutline Creek Gold Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping and rock sampling on the Wildcat claim group. Sampling of vein rubble over a length of approximately 15 metres yielded an average of 21.9 grams per tonne gold, whereas a chip sample from this zone yielded 53.8 grams per tonne gold over 0.6 metre (Assessment Report 4869).
In 1974, Yellowstone Mines Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping and rock sampling on the Wildcat claim group. A chip sample (CY2) assayed 185.6 grams per tonne gold over 0.54 metre (Assessment Report 5347).
This work was followed up in 1977 with an adit extension and two raises. In 1981, Plaza Resources went into production mining the Vollaug vein on surface but was forced into receivership later that year. Erickson Gold Mining Corp. acquired the property in September 1983 and beginning in January 1984, drove a 450-metre drift along the vein from the Troutline portal. Also in 1984, 16 diamond drill holes, totalling 1341.7 metres, were completed on the Wildcat 2 claim. The following year, 36 diamond drill holes, totalling 3820 metres, were completed on the Hurricane 4 and Wildcat 1 claims.
In 1986, the Wildcat and Ted Fr. claims were optioned from Troutline Creek Golds Ltd. by Erickson Gold Mining Corp., who is the operator. The remainder of the claims were owned by Erickson Gold Mining Corp. In the same year, Erickson Gold Mining completed 23 diamond drill holes, totalling 3727.8 metres, on the Wildcat 1, 2, 9, 12 and 14 claims and the Ted Fr. claims. A further 31 diamond drill holes, totalling 2601.4 metres, are reported to have been completed on the Hurricane 3-4, Up, Jennie Ext. 4, Sun and FG 1-2 claims.
In 1990, Erickson Gold Mining completed a program of trenching, 13 diamond drill holes, totalling 1639.9 metres, an 18.0 line-kilometre ground electromagnetic survey and a 45.3 line-kilometre induced polarization survey on the Wildcat 13 and 15-16, AA and Bit claims, located immediately northeast of the Vollaug occurrence.
More recent exploration programs, during the 2000s and 2010s, were completed by Cusac Gold Mines Ltd., Hawthorne Gold Corp. and later China Minerals Mining Corporation and a complete exploration history can be found in the Table Mountain (MINFILE 104P 070) occurrence.
