The Backyard occurrence is located near the northeast bank of Troutline Creek, approximately 500 metres north of the creekâs mouth on McDame Creek and southwest of Jade City.
The area is underlain by faulted, sheared and altered basalt flows and tuffs of the Upper Paleozoic Slide Mountain Complex (Sylvester Allochthon).
The Backyard system comprises several previously known, east-striking and steeply south-dipping, mineralized quartz vein and sulphide-rich alteration zones on the east side of Troutline Creek. The Backyard system is approximately 500 metres long and appears lozenge shape, with the widest portion approximately 200 metres east of Troutline Creek, and pinches further to the east and west, although it may join up with the Newcoast and Newcoast West areas found along 2 kilometres length to the west-southwest.
In 1984, a chip sample (P3152), taken from the north bank of Troutline Creek and approximately 150 metres northwest of the plotted location of the occurrence, yielded 1.3 grams per tonne gold and 268 grams per tonne silver over 0.05 metre (Assessment Report 12627).
In 2005, drillhole 05BY-01 cut 2.20 grams per tonne gold over 32.0 metres (Technical Report on Taurus II Project, D.A. Sketchley, October 13, 2005 [www.sedar.com]; Assessment Report 28314).
In 2019, four outcrop samples (19043, 19045, 19047 and 19048) of mineralized quartz veins yielded from 1.99 to 9.37 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 38989).
Work History
The area has been explored in conjunction with the nearby Taurus (MINFILE 104P 012) occurrence and a completed regional and property exploration history can be found there.
In 1976 and 1979, Newcoast Silver Mines Ltd. completed programs of geological mapping, soil sampling, three diamond drill holes, totalling 220.2 metres, and approximately 24 line-kilometres of ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys on the area as the Van and Tin claims.
In 1980 and 1981, Esso Resources Canada Ltd. completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, trenching and geochemical (rock and soil) sampling on the area as the Goldhill, Nora, Val and Van claims. An adit, referred to as the Newcoast adit, was reported on the occurrence by this time. In 1984 and 1985, Erickson Gold Mining completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling, trenching and ground magnetic survey on the area as the Camp, Diane Fr. and Panda claims.
In 1995, the area was held and examined by Cusac Gold Mines Ltd. as the Table Mountain Gold property.
In 2005, Cusac Gold Mines Ltd. drilled a total of 2444 metres in 13 drillholes on their Taurus II property, in three areas: the Backyard system (MINFILE 104P 121), with six holes totalling 1140.1 metres; the Somerville system (MINFILE 104P 016), with six holes totalling 1122.5 metres, and the Porcupine East (MINFILE 104P 077), with one hole totalling 181.4 metres. Holes trend northerly, or southerly, perpendicular to the easterly strike of the vein systems, and were moderately inclined.
During 2008 through 2010, Hawthorne Gold Corp., later China Minerals Mining Corp., completed regional programs of geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and 11,657 line-kilometres of airborne magnetic, radiometric and electromagnetic surveys on the area as the Cassiar Gold property.
In 2019, Margaux Resources completed a program of prospecting, geological mapping and rock sampling on the area as the Cassiar Gold property. In 2020, Cassiar Gold Corp. completed a program of regional photogeological interpretation, prospecting and rock sampling on the Cassiar Gold property.
