Modest gold producer seen by Kerr Addison,Abo

With all the hydrothermal activity taking place deep beneath this popular tourist area a short jaunt from Vancouver, it’s not surprising that somebody has discovered a gold deposit nearby. The property in question was optioned by Abo Resource Corp. in 1983, which subsequently increased its land position by staking.

Kerr Addison Mines entered the picture a year later and is now conducting an underground bulk sampling program and a pilot plant test. The ultra-conservative company hasn’t said too much about the property but in Kerr’s latest annual report P. S. Cross, executive vice- president and chief operating officer, suggests the property has “the potential of a modest tonnage producer.” The work is being funded by Bema International Resources which can earn half of Kerr’s 60% interest for an expenditure of $750,000 in 1987.

Kerr has reached the discovery by adit and it plans to bulk-sample three raises in the Jenner quartz diorite stock which hosts a network of gold-bearing quartz veinlets. Underground mapping and sampling programs will hopefully delineate the higher grade zones and determine which of two mining techniques (bulk or selective) is most appropriate. Material from the bulk sampling program is currently being milled, The Northern Miner learned while visiting the operation.

The gold occurs mainly as free, visible flakes with or without silver and bismuth tellurides. It is associated with pyrite and pyrrhotite and is confined to quartz stockworks within the intrusives or on the periphery. Importantly, it is clean and would represent no environmental problem should production be attainable. Correlating specific mineralized zones between drill holes has been difficult because there is no specific lithological or structural control to the mineralization. So assessing the find has not been easy. (One problem they aren’t having is attracting technical staff and miners to Harrison. The resort is only a few minutes drive away.)

Kerr re-mapped the property and completed a major program of stream, soil and geochemical sampling in 1985. The company then finished approximately 2,800 ft of drilling in four new holes and extended a previous Abo hole. Geological mapping and soil work last year located several new quartz diorite stocks south and east of the Jenner. At present, eight intrusive stocks are known to exist and several of these carry gold values. Also, a north-trending feldspar porphyry dike was outlined over 3,200 ft of strike and to widths of 300 ft or more which could be significant.

Although no definitive reserve estimate has been made a figure of 955,000 tons grading approximately 0.075 oz gold per ton has been used by Abo. There is a nugget effect, so establishing an accurate reserve grade is difficult. The pilot test will determine whether there is an upgrading from what was indicated by drilling. When The Northern Miner visited the property Kerr had not yet determined what if any the upgrade was. Pilot plant capacity is about 18 tonnes per day. The small plant has a gravity circuit including a jig and shaking table plus a small flotation circuit.