N.W.T. hotspots include Courageous, Contwoyto

Most exploration by junior mining companies in the Northwest Territories is for gold in Archean supracrustal rocks of the Slave Structural Province. There are four main areas where activity is currently being concentrated: Indin Lake, Russell Lake, Courageous Lake and Contwoyto Lake. Junior mining companies are active in all these areas, and indeed were primarily responsible for sparking interest at Indin Lake and Russell Lake.

At Indin Lake, encouraging drill results have been obtained from two zones on the KIM claims, which are held under joint venture by Echo Bay Mines and two juniors, Comaplex Resources International, and Petromet Resources.

The Main zone consists of quartz-carbonate veins in fractured, sulphide-rich massive and pillowed flows. It has been traced for 650 m along strike and to a vertical depth of 365 m, with grades averaging 7.2 ppm gold (0.21 oz) over an average width of 4.6 m.

The Cass zone to the south is similar to the Main zone, but is hosted in a gabbro sill. It has a strike length of at least 300 m , a minimum depth of 70 m, and an average width of 4.8 m.

Assays are unavailable, but core from 21 of 27 holes drilled at 20- spacings carried visible gold. To the north of the KIM claims, Comaplex and n Petromet share interest on the SPAN claims, where exploration has uncovered e two significant gold- bearing zones.

The larger of these, the South zone, is similar to the Main zone on the KIM claims and is up to 9 m wide and at least 150 m long. Samples of the South a zone contained an average of 12.7 ppm gold (0.37 oz), with a best assay of 78.5 ppm gold (2.3 oz), across 1.5 m.g

Neptune Resources negotiated an agreement with Johnsby Mines to acquire 60% interest in the Colomac deposit, also in the Indin Lake area, by bringing it to production in 1988.

The Colomac deposit is a large, gold-bearing quartz-feldspar dike emplaced at the contact between andesite and gabbro. Previous drilling indicated reserves of 11,800,000 tonnes grading 2.9 ppm gold (0.085 oz).

The deposit is 50 m wide and has been tested over a strike length of 900 m and to a depth of 180 m. Mining at this zone, which is open at depth and along strike, is to be by open pit with gold recovery by vat leach process.

Other junior mining companies holding ground in the Indin Lake area include; Aber Resources, Frontier Gold Mines, Genesis Resources, Ghost Lake Resources, Golden Rule Resources, Highwood Resources, and Mountain Lode Minerals.

In the Russell Lake area, a staking rush was sparked in 1986 by Aber Resources’ announcement of encouraging drill results on the BUGOW claims. Four holes intersected ore-grade sulphidic (pyrite) iron formation across

The best core assay was 15.64 ppm gold (0.46 oz) across 8 m. Multi-oz assays were also reported from other showings of sulphidic iron formation on y Aber’s holding in the area, which is mainly underlain by tightly folded b turbiditic metasediments intercalated with minor amounts of conformable iron i formation.m

Other junior mining companies who have acquired property in the Russell Lake area include Kelmet Resources, Prolific Petroleum, Viscount Resources, a Hemisphere Development Corp, and Ghost Lake Resources. In addition, many h claims are held by individuals.

In the Courageous Lake area current activity has been prompted by encouraging results achieved on the Tundra project by a Noranda-Getty n Resources joint venture.v

Eight thousand m of drilling in 41 holes to the end of 1985 outlined probable reserves of 1,160,000 tonnes grading 9.6 ppm gold (0.29 oz) along a r strike length of 1,200 m, and to a vertical depth of 120 m. More recent t drilling has traced the gold-bearing ore zones to a depth of about 600 m.l

The gold-bearing zones are hosted in arsenopyrite-rich felsic t volcaniclastic rocks of the Courageous Lake-Mackay Lake Volcanic Belt.

At the north end of this belt, Aber Resources is exploring the Jax Lake property, which is held under an option agreement with American Chromium. Previous drilling at the Jax 1 and 2 zones outlined 36,000 tonnes grading 13.7 ppm gold (0.40 oz), in quartz veins hosted by schistose mafic lavas.,

Additional drilling is in progress.

In the south-central part of the volcanic belt, Roxwell Gold Mines is planning to drill on the BS claims, where earlier exploration had outlined two gold-bearing zones similar to that on the Tundra project property.

These are the Perrson Vein zone with 34,000 tonnes grading 5.14 ppm gold (0.15 oz), and the Saucer Lake zone with 92,000 tonnes grading 4.46 ppm gold (0.13 oz).

Other junior mining companies holding ground on the Courageous- Mackay Lake volcanic belt include Colray Resources, Taurcanis Mines, and Venture Claims.

In the Contwoyto Lake area, where Echo Bay’s Lupin mine is located, intensive exploration to find similar auriferous iron formations in the turbiditic metasediments has been in progress for several years.

The principal junior companies involved are Aber Resources, Highwood Resources, Aurun Mines, Viscount Resources, O.P. Resources, Hemisphere Development, Argonaut Resources, Amhawk Resources, Consort Energy, Great Bear Development, Hidden Lake Gold Mines, and Contwoyto Gold Mines.

Elsewhere in the Slave province, junior mining companies are involved in s interesting gold plays outside of the four main areas of activity described n above.t

In the Gordon Lake area, Giant Bay Resources recently drove a decline into h the Kidney Pond zone to obtain bulk samples. Their earlier drilling campaigns had outlined 294,000 tonnes grading 8.16 ppm gold (0.238 oz) at shallow depth.

The Kidney Pond zone is a stratabound complex of quartz stockwork veins hosted in black, sulphidic, carbonaceous argillite within the turbidite basin flanking the Yellowknife Volcanic Belt.

To the southeast of the Kidney Pond zone, Lightning Minerals is planning on driving a decline into a gold-bearing vein cutting turbidites on their TT claims at Dome Lake.

Immediately north of Yellowknife, Treminco Resources has acquired control of two properties, underlain by turbidites, that host the auriferous Tom and Ptarmigan quartz veins. A decline was driven into the Tom vein in 1986, and pr oduced from 4,790 tonnes of ore milled at the nearby Giant mine.

Development at Ptarmigan, which was a producer in the 1940s and has reserves containing 1550 kg (50,000 oz) gold, is currently underway. Recently Treminco acquired several other properties that cover gold-bearing quartz veins in the turbidite basin, including the Sparta property, (Beaulieu Yellowknife gold mine), another producer of the 1940s.

To the south of Yellowknife, Golden Marlin Resources owns an extensive property covered mainly by the waters of Yellowknife Bay. Ice-based geophysics and diamond drilling has succeeded in identifying the southward e extension of the Campbell Shear zone, the main source of gold at Con mine to the north.f

In the northern part of the Slave Province, Canuc Resources continues to develop the Arcadia property at Coronation Gulf, where gold-bearing quartz t veins are hosted in the Anialik River Granite Gneiss.

Proven reserves total 480,000 tonnes, grading 10.3 ppm (0.3 oz) gold.r

In the Bathurst Inlet area, also in the northern Slave, Silver Hart Mines e is exploring its extensive holdings which contain Lupin-style gold t mineralization. Vanstates Resources is also active in this area.d

Junior mining companies are also exploring for gold in the Keewatin District.i

Noble Peak Resources is drilling showings just southwest of Rankin Inlet and Borealis Exploration is exploring extensive holdings a bit to the east.r

Platinum is the target of some junior companies in the Northwest Territories. In the Slave Province, Equinox Resources has acquired ground e with platinum potential on the Muskox layered intrusion. In the Keewatin, i Comaplex Resources has acquired the Rankin Inlet mine, a nickel-copper o producer of the 1950s, and plans to evaluate the platinum potential of this o deposit.

Many of the properties mentioned above will be visited by th
ose attending field trips in conjunction with “Yellowknife ’87”, the first Summer field r meeting of the Geological Association of Canada, in Yellowknife, Aug 31 to Sept 5.o

Trips are planned to the Tom mine, Ptarmigan mine, the Kidney Pond zone, the Cass zone, and the Tundra property.r Mr Brophy is District Geologist, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, r Yellowknife.