Work History
Staked as Tad cl 1-239 (Y37240) between Aug/69 and Jan/70 by a joint venture between International Mines Services Ltd, Indian Mountain Metal Mines Ltd, Lion Nickel Mines of Canada Ltd, Prado Explorations Ltd and Gui-Por Uranium Mines and Metals Ltd. The claims were registered in non-sequential order thus the lowest claim number = Y36721 (Tad 25). The joint venture carried out soil sampling, I.P. and magnetometer surveying, bulldozer trenching, diamond drilled 18 holes (2 707 m) and constructed a winter road and airstrip during 1969 and 1970. The company staked Tad cl 240-267 (Y59914) adjoining the southwest corner of the claim block in Dec/70 and carried out soil sampling, magnetometer surveying and geological mapping of the newly staked claims in 1971.
In Dec/69, Chataway Exploration Company Ltd staked GB cl 1-96 (Y46456) approximately 5 km to the northeast and carried out silt and soil sampling and geological mapping in 1970. Other adjoining claims staked during this time, included the Gam cl 1-176 (Y47877) to the southeast in Feb/70 by Norcan Mines Ltd and Luk cl 1-32 (Y77910) 5 km to the east in Nov/73 by T. Worbetts.
The Nat Joint Venture (Chevron Canada Ltd and Armco Mineral Exploration Ltd) staked Nit cl 1-36 (YA51904) 3.5 km to the west in Sep/80 and carried out geological mapping, and rock and soil sampling in 1981.
Restaked as Toro cl 1-24 (YA82449) in Jun/84 by D. Waugh.
Chevron Canada Resources Ltd restaked the Luk group as Tre cl 1-4 (YA91918) in Jun/85. In Jul/85 the company carried out preliminary geological mapping and sampled several historic trenches dug by previous operators.
During the 1986 field season, Noranda Exploration Company Ltd carried out geochemical soil sampling of the Toro claims and resampling of the 1969-70 drill core.
The Nit claims were restaked as ITN cl 1-37 (YA91875) in Jun/85 by Freegold Venture. The company carried out prospecting, geological mapping and soil sampling later in the month. Freegold Ventures added ITN cl 38-48 (YA92627) and cl 60-63 (YA92649) in Jul/85. The company carried out additional rock and soil sampling and dug 11 bulldozer trenches in 1986.
In Nov/86 Waugh staked Toro cl 25-46 (YA96544) adjoining the original claims to the northeast. Subsequently, Noranda optioned the Toro claims from Waugh and in May/87 staked Toro cl 47-56 (YA97407) adjoining to the south. During the 1987 field season, Noranda carried out additional soil sampling, trenching, VLF and magnetometer geophysical surveying and drilled 4 holes (372 m).
In Dec/92, the remaining five Toro claims (covering Zone 2) were transferred to G. Davidson. In 1993 the Geological Survey of Canada carried out airborne gamma-ray and magnetometer surveying over the area. G. Wilson staked the W2 cl 1-4 (YB57368) 2 km to the southwest in Dec/94.
In May/96 Davidson and B. Harris surrounded the Toro claims with Tad cl 1-56 (YB66794). They then optioned the claim block to International Kodiak Resources Inc, which carried out geochemical soil sampling, magnetometer and VLF-EM geophysical surveying and geological mapping later in the year. International Kodiak sold its interest in the property to Cascade Pacific Resources Ltd in 1998, which subsequently sold the property to Pan Ocean Explorations Inc in Jan/99. Pan Ocean carried out compilation and reinterpretation of the historic data.
In Feb/2004 B. Harris surrounded the remaining 5 Toro claims with Tad cl 1-75 (YC26488). Tad cl 1-18 (YC26488) were allowed to expire in Feb/2005. Harris carried out a short property visit in Nov/2005. Drill core from 1969 and 1987 drill programs was examined and 3 core samples from the 1969 drill holes were collected for assaying. In Feb/2006 Harris restaked the 5 expired Toro claims as Tad cl 5-8 (YC40974) and cl 17 (YC40978).
ATAC Resources Ltd staked Nit cl 1-12 (YC41133) 3.5 km to the west in Feb/2006.
In Oct/2006 B. Harris staked Tad cl 68-101 (YC54331) on the south and west sides of the existing Tad claim block. During the staking trip Harris examined and sampled the main showings and surveyed by GPS the location of all trenches, claim posts and other significant topographic features.
In Mar/2007 Harris optioned the Tad claims to Northern Freegold Resources Ltd for cash, shares and certain work commitments. Although Harris was the owner of record, the Tad claims were subject to an underlying agreement providing G. Davidson a 50% interest and Harris and various relatives the remaining 50%. In Aug/2007 Northern Freegold Resources staked Tad cl 102-159 (YC65809) on the west and south sides of the existing Tad claim block. In Sep/2007 Northern Freegold purchased the Nit claims from ATAC Resources Ltd for 100 000 shares and a 1% net smelter return for ATAC Resources. Following the purchase Northern Freegold geologically mapped and sampled the Nit Trenches, rehabilitated the 1969 and 1987 drill core racks and split and sampled selected intersections from the 1969 core.
In Aug/2009 Northern Freegold staked Tad cl 160-191 (YC90197) on the north side of the Tad claim block and Tad cl 206-325 (YC90309) on the southwest side. The claims on the southwest side cover Minfile Occurrence # 115I 032).
In Sep/2009 0851045 BC Ltd flew an airborne geophysical survey over the Tad and Nit claims. In Nov/2009 Northern Freegold optioned the Tad/Nit claims to 0851045 BC Ltd for cash, shares and certain work commitments. Northern Freegold retained a 3% net smelter return on the claims. Following the signing of the option agreement, 0851045 BC Ltd announced a merger with Uldaman Capital Corp. In Jan/2010 the merged companies announced the formation of a new company; Dawson Gold Corp.
Dawson Gold Corp staked Toro cl 1-70 (YD20041) in Feb/2010 along the northeast side of the Tad claim block. In Jun/2010 the merged companies consolidated their shares on the basis of 2 old shares for one new share. On August 10, 2010 the merger was completed and the new Dawson Gold Corp shares began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange.
During the 2010 exploration season Dawson Gold carried out ground Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical surveys over three grids, infill soil sampling on 6 grids, rehabilitated the airstrip, and drilled 8 diamond drill holes (1 516 m). All of the holes tested targets associated with this occurrence.
Dawson Gold staked Rex cl 31-38 (YD115491) to the northwest in Oct/2010. The company added Rex cl 1-24 (YD115461) in Mar/2011. During the summer of 2011 Dawson Gold completed a 33.6 line km surveyed and cut grid in advance of a Quantec Geophysics Titan-24 deep penetrating IP ground-based geophysical survey. The survey was designed to test the mineral potential at depth and to define potentially mineralized structural targets within the 75 million year Late Cretaceous porphyry (Tad porphyry) and the 103 million year Mid Cretaceous granodiorite intrusive units located on the northern half of the property.
Capsule Geology
The area is located in the central Dawson Range, west-central Yukon approximately 25 to 30 km due east from Capstone Mining Corporation's Minto Mine. S. Johnston employed by the Yukon Geoscience office (now part of the Yukon Geological Survey) released a geological compilation in 1995 which covered the occurrence area. Johnston used data obtained from a Geological Survey of Canada Airborne Multiparameter Geophysical Survey (Open File 2816) to assist him in creating the compilation. Gordey and Makepeace (2003) released a geological compilation of the Yukon which included this area and various exploration companies have carried out geological mapping programs as part of their assessment requirements.
The occurrence area lies within the Yukon-Tanana terrane, an accreted terrane locally separated from strata of the ancestral North American margin by the northwest-trending Tintina fault. The northern portion of the area is underlain by granitic rocks assigned to the mid-Cretaceous Dawson Range batholith. The batholith is intruded by granite to quartz monzonite stocks and dykes assigned to the Late Cretaceous Prospector Mountain Suite (?). The largest of these Late Cretaceous intrusion is known as the Tad Porphyry. The Tad Porphyry hosts two phases; a quartz monzonite porphyry and a biotite granite porphyry. To the northeast the Prospector Mountain Suite rocks are intruded by mafic dykes and overlain by basaltic flows assigned to the Upper Cretaceous Carmacks Group. To the south the Dawson Range Batholith intrudes underlying Devonian to Mississippian metagranite, metagneiss, schist, quartzite and other metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks assigned to the Wolverine Creek Metamorphic Suite. The north-westerly trending North Big Creek Fault trends across the centre of the area, following Hayes creek. The sub-parallel South Big Creek fault lies 2-3 km to the west. To the south a northerly trending extensional fault follows the west branch of Hayes Creek.
Mineralization generally occurs as disseminated pyrite (up to 10%) within the Tad porphyry, and narrow sphalerite, galena, and arsenopyrite bearing quartz veins present along shear zones. Three types of mineralization with associated alteration includes: (1) porphyry copper-molybdenum mineralization occurring in minor potassic and broad phyllic alteration zones in quartz monzonite porphyry stocks and breccias; (2) peripheral porphyry mineralization occurring as low grade gold-pyrite-arsenopyrite in sericite-phyllic alteration zones in porphyry stocks, breccia zones and northwest trending fault zones; and (3) epithermal and mesothermal veins hosted in northwest trending primary structures and northeast trending secondary structures often sub-parallel to porphyry dykes. In addition, gold on quartz clasts have been recovered from Apex Creek to the south and placer concentrates contain galena, sphalerite and other sulphide minerals.
The International Mine Services joint venture initially discovered disseminated lead-zinc mineralization in an outcrop of gossanous sericite and clay altered quartz monzonite porphyry located on the east side of Hayes Creek. Follow-up soil sampling outlined three anomalous zones. Zone 1 now known as the Moly zone is located approximately 3 km southeast of the Main zone (occurrence location) and is defined by irregular molybdenum (up to 336 ppm) and weak copper values. Zone 2 now known as the Main Zone hosts a broad 1.5 km long zinc-lead (with weak copper, silver and molybdenum) anomaly with coincident I.P. chargeability and magnetic highs. Zone 3 located approximately 3 km southwest of the Main zone (its exact location is uncertain due to the absence of accurate location maps from 1969-70) hosts a 2 km long zinc-lead anomaly.
The 1969-70 drilling tested geochemical anomalies associated with the Moly zone (6 holes, 952.2 m) and Main zone (12 holes, 1 755.8 m). Both zones are associated with weakly gossanous and leached pyritic quartz monzonite porphyry cutting unaltered monzonite. Minor molybdenum mineralization was discovered in three holes drilled on the Moly zone. The best intersection from the Main zone was 7.2 m grading 1.5% combined lead-zinc, 19.5 g/t silver and 1.05 g/t gold from hole T69-2. Petrology studies indicated the presence of strong argillic to weak phyllic alteration. Mineralization consists of minor amounts of sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, tetrahedrite and molybdenite.
The joint venture also bulldozer trenched an area located approximately 2.75 km to the west in an area currently referred to as the Cp trenches. The Cp trenches are located at an intrusive contact where a 1 000 m diameter plug of Late Cretaceous quartz feldspar porphyry intrudes a portion of the mid-Cretaceous Dawson Range batholith. Details are sketchy but it appears the joint venture recovered trace chalcopyrite in veinlets from the granite (batholith).
Results of other soil sampling carried out to the east on the GB claims, during this period, were uniformly low and no evidence of mineralization or favourable alteration was found. Geological mapping on the Tre claims was limited to previously dug bulldozer trenches which exposed propylitically altered granite associated with the Dawson Range batholith. The granite was described as weakly gossanous and crumbly due to surface weathering. No mineralization was observed and two grab samples collected from the trenches returned less than 1 ppb gold.
Soil and silt sampling carried out in 1980 and 81 on the Nit claims outlined an arsenic anomaly underlain by mid-Cretaceous granite and Devonian to Mississippian schist and gneiss cut by Late Cretaceous quartz-feldspar porphyry dykes. A silt sample collected from the upper portion of the Waugh Creek drainage returned 1 247 ppm gold. Follow-up grid based soil sampling carried out in 1985 outlined three areas (A, B, and C) of anomalous gold, silver, lead and antimony response with maximum results of 1 020 ppb gold, 54 ppm silver, 1 550 ppm lead and 980 ppm arsenic. Anomaly A occurs at the contact between mid-Cretaceous granite and Late Cretaceous feldspar porphyry. Trenching uncovered a number of fault gouge/clay altered zones hosted by the granite. Anomaly B overlies the mid-Cretaceous granite. Trenching uncovered silver-gold mineralization associated with northwest trending fault zones hosting quartz veins. A 30 m chip sample from trench F located within Anomaly B returned 0.32 g/t gold and 32.2 g/t silver while a 7.8 m channel sample collected from quartz veining in a fault zone in the same trench returned 1.03 g/t gold and 2.7 g/t silver. Anomaly C overlies a north-south trending fault. A 2.1 m channel sample collected from quartz veins in a fault cutting trench BW-4 returned 0.79 g/t gold and 120.0 g/t silver.
Noranda's 1986-87 exploration program focused on the Main zone and was directed toward outlining bulk tonnage oxide hosted supergene gold. Resampling of core from the 1969-70 drill program returned encouraging values from three holes, all of which had been drilled on the Main zone; Hole T-2 intersected 0.5 g/t gold over 37 m, including 1 g/t gold over 8.2 m; Hole T-12 intersected 1.23 g/t gold over 4.9 m; and Hole T-14 intersected 1.68 g/t gold over 7 m. A wide area of weakly anomalous soil response was outlined but a significant bulk tonnage or high grade source was not located. Diamond drilling by Noranda on coincident gold-in-soil and IP anomalies intersected moderately altered, but largely unoxidized, pyritiferous rock.
Re-evaluation of Noranda's 4 drill holes by Hart (1998) concluded that Noranda's drill holes were collared at low topographic levels where erosion had already excavated through the supergene zone and exposed the topographically lower hypogene (unoxidized) zone. Attempts to define a supergene (oxidized) gold zone should be initiated higher, in the oxide realm.
Property examinations and work completed in 1996 by International Kodiak Resources confirmed the areas of anomalous gold-in-soils and geophysical survey response and recommended a program of further diamond drilling. Evaluation of airborne geophysical data collected by the Geological Survey of Canada, (Open File 2816) by Hart (1998) discloses that the radiometric signature over the property indicates a large area with a low thorium/potassium (Th/K) ratio. The signature is similar to, although larger and slightly less intense than, the Casino deposit (Minfile Occurrence #115J 028) located approximately 55 km to the northwest.
The 2005, 2006 and 2007 property visits were used to re-locate drill holes, trenches and other significant topographic features. Core, rock and soil samples collected during these visits generally confirmed earlier results. The 2009 helicopter-borne magnetic and radiometric geophysical survey outlined 3 porphyry-type and 4 vein type targets associated with this occurrence.
The 2010 soil sampling program collected 549 soil samples from seven target areas and returned anomalous results from zones 4 and 6. Zone 4 located west of the Ridge zone defined a ~ 150 by 200 m gold-in-soil anomaly (<25 ppb gold) clustered at the extreme northwest corner of the grid. Zone 6 located approximately halfway between the Ridge and the Main zones defines a ~ 600 by 300 m gold-in-soil anomaly (> 100 ppb gold). Anomalies in both zones remain open both to the west and north and are interpreted to correlate with the mapped contacts of the mid-Cretaceous granite and Late Cretaceous quartz-feldspar Porphyry (Tad porphyry).
The 2010 IP survey outlined three chargeability targets. The best target is a well-defined north-south trending high chargeability anomaly with coincident resistivity low located on grid one. The target is centred over Hayes Creek and measures over 150 m in diameter and greater than 1.6 km in length. The target was tested by diamond drill hole TT-106 and encountered a relatively unaltered, potassium-feldspar rich granitoid of the Dawson Range batholith. The source of the IP anomaly was not identified and remains an area of interest.
Five of the 2010 drill holes targeted two of the three historic gold-in-soil anomalies outlined in and around the Ridge zone. Three holes intersected Coffee Creek phase granites and returned narrow zones of mineralization associated with mm-scale quartz-sulphide veinlets and associated silicification. The remaining two holes encountered granite intruded by long intervals of a newly identified polymictic hydrothermal breccia hosting well developed sulphide mineralization including pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite and galena. Gold grade intercepts within these holes include 91.5 m assaying 0.33 g/t gold in hole TT-104 and 16.9 m assaying 0.35 g/t gold in hole TT-103.
Two other drill holes tested known mineralization within the historic Main zone. Both holes encountered narrow zones of gold mineralization with values up to 1.49 g/t gold over 1 metre. The final hole TT-106 tested the chargeability anomaly.
The 2011 Quantec Geophysics Titan-24 IP survey was carried out over the northern half of the property to test the mineral potential at depth and to define potentially mineralized structural targets within the 75 million year Late Cretaceous porphyry (Tad porphyry) and the 103 million year Mid Cretaceous granodiorite intrusive units. The survey consisted of 14 north-south orientated lines spaced at 500 m using a pole-dipole spacing of 100 m. The survey identified 24 anomalies defined as medium to high chargeability with associated low resistivity. Of the 24 anomalies, nine were labeled “First Priority” Quantec geophysical anomalies, of which five define a single broad and strong chargeability anomaly extending to and open to depth. The remaining 15 anomalies were judged “Secondary Priority” anomalies.
Dawson Gold also carried out trenching and further soil sampling in 2011.
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