Work History
*In May 2012 this occurrence was moved approximately 2 km to the northwest and renamed Skookum Jim.
In May/87 J. Brady staked Rest cl 1-104 (YA89204) to the east. Although soil sampling and magnetic surveys were planned for the Rest claims, financial restraints resulted in the cancelation of the program.
In Jul/87 R. McPhee staked Fish cl 37-40 (YA84498), cl 69-80 (YA89525) and cl 41-48 (YA89547) to the north and Wine cl 1-24 (YA89694) to the northwest.
Staked as Fish cl 49-62 (YA89893) and cl 81-94 (YA89907) in Aug/87 by Ron McPhee. McPhee staked Wine cl 25-48 (YA89869) and cl 49-57 (YA89937) to the west at the same time. In 1988 McPhee hand trenched and collected 179 rock samples on two chained lines located on the Fish claims.
S. Ryan staked Scroggie cl 1-16 (YC17251) 2 km to the west in Jul/99. Ryan prospected and sampled the claims in Aug/99.
In Jun/2000 G. Richards staked Rum Run cl 41-50 (YC20212) and cl 53-59 (YC20222) to the southwest. These claims joined Run Run claims located to the west and northwest. In 2000 and 2001 Richards carried out geological mapping and soil, silt and rock sampling programs over all of his Rum Run claims.
In Aug/2000 a private syndicate staked Wolf cl 29-42 (YC20251) to the south. The claims were staked as part of a larger group located to the east. The syndicate carried out rock, soil and silt sampling in 2001.
In Nov/2000 S. Ryan staked Scroggie cl 17-24 (YC20535) on the north side of his claim block.
G. Richards carried out ground magnetic surveys in 2003 and 2005 and additional rock, soil and silt sampling programs in 2003, 2005 and 2008.
In Aug/2008 G. Richards staked Toluamide cl 1-22 (YC75987), cl 23-58 (YC76009) and cl 59-64 (YC76045) to the northwest, west, south and southeast. In early Aug/2009 Richards carried out grid based soil sampling on the claims.
Restaked within Toluamide cl 65-138 (YD12601) in Aug/2009 by G. Richards.
In Sep/2009 Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd optioned a package of 203 mineral claims commonly referred to as the Mariposa Gold property from G. Richards for cash, claims and certain work commitments. The Mariposa Gold property includes the Rum Run and Toluamide claims and the area surrounding this occurrence.
In 2010 Pacific Ridge prospected, rock sampled and grid soil sampled the area surrounding the newly discovered Skookum Jim gold-in-soil anomaly (this occurrence). In Jul/2010 the company staked AP cl 1-40 (YD16601) to the north. Limited excavator trenching was completed in the fall.
In the spring of 2011 Pacific Ridge flew an airborne magnetometer survey over the occurrence area. Later in the year following ground magnetic surveys and further excavator trenching, the company collared 18 diamond drill holes (3 005 m) on the Skookum Main and 14 diamond drill holes on the Skookum West gold-in-soil anomalies.
GEOLOGY
The area is located about 120 km south of the town of Dawson City and 4.25 km northeast of the junction of Scroggie and Mariposa Creeks in west-central Yukon. The occurrence lies near the southern boundary of NTS map sheet 115N&O which was recently remapped by S. Gordey and J. Ryan (2004 and 2005) of the Geological Survey of Canada. Ryan and Gordey and others have recently finished remapping NTS map sheet 115J & K (the map sheet lying immediately south of the occurrence) and are in the final stages of releasing their results (tentatively 2012).
The occurrence area is believed to be underlain by a Devonian to Mississippian age sequence of quartz mica schist, amphibolite and other metavolcanic rocks. A large body of Late Triassic age pyroxenite (Pyroxene Mountain) intrudes to the northeast. The pyroxenite is likely a slightly older phase of the larger Early Jurassic granodiorite batholith which covers the area to the north. Numerous small mid-Cretaceous and Eocene granitic stocks are known to outcrop in the area.
McPhee orientated his sample lines to cover two lineaments observed on two separate remote sensing studies. The lines ran northeast and southwest from a starting point located approximately 0.5 km south of this occurrence (junction of Fish claims #’s 92, 94, 37 and 38). Two composite float (?) rock samples collected on the northwest line approximately 0.5 km south east of the occurrence returned 3.1 g/t and 2.6 g/t gold.
Ryan’s Scroggie claims were staked on the east side of Scroggie Creek, north of the junction of Scroggie and Mariposa Creeks. The eastern half of the claim block covers the west half of Pacific Ridge Exploration’s recently discovered Skookum West gold-in-soil anomaly. Ryan collected 4 silt samples from two small pups flowing west into Scroggie Creek. One sample collected approximately 1.75 km west of the Skookum West gold in soil anomaly assayed 378 ppb gold. A second sample collected approximately 0.5 km southwest of the Skookum west soil anomaly assayed 77 ppb. Both samples were reported to have been collected down stream of small pegmatite showings.
G. Richards’ Rum Run claims 41-50, located south of the Skookum West gold-in-soil anomaly were part of a larger group of Rum Run claims staked on the west side of Scroggie Creek, north of the junction of Scroggie and Mariposa Creeks. Two soil samples collected from two small pups located north of the Mariposa Creek road and flowing southward returned 16 ppb and 10 ppb gold. These samples are located within Pacific Ridge Exploration’s recently discovered Gertie gold-in-soil anomaly. A soil sample collected on the Mariposa Creek road east of the Rum Run claims returned 70 ppb gold.
The private syndicate staked the Wolf claim to explore for “Pogo” style mineralization. It appears the syndicate assumed the large intrusion located to the north might have a mid-Cretaceous age similar to other economically significant intrusions located throughout the Tintina Gold belt. Their 2001 exploration program attempted to re-locate McPhee’s anomalous results but was unsuccessful. The best results from the program was a soil sample collected approximately 0.5 km due south of occurrence A, which returned 72 ppb gold and a rock sample collected from a pyritized dyke located along the Mariposa Creek Road (approximately 2 km due south of occurrence A) which assayed 2 530 ppb gold
Richards’ 2001 exploration program was limited to the Rum Run claims located on the west side of Scroggie Creek. Soil sampling and ground magnetic surveys carried out in 2003 and 2005 were limited to the “East Zone” an area encompassed by Pacific Ridge’s Gertie gold-in-soil anomaly. Richard’s 2009 soil sampling program was conducted before Pacific Ridge Exploration optioned his claims. The survey covered all of the pups located north of Mariposa Creek road and outlined several spot soil anomalies in the southern and eastern portions of the Skookum Main and West gold-in-soil anomalies.
Following Pacific Ridge Exploration’s execution of an option agreement with G. Richards, the company carried out a late season ridge and spur deep auger soil sampling program to verify Richards’ earlier results. The program verified Richards’ results and roughly outlined a open-ended 2 km long gold-in-soil anomaly (20 ppb gold threshold) Skookum Jim which would evolve into the Skookum Main and West gold in soil anomalies.
Pacific Ridge’s 2010 ground exploration program was focused on the Scroggie and Mariposa Creek areas. Grid soil sampling outlined five main gold in-soil anomalies; Skookum Jim (this occurrence), Hackly, Gertie, Maisy May and Big Alex. The Skookum Jim gold in-soil anomaly is a 3.5 km by 600 m wide anomaly open to the north and east which returned a peak value of 1 570 ppb gold and contains anomalous values in antimony, bismuth, copper and molybdenum. Follow-up excavator trenching (6 trenches ~ 1 600 m) carried between August and September over the east-central portion of the anomaly returned values of up to 1.25 g/t gold over 30 m, within a broader interval of 0.67 g/t gold over 105 m. Rock type within zones hosting gold values consists of altered and oxidized gneiss, schist and quartzite which host quartz veining, stockwork fractures and brecciated with minor sulphide mineralization and hematite.
*The original occurrence location represented the approximate mid-point of the numerous anomalous results obtained by various operators prior to Pacific Ridge Exploration discovering the Skookum Jim gold-in-soil anomaly. Pacific Ridge’s Skookum Jim anomaly marked the first time when identified mineralization was verified in three dimensions (i.e. length, width and depth). Occurrence A marks the approximate center point of the 2011 Skookum Main drilling while occurrence B marks the approximate center point of the Skookum West drilling.
The 2011 airborne geophysical survey combined with geological mapping and ground geophysics indicates that Mariposa Creek and the lower portion of Scroggie Creek are underlain by older, metamorphic rock types that have been affected by multiple episodes of faulting. This brittle deformation is defined by breaks and offsets of linear magnetic trends that represent different rock types and is theorized to provide ground preparations that is favourable for the migration of gold-bearing fluids and the deposition of gold. The observed patterns of a series of east-west trending structures, together with subsidiary northeast and north south trending structures, define a property scale corridor which is collectively referred to as the Mariposa fault.
Detailed soil sampling carried out in the summer of 2011 defined a 1 500 by 800 m gold-in -soil anomaly at the western end of the Skookum Jim soil anomaly. The newly defined anomaly returned a peak of 514 ppb gold. Follow-up prospecting and rock sampling returned significant results within the anomaly. Of a total of 117 rock samples from a 2 square km area, 27 returned results of greater than 0.5 g/t gold to a high of 19.98 g/t gold. The elevated results are hosted in well-silicified rocks cut by limonitic fracture nets and hematite-specularite alteration along with minor disseminated pyrite. Based on these results and early drilling results from the eastern end of the Skookum Jim anomaly Pacific Ridge decided to break the anomaly in two. The eastern half was renamed Skookum Main (occurrence A) and the western half was named Skookum West (occurrence B). The occurrences are located approximately 1.5 km from each other.
In 2011 Pacific Ridge tested the Skookum Main gold in-soil anomaly (occurrence A) with 18 diamond drill holes (3 045 m). The holes tested a 600 by 250 m area in the center area of the anomaly and targeted trenching intercepts and combinations of gold-in-soil anomalies and geophysical anomalies interpreted to represent geological structures. Fourteen of the 18 drill holes were successful in identifying a broad gold bearing system closely coincident with a magnetic low and strong gold-in-soil anomalies. Drill hole 11MP-01, the first hole drilled targeted mineralization hosted in trench SJ-2 which returned 1.25 g/t gold over 30 m. The hole intersected 2.44 g/t gold over a drilled interval of 38.9 m, including an interval of 11.1 m which assayed 6.44 g/t gold. Other notable intersections include hole 11MP-05 which returned 1.13 g/t gold over 19.8 m and hole 11MP-06 which returned 0.63 g/t gold over 45.3 m. Sulphide content varies within the Skookum Main drill holes. Pyrite occurs either as boxworks within limonitic fracture fillings or as grains within quartz veins or silicified sections.
Pacific ridge tested the Skookum West gold-in-soil anomaly with 14 diamond drill holes (1 672 m) in 2011. The targets included a combination of geophysically defined lineaments, elevated gold-in-soil results, and numerous rock sample (angular float) results ranging in grade from 0.5 to 19.9 g/t gold. Drilling returned narrow mineralised intercepts from five holes. The best results to date were returned from holes 11MP-10 and 11MP-33 which returned 1.19 g/t gold over 4.1 m and 3.74 g/t gold over 1.2 m respectively. The intensity of alteration, fracturing and veining varied from strong to no alteration in drill holes. The drilling results obtained in the Skookum West area have as yet to explain the significance of widespread gold mineralization contained in rocks and soils collected to date. In preparation for continue drilling in 2012 the company plans to carry out further trenching and prospecting in the Skookum West area in order to expose bedrock sources and better define future drill targets.
REFERENCES
BRADY, M.J. Jan/88. Assessment Report #092088 by D.H. Waugh.
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