General Information
Primary Commodities: copper, gold, silver, molybdenum
Aliases: Whitehorse Copper
Deposit Type(s): Skarn
Location(s): 60.739680 N, -135.143030 W
NTS Mapsheet(s): 105D11
Hand Samples Available at YGS: No
Capsule
The Whitehorse Copper Belt is located west of Whitehorse and contains 30+ mines, deposits and showings. By 1900, most of the important deposits had been discovered and the first small ore shipment was made that year. Many of the occurrences in the Copper Belt are skarns. The skarns form on or near the contact between the Whitehorse batholith and the Lewes River group. The Whitehorse batholith is commonly a grey coarse-grained hornblende granite and ranges from quartz monzonite to granodiorite to diorite. The Lewes River group contains numerous different rock types, most importantly of which is the limestone group, which is essential in the formation of skarns in the area. A small number of occurrences within the Copper Belt are vein and/or replacement and occur within the Whitehorse batholith granite.
The Copper King deposit occurs in an irregular shaped roof pendant of limestone (Lewes River group) and skarn, about 600 feet in diameter and is enclosed in the north, east and south by a hornblende rich granite (Whitehorse batholith). The contact is marked by a strong alteration from limestone to brown garnet and epidote. Mineralization is in the form of bornite and chalcopyrite.
Assays for the copper ore at the Copper King 0.01 oz. per ton and 3.58% Cu. Production between 1900 to 1908 was 453 tonnes of ore at 15% Cu and 68.57 g/t Ag and production between 1915 and 1920 was 2 982 tonnes at 10% Cu.
The Copper King deposit occurs in an irregular shaped roof pendant of limestone (Lewes River group) and skarn, about 600 feet in diameter and is enclosed in the north, east and south by a hornblende rich granite (Whitehorse batholith). The contact is marked by a strong alteration from limestone to brown garnet and epidote. Mineralization is in the form of bornite and chalcopyrite.
Assays for the copper ore at the Copper King 0.01 oz. per ton and 3.58% Cu. Production between 1900 to 1908 was 453 tonnes of ore at 15% Cu and 68.57 g/t Ag and production between 1915 and 1920 was 2 982 tonnes at 10% Cu.
Location Map
Last Updated: Apr 15, 2019
Work History
| Year | Work Type | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Geochemistry: Rock | |
| 1997 | Other: Line Cutting | |
| 1997 | Other: Prospecting | |
| 1997 | Trenching: Hand | |
| 1997 | Trenching: Handblast | |
| 1997 | Trenching: Mechanical | |
| 1996 | Geochemistry: Rock | |
| 1996 | Other: Line Cutting | |
| 1996 | Other: Prospecting | |
| 1996 | Trenching: Mechanical | |
| 1967 | Geology: Bedrock Mapping | |
| 1967 | Ground Geophysics: EM | |
| 1967 | Ground Geophysics: Magnetics | |
| 1964 | Drilling: Diamond | |
| 1964 | Ground Geophysics: IP |
Regional Geology - Terrane
Group: Intermontane
Affinity: W Laurentia
Name: Stikinia
Realm: peri-Laurentian
Regional Geology - Bedrock
Supergroup:
Group/Suite: Lewes River
Formation: Aksala
Member: Hancock
Terrane: Stikinia
Period Max: Triassic
Age Max: 217 MA
Period Min: Triassic
Age Min: 204 MA
Rock Major: conglo/limestone/dolostone
Rock Minor: chert
Reference: Hart & Radloff (1990) - YGS OF 1990-4
Geological Unit (1M): uTrAK
Geological Unit (250K): uTrAK2
Assessment Reports that overlap occurrence
| Report Number | Year | Title | Worktypes | Holes Drilled | Meters Drilled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 093895 | 1997 | Assessment Report for the Exploration Work on the DM 1-8 Quartz Mining Claims | Rock - Geochemistry, Line Cutting - Other, Prospecting - Other, Hand - Trenching, Handblast - Trenching, Mechanical - Trenching | ||
| 093635 | 1996 | Assessment Report for the Exploration Work on the DM 1-8 Quartz Mining Claims | Rock - Geochemistry, Line Cutting - Other, Prospecting - Other, Mechanical - Trenching | ||
| 062018 | 1973 | Preliminary Report on Geological Control to Ore Distribution in the Whitehorse Copper Belt | Reverse Circulation - Drilling, Bedrock Mapping - Geology, Petrographic - Lab Work/Physical Studies | 665 | 5555 |
| 018884 | 1967 | Geological Mapping, Magnetometer and Electro Magnetic Survey | Detailed Bedrock Mapping - Geology, EM - Ground Geophysics, Magnetics - Ground Geophysics, Line Cutting - Other | ||
| 091123 | 1964 | Summary of assessment work for 316 claims | Diamond - Drilling | 46 | 3652.57 |
Related References
| Number | Title | Page(s) | Document Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-1 | The Whitehorse Copper Belt - A Compilation | Open File (Geological - Bedrock) | |
| ARMC004783 | Correspondence Re: Copper King - Carlisle Drilling | Miscellaneous Company Documents | |
| ARMC004785 | Survey map - Kopper King grid | Geoscience Map (General) |
| Citations |
|---|
| Carriere, J J, et al. “Copper Deposits and Occurrences in Yukon Territory.” Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, 1982., 1981, doi:10.4095/109350. |
| Kindle, E.D., “Summary of Research: Field, 1962”; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper no. 63-1, 1963, https://doi.org/10.4095/121464 (Open Access) |
| The mineral industry of Yukon Territory and southwestern District of Mackenzie 1964; Green, L H. Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 65-19, 1965, 94 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/100981 (Open Access) |
| The mineral industry of Yukon Territory and southwestern district of Mackenzie 1967; Findlay, D C. Geological Survey of Canada, Paper no. 68-68, 1969, 140 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/102253 (Open Access) |
