Work History

Staked as Bix cl (YA38290) in Sep/78 by Cominco. The adjoining large block of A cl (YA30393) was staked in May/78 by G. Dickson and optioned to Cominco which added SP cl (YA39308) to the northeast in Mar/79 and explored with mapping and drilling on the A 25 and Bix 4-6 claims: two diamond drillholes near the occurrence and three diamond drillholes ~2.3 km to the southwest (670 m total). The claims were transferred to Pacific Ridge Res Corp, which performed mapping and geochem sampling in 1981.

Restaked as Sun 5-56 cl (YB19958) in Nov/91 by Placer Dome Inc., which performed a geochemical survey and geological mapping in 1992. Restaked as SP claims by Goldspike Exploration Inc and explored with mapping, soil, silt and rock sampling and an aeromagnetic geophysical survey in 2011. In 2020, Archer Cathro restaked the area as Bix 1-48 and collected rock and soil samples.

In 2021, Strategic Metals expanded on the soil sample grid, prospected and collected a few rock samples.

Capsule Geology

The occurrence area is underlain by Lower Proterozoic to Upper Cambrian Hyland Group metasedimentary rocks intruded by the Late Cretaceous Sunshine Creek stock (McQuesten Suite). The stock and associated plugs consist of muscovite-biotite granite and porphyritic quartz monzonite, and are cut by several late-stage aplite and quartz-feldspar porphyritic dykes. The metasedimentary rocks consist of quartz±muscovite±biotite schist, quartzite and limestone. The occurrence is within a quartz-limonite breccia zone.

Cominco's drilling tested the 1 to 5 m wide and 10-m-long breccia zone. The breccia consists of quartzite, tourmaline and vein quartz fragments up to 2 cm across in a matrix of quartz, tourmaline, orthoclase and up to 1% cassiterite. Two samples taken by Emond and Lynch averaged 2350 ppm Sn and 23 ppm Ag. In 1992, Placer Dome evaluated the property for Fort Knox-type gold mineralization. Results were disappointing and the claims were allowed to lapse.

In 2011, Goldspike Exploration Inc. conducted soil, silt and rock geochemical surveys in the area. The company was exploring for intrusion-related gold mineralization, so no analyses were done for tin. Ridge and spur soil lines resulted in four anomalous gold-in-soil sample locations, but none of these were in the occurrence area. No further work was completed by Goldstrike and the claims were allowed to lapse.

In 2020, Archer Cathro explored for intrusion-related tin and copper-gold porphyry targets. Rock and soil sampling were completed, largely to the west of the occurrence. The nearest rock sample in the area with an anomalous result for tin (1060 ppm) was almost 900 m to the southwest of this occurrence.