Geology
Regional Geology
The Project is located in the southern portion of the Mackenzie Mountains which are underlain by Lower Paleozoic carbonates of the Mackenzie shelf.
Structurally the main orientation of faulting and folding is north-south. Faults and fold axial planes dip both east and west. A number of parallel north trending faults cut through the region. The west dipping Gate Fault and east dipping Tundra Thrust Fault are two of the larger tectonic structural features close to Prairie Creek.
Site Geology
The Project is located on the eastern margin of the Prairie Creek Embayment which is composed primarily of Lower Ordovician Whittaker Formation dolostones overlain by Silurian Road River Formation cherty shales and Cadillac Formation thinly bedded dolostone.
Lower to Middle Devonian Arnica and Funeral Formation dolostones and limestones overlie this unit on the northern part of the property. Faulting and folding trends north-south in the property area, resulting in windows of older Road River and Whittaker Formation rocks being exposed along the core of the main anticline.
Most of the numbered mineralized zones at Prairie Creek (VMS surface showings) occur within the Road River Formation shales.
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Mineralization Vein Type
The north-south trending Prairie Creek fault structure is traceable for a distance of over 10 km on the property along which twelve separate mineralized vein massive sulphide ("VMS") occurrences have been found. The bulk of exploration and development has occurred within Zone 3 (at the minesite) on one of these VMS occurrences. The mineralization within the vein is well developed where the vein cuts the Whittaker Formation and Road River Formation.
Mineralization within the quartz vein consists of zinc-lead-copper with significant silver grades. The most extensive known vein occurrence is within Zone 3, where underground development on 3 levels has proven 940 m of strike length and diamond drilling has indicated a continuation of the vein for a further 1.2 km. The vein remains open to the north and is expected to continue, albeit at depth, for a further 4 km as evidenced by the Rico Showing, a high grade surface vein occurrence.
VEIN MINERALIZATION
5.9% Pb, 39.4% Zn, 176.8 gpt Ag/1.9m
UNDERGROUND 930 LEVEL: X-CUT 09
Stratabound Type
During exploration of the vein by drilling, a new style of mineralization was intersected and has the appearance of being parallel to bedding and is referred to as stratabound massive sulphides ("SMS"). Mineralization within the stratabound deposits consists of zinc-lead-iron with moderate silver and minor amounts of copper. Total thickness of the stratabound zone reaches up to 28 metres and the present stratabound resource lies within Zone 3.
Stratabound style mineralization has now been drill identified in Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 within the Upper Whittaker Formation over a strike length of more than 3 kilometres. Detailed diamond drill exploration within Zone 3 has only taken place over 1 kilometre of the strike length.
STRATABOUND MINERALIZATION
DRILL HOLE PC-04-150
Mississippi Valley Type
A third zinc mineralization has been found in the northern part of the property. This cavity-infilling style Mississippi Valley Type mineralization is hosted within structures similar to those formerly mined at Pine Point, Northwest Territories. Low grade zinc values exhibiting cavity style mineralization have been drill intersected and variably exposed on surface over a 10 kilometre long trend. All mineral resources outlined to date are contained within the vein and stratabound type deposit.
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