Projects
Praxis Goldfields
Minieral Hill acquired a 100% interest in 35 mineral claims covering 12,475 hectares, situated in the Skeena Mining Division, in northern British Columbia (same highly prospective geological belt as Barrick Gold's Eskay Creek Mine).
The property lies within a mineral-rich belt of Triassic and Jurassic volcanic rocks which has hosted past producing mines of varying metallogenic styles, including volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits, volcanogenic/exhalative hot spring deposits, base metal and precious metal vein deposits, shear zone-hosted vein deposits, and porphyry and intrusion related mineralization. The property shares a similar stratigraphic and structural setting to the Jurassic Eskay Creek Mine area.
A 2006 mapping program focused on defining drilling targets in the bimodal Salmon River Formation volcanic sequence exposed on the southern part of the property. Rocks exposed here are directly comparable in stratigraphic position, age, and structural style to those at the high-grade Eskay Creek volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, 80 km to the north. Syn-volcanic fault systems and subvolcanic feeders to voluminous submarine rhyolite flows were identified in the mapping program, indicating an environment favourable for volcanogenic mineral deposits.
Over 300 soil samples were collected from contour lines crossing the bimodal volcanic sequence, along a sidehill where high-energy silt samples obtained in 2005 identified a large multielement geochemical anomaly. These samples provided better definition of the anomalous gold, silver, zinc, and arsenic values defined in the previous programs.
A new polymetallic mineral showing, the Persuader Showing, was identified in the northern part of the claim group. The showing consists of quartz + sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite-cemented breccias and stockworks in intermediate composition volcanic rocks that are tentatively correlated with the Hazelton Group. Four of six rock samples collected from the showing produced strongly anomalous to high grade values in Pb, Zn, Au, Ag, and Cu, including a 5 m chip sample that graded 8.87ppm Au, 24.6 ppm Ag, and 2210 ppm Cu.
A comprehensive exploration report was prepared by Jim J. Lehtinen, of 4317 Briardale Rd., Courtenay, BC, and Dr. Peter D. Lewis, a consulting geologist specializing in ore deposits, with an office located at 13445 Woodcrest Drive, Surrey, BC, who has worked more than fifteen years as a researcher, and as a structural geology consultant to the mineral exploration industry. His experience in mineral exploration covers a wide range of geological settings and deposit types. The report was based on geological studies conducted by Dr. Lewis on the Praxis Property during July and August of 2006, and a review of data from previous exploration programs conducted on the property.
The property lies within a mineral-rich belt of Triassic and Jurassic volcanic rocks which has hosted past producing mines of varying metallogenic styles, including volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits, volcanogenic/exhalative hot spring deposits, base metal and precious metal vein deposits, shear zone-hosted vein deposits, and porphyry and intrusion related mineralization. The property shares a similar stratigraphic and structural setting to the Jurassic Eskay Creek Mine area.
A 2006 mapping program focused on defining drilling targets in the bimodal Salmon River Formation volcanic sequence exposed on the southern part of the property. Rocks exposed here are directly comparable in stratigraphic position, age, and structural style to those at the high-grade Eskay Creek volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, 80 km to the north. Syn-volcanic fault systems and subvolcanic feeders to voluminous submarine rhyolite flows were identified in the mapping program, indicating an environment favourable for volcanogenic mineral deposits.
Over 300 soil samples were collected from contour lines crossing the bimodal volcanic sequence, along a sidehill where high-energy silt samples obtained in 2005 identified a large multielement geochemical anomaly. These samples provided better definition of the anomalous gold, silver, zinc, and arsenic values defined in the previous programs.
A new polymetallic mineral showing, the Persuader Showing, was identified in the northern part of the claim group. The showing consists of quartz + sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite-cemented breccias and stockworks in intermediate composition volcanic rocks that are tentatively correlated with the Hazelton Group. Four of six rock samples collected from the showing produced strongly anomalous to high grade values in Pb, Zn, Au, Ag, and Cu, including a 5 m chip sample that graded 8.87ppm Au, 24.6 ppm Ag, and 2210 ppm Cu.
A comprehensive exploration report was prepared by Jim J. Lehtinen, of 4317 Briardale Rd., Courtenay, BC, and Dr. Peter D. Lewis, a consulting geologist specializing in ore deposits, with an office located at 13445 Woodcrest Drive, Surrey, BC, who has worked more than fifteen years as a researcher, and as a structural geology consultant to the mineral exploration industry. His experience in mineral exploration covers a wide range of geological settings and deposit types. The report was based on geological studies conducted by Dr. Lewis on the Praxis Property during July and August of 2006, and a review of data from previous exploration programs conducted on the property.