1. Sib-Lulu Project: Drill-Testing the Footwall of the
March 2016
Sib-Lulu Project:
Drill-Testing the
Footwall of the
Coulter Creek Thrust
-Eskay Creek: the world’s richest VMS-type deposit
-VMS deposits occur in clusters, follow host-rock trends
-mineralization associated with Eskay rhyolite & mudstone
-only occurs in one area in district–the “Eskay trend”
-Eskay rhyolite & mineralized mudstone continuous Eskay to Sib property...geochem parallel; 22 Zone between
Main points:
-Eskay–fantastic deposit
-Eskay a volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VMS) deposit (occur in clusters, along trends), the planet’s richest for precious metals
-Eskay-style min follows the trends of the rocks
-Eskay-type min associated with specific rock-type, the Eskay rhyolite; only occurs in one area in district–the “Eskay trend”
-Eskay rhyolite tracks continuously from Eskay onto Sib property
-Eskay grades and styles of min intersected at Lulu Zone on Sib property
-southernmost zone at Eskay, the 22 zone, equidistant between Sib and main orebodies
-min styles and setting vary somewhat from zone to zone, essentials similar
-Sib-Lulu min in hangingwall of Coulter Creek thrust fault (CCTF)
-Sib-Lulu zone thoroughly drill-tested; zone and host rocks truncated by CCTF
-minimal sub-CCTF drill-testing: prospective and mineralized rocks exist, fault offset limited
-the CCTF footwall needs to be systematically tested...we have the plan!
-Eskay grades & styles of min at Lulu Zone on Sib property
-Sib-Lulu min in HW of CCTF—well-tested...truncated
-minimal sub-CCTF drill-testing: prospective and mineralized rocks exist, fault offset limited

2. Eskay Creek Mine Forrest Kerr Creek Location:
-Iskut-Stewart “Golden Triangle” of NW BC
-excellent and vastly-improved infrastructure (from the days of the latest 1980’s Eskay Discovery), what with the road to the Eskay Creek mine and Forrest Kerr run-of-flow power project, and with the now nearby hydro
-excellent exploration “neighbourhood” with good, and active, neighbours Seabridge and Pretivm, plus others such as Colorado Resources, Ascot, Millrock, American Creek
-project is “on the road to” the KSM project

3. Eskay Creek Mine High value: Avg 1.38 oz/t Au, 71 oz/ton Ag
3.5 M oz Au, 180 M oz Ag from 2.5 M tons
World’s richest VMS-type deposit
14 years of production ( )
Eskay Creek Mine
-very high-value deposit
-first eight or nine years averaged about 2 opt Au
-about half of the ore was direct-shipping ore
Drilling the FW of Coulter Creek Thrust, March 2016

4. Eskay Creek
Mine
-Eskay Mining’s property more or less surrounds Barrick’s property
-note the neighbours (SEA, PVG, American Creek, Barrick)

5. Mine Buildings 22 Zone Main Eskay Orebodies Lulu Zone Coulter Ck.
Detail of Barrick claims around Eskay Creek Mine, showing Eskay Mining Corp. tenures in green.
To point out Mine buildings, surface projection of main orebodies, and location of southernmost defined (and unmined) orebody, the 22 zone, as well as location of Lulu zone and Coulter Creek.
Also point out Eskay Mine access road (still open and actively used)
Lulu Zone
Coulter Ck.

6. Slide to set up location of Long Section showing distribution of Eskay Mine northern orebodies...and to show plunge of Eskay Creek anticline

7. Long-section along Eskay Creek Mine trend, looking west (north to RHS)
Long-section along Eskay Creek Mine trend, looking west (north to RHS). Note how northernmost orebodies are much deeper, as they follow the stratigraphy, which is folded about the Eskay Creek anticline, which plunges off to the north. Note also that there a significant number of orebodies. 21B was the biggie, but a lot of other separate and smaller orebodies. Final thing of note is that the orebodies at the northern were distributed across a considerable strike-length...
1.6 km

8. Slide to show that orebodies discovered by Barrick occur across 2
Slide to show that orebodies discovered by Barrick occur across 2.5 km of strike, and that the 22 zone, which is 2.5 km from the northernmost orebody, is half way between the northern orebodies and the northern boundary of Eskay Mining’s claims; also highlighted is the location of the next slide, which is a schematic cross-section across the NW limb of the Eskay Creek anticline

9. Schematic cross-section across NW limb of Eskay Creek anticline, highlighting NW-dipping stratigraphic control on the major orebodies at Eskay. Footwall Lower Jurassic rocks (Betty Creek formation) in darker green, then Middile Jurassic Eskay rhyolites (yellow) interlayered with mudstones, and the “contact argillite” hosting the unusual VMS-style, bedding parallel (or stratiform) Au-Ag-Zn-Pb mineralization (photos in last part of slide). The rhyolites (very silica-rich volcanic rocks) were deposited more or less contemporaneously with the mineralization, and closely related genetically. While rhyolites of the same age as Eskay are common in the region, the Eskay rhyolites are very distinctive geochemically, and only occurr within the Eskay Creek anticline. The overlying basalts (bright green) followed very shortly thereafter, but postdated the mineralizing event; they are the reason that the Eskay mineralization was mainly blind. Feeder zones that are more vein-like are also common at Eskay, are of similar mineralogy, and were mined. The big Discovery hole, Hole 109, was drilled in that kind of material, which is discordant to stratigraphy (cuts across the layering of the rocks, and presumably was a feeder to stratiform-type mineralization).

10. Eskay Rhyolite Lulu Zone
Putting some more geology, and more of a geologic framework, to the story, and taking the story southerly, from Barrick’s ground and the Eskay Mine, to Eskay Mining’s Sib-property and to the location of the Eskay Camp’s next mine!
-start with claim map showing Barrick and Eskay Mining holdings
-superimpose Barrick’s geology map for reference to previous figures, then bring in the MDRU (Mineral Deposit Research Unit at UBC) map for more regional framework; mapping to develop this was done in the early ‘90’s, following, and motivated by, the Eskay discovery, although much of the more local work was done by the companies and elaborated on by the academic group)
-show with topo on, then turn off topo and Barrick schematic map...highlight the distribution of the geochemically-unique Eskay rhyolite, which can be traced continuously from the Mine area down onto EKM’s ground; it is paralled by mudstone units and the geochemistry, such as in soil and stream sediment samples, as well as in rock samples, parallels it as well
-the Lulu zone, where Eskay-like grades were intersected by American Fibre in 1990, is also shown, near the southern end of the Eskay rhyolite belt, and again, closely associated with the rhyolite

11. Let’s look at some rocks from the Eskay rhyolite!
And, remind ourselves that we are in a belt of deformed rocks (the rocks were deformed in the Cretaceous, approx million years after they were deposited, so that they are folded and faulted (note the fold axes, and the major anticlines (arches, including the Eskay Creek anticline), and synclines (troughs), are shown). The anticlines expose the older rocks, and non-prospective strata generally overlie them.
Eskay rhyolite: forms bright gossans that have always attracted prospectors and geologists...
-from oxidation of very common sulphides, chiefly pyrite, in the rhyolite and associated rocks
-can track them continuously from Eskay Ck mine (first photo) southerly along the belt to the Sib property (second photo, from Gap Lake area); the rhyolites were deposited in a subqueous envrionment, and have spalled into mudstone (third photo, of rhyolite fragmental); also very, very potassium feldspar-rich (fourth photo, showing stained slab).
-finally, the rare earth element plots help to illustrate the geochemical differences between the Eskay rhyolites and other rhyolitic or dacitic rocks of similar age in the region, which are abundant; the Eskay rhyolites are more of a rift, or rifted arc affinity than of an arc affinity, and they are believed to be more prospective

12. Lulu Zone Structural Setting
Eskay belt structural setting:
-the intent here is to show that the rocks have been folded and locally faulted in the belt
-using Heritage/Geoinformatics vintage cross-sections, which were compiled and interpreted from a huge volume of post-discovery data in the belt
-note that CCTF and Eskay area folds were likely developed more or less at the same time, during mid-Cretaceous development of Skeena fold belt and well after the mineralization was formed

13. Lulu Zone Structural Setting
Younger
Rocks
Lulu Zone
Eskay belt structural setting continued:
-this is the set-up slide for the next one, which is a photo taken from the helicopter and looking northward to the area highlighted in the rectangle
Older
Rocks

14. Drill-testing the HW of the Coulter Creek15 10 9 14 13 11 12 7 8
Lulu Zone 3 6 4 5
Drill-testing the HW of the Coulter Creek
Thrust Fault
Lulu zone and HW of Coulter Creek thrust well-tested 2 1

15. Lulu Zone “mudstone exhalite” intersections
DDH90-30: g/t Au, 1,060 g/t Ag
(American Fibre & Cons Silver Butte)
There is good reason for the abundance of DDH collars at surface on the Lulu Zone...the Lulu yielded some very high-value drill intersections of Eskay-type mineralization, with Eskay-type grades and Eskay-type host lithologies
DDH : g/t Au, 766 g/t Ag
(Heritage Explorations)

16. Lulu Zone
-Heritage/Geoinformatics work shows that Eskay trend systematically tested in shallow drilling along trend over the years
-Lulu zone also well-tested, and it, and the stratigraphy, were found to be truncated by moderately easterly-dipping Coulter Creek thrust fault

17. Drill-testing the FW of the Coulter Creek
Lulu Zone, 2008 work
Drill-testing the FW of the Coulter Creek
Thrust Fault
Drill-testing the untested plate of the Eskay trend, the FW of the Coulter Creek thrust fault
Drilling, 2008

18. 2008 drilling confirms existence of prospective
Attempts were made in 2008 and 2010 to test the FW...somewhat successful in that they showed that the prospective Eskay rhyolite exists in the lower plate of the Coulter Creek thrust fault, and that displacement on the thrust is not all that large at this latitude
2008 drilling confirms existence of prospective
stratigraphy beneath CCTF

19. 2010 drilling, further testing of prospective
stratigraphy beneath CCTF
2010 drilling did again penetrate the thrust, but in part duplicated the 2008 efforts, and was clearly limited in extent

20. 2010 drilling, further testing of prospective
Eskay rhyolite,
mineralized mudstone
2010 drilling, further testing of prospective
stratigraphy beneath
the Coulter Ck Thrust
Proposed drilling: systematic and comprehensive drill-testing across and along strike of prospective Eskay stratigraphy
2008 drillholes
2010 drilling
2010 drilling did again penetrate the thrust, but in part duplicated the 2008 efforts, and was clearly limited in extent

21. Proposed drilling: target prospective FW rocks to Coulter Creek thrust fault along Eskay trend on SIB property
Systematic and comprehensive drill-testing of the lower plate is the next logical step, with drilling from west, and in places from he east; some attractive stratigraphic FW alteration exists which suggests that drilling to the WNW in the south may be worthwhile (and this would also account for more NW’erly transport on the CCTF

22. Summary Eskay Creek Mine Eskay rhyolite Coulter Ck Thrust Lulu Zone
-Eskay–fantastic deposit
-Eskay a volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VMS) deposit (occur in clusters, along trends), the planet’s richest for precious metals
-Eskay-style min follows the trends of the rocks
-Eskay-type min associated with specific rock-type, the Eskay rhyolite; only occurs in one area in district–the “Eskay trend”
-Eskay rhyolite tracks continuously from Eskay onto Sib property
-Eskay grades and styles of min intersected at Lulu Zone on Sib property
-southernmost zone at Eskay, the 22 zone, equidistant between Sib and main orebodies
-min styles and setting vary somewhat from zone to zone, essentials similar
-Sib-Lulu min in hangingwall of Coulter Creek thrust fault (CCTF)
-Sib-Lulu zone thoroughly drill-tested; zone and host rocks truncated by CCTF
-minimal sub-CCTF drill-testing: prospective and mineralized rocks exist, fault offset limited
-the CCTF footwall needs to be systematically tested...we have the plan!