CORE SHACK The Ketza River Property

Ketza River, a “pipe and manto” deposit consisting of both primary sulphide and secondary oxide ores, is in central Yukon, about 50 miles south of Ross River and 180 miles north-northeast of Whitehorse. Diamond drilling has outlined an oxide reserve of 430,000 tons grading 0.51 oz gold per ton as well as 195,000 tons of sulphide ore reserves grading 0.48 oz gold per ton in the Ridge and Peel zones.

Conwest Exploration explored the area from 1955 to 1959, resulting in the discovery of the Ketza River deposit and the delineation of 75,000 tons of sulphide ore grading 0.35 oz gold per ton by drilling. Pacific Trans- Ocean Resources optioned a 60% interest in the property and in 1984 Canamax Resources optioned half of Pacific’s interest. In 1985 Conwest elected to keep a 20% net proceeds interest, leaving Canamax and Pacific with an equally shared 100% equity interest. Canamax is the managing partner.

The property is within the core of the Pelly-Cassiar platform and is underlain by an upfaulted block of folded, faulted and predominantly calcareous Cambrian sedimentary rocks. The major stratigraphic units, from youngest to oldest, recognized on the property consist of black shale unconformably underlain by green mudstone-phyllite which is, in turn, underlain by limestone-dolomite containing archeoyathid fossils and irregular bands of oncoids or ooids. The base of the sequence is an interbedded argillite-quartzite hornfels.

Mineralization on the property is hosted by the limestone-dolomite unit and is contained within irregularly shaped pipes and mantos of massive to semi-massive sulphide and their oxidized equivalents. The Iona silver camp, seven km east of Ketza River, is considered by Canamax to be part of a major, lead-zinc-silver halo around the main gold deposits. Although several zones with drill-indicated reserves have been discovered, only the Peel and Ridge zones are considered for economic evaluation. The Peel and Ridge zones are actually connected and form a manto and pipe deposit, respectively.

The Ridge zone, a steeply dipping limonitic pipe of oxide mineralization, is up to 60 m wide, 30 m thick and drilled to greater than 100 m down dip. It has an ore reserve of 130,000 tons grading 0.50 oz gold per ton. Free gold occurs in limonite, scorodite, a siliceous iron oxide termed “hisingerite,” and various amorphous iron oxide minerals. The Ridge zone occurs at the intersection of the Peel Fault, a major east-northeast-trending fault, and the steeply dipping northwest-trending Junction Fault. The mineralization appears to postdate the faulting. The property is not particularly deformed relative to most of the Pelly-Cassiar platform. The Peel zone is a mixed sulphide and oxide manto orebody 600 m long, 100 m wide, and varies from one to 25 m in thickness. It consists of irregular veins and pods of auriferous pyrrhotite-pyrite-arsenopyrite in the sulphide part of the orebody. Locally, the pyrrhotite-rich part of the orebody grades laterally outward into a thin rim of sphalerite and galena mineralization and finally to massive stratabound calcite and siderite. The oxidized part of the zone consists of limonite and hisingerite and, although the zone is generally in sharp contact with the host limestone, a weak limonitic alteration of the limestone occurs peripheral to the manto. Ore reserves in the Peel zone include an oxide reserve of 300,000 tons of 0.52 oz gold per ton and a sulphide reserve of 195,000 tons of 0.48 oz gold per ton.

The oxide and sulphide ores of both zones contain gold as the only economic mineral. The oxide ores are higher grade with excellent recoveries. In general, although the sulphide ores are more abundant, they are lower grade and metallurgical testing has shown them to be somewhat refractory.

To date, 39,400 ft of drilling in 170 holes and 6,200 ft of underground development on three levels has been completed. Canamax is undertaking a feasibility study and results are expected early this year. The author would like to thank Canamax Resources for supplying information and Steve Parry for his assistance.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Ketza River