Location
The Maskootch gold property is located along the southeastern margin of the Archean Uchi Greenstone Belt, approximately 100km east of the Red Lake gold camp (+20 Moz Au) (Dube et al, 2004).
Property Details
1,480-ha claim block occurs along the southeastern margin of the Uchi Belt.
Highlights
- The property is underlain by a series of ultramafic to felsic volcanic rocks with narrow intervals of banded iron formation, which are locally intruded by foliated tonalite of the Maskooch Lake Stock.
- Previous exploration has identified extensive alteration footprints suggesting high potential for base metal sulphide mineralization (VMS) as well as lode gold deposits.
- Two historical mineral occurrences are known on the property: Maskootch (copper) and Wenesaga (gold). The Maskootch copper occurrence on the eastern side of the property is located near the contact between tonalite intrusions and intermediate to felsic metavolcanics. Reported trench samples include 0.43% Cu over 1m from sampling completed in 1984, and grab sampling in 1986 returned anomalous but low-grade gold (MDI 52K16NW 00014). Subsequent diamond drilling of airborne electromagnetic conductors in 2009 yielded weakly anomalous copper and gold from sulphidic iron formation.
- The Wenesaga Road gold prospect is situated in felsic-intermediate metavolcanic rocks on the western side of the Maskootch property, and the showing was trenched in the late 1980’s in order to follow up reports of high-grade surface gold (several oz Au samples mentioned in historic reports), however no assays are available (MDI 52K16NW 00006). A single drill hole is reported in the area from 1990 that yielded weakly anomalous gold values.
- The Maskootch property has seen limited exploration work to date, however the host rock geology coupled with extensive alteration footprints have good potential to host economic orogenic gold and/or VMS style mineralization. Major geologic targets for follow-up include mafic-felsic rock contacts, margins of mafic-ultramafic intrusions, and iron formation host rocks; all of which have yielded significant deposits in the region.