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The 10,666 ha Shovelnose property is located near the southern end of the SBGB, approximately 30 km south of Merritt, British Columbia. The property is accessible by the Coquihalla Highway (BC Provincial Highway #5) at the Coldwater exit, then by a series of logging roads to the northern and southern portions of the property.
The Shovelnose claims cover prospective stratigraphy in the southern Spences Bridge gold belt (SBGB), a 110 km northwest-trending belt of felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks dominated by the Cretaceous Spences Bridge group.
The Shovelnose property has been evaluated by stream silt and soil geochemical surveys, airborne geophysics (magnetics, electromagnetics and radiometrics), bedrock mapping, prospecting and mechanical trenching. Gold mineralization has been identified as being spatially associated with north-northeast and northwest trending normal faults and hosted by south-southwest trending, shallowly west-dipping quartz veins within silificied, argillic-altered felsic tuffs. These structures have various orientations and represent likely conduits for hydrothermal fluids related to gold deposition. Based on field relationships, fault displacements have been interpreted as normal to oblique and related to synvolcanic, extensional tectonics.
The most significant mineralization has been identified at the Line 6 and Mik showings. The showings are located approximately one kilometre apart and associated with broad gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies that occur on either side of a felsic dome. Mineralization consists of south-southwest trending massive to colloform banded quartz veins and local vein breccia zones hosted within moderately to strongly altered felsic volcanic rocks. Individual quartz veins typically dip to the west at a shallow angle and range from less than 1 cm up to 14 cm in width. Vein breccia phases up to 60 cm wide have been observed at the Line 6 showing. A third showing, known as the Tower, is a 400 m trend of intense clay and silica alteration in rhyolite tuff. This zone of mineralization is located approximately 450 m to the northeast of the Mik showing.
Mechanized trenching of the Line 6 and Mik showings was completed between 2008 and 2009. To date, a total of 640 m of trenching has been conducted over fifteen trenches at the Line 6 showing and six trenches at the Mik showing to test the extent of gold mineralization. Continuous chip samples of exposed bedrock were collected over regular intervals within each trench. Additionally, separate chip samples were collected from mappable quartz veins in an effort to determine the grade of mineralization within the veins. A summary of the results of this work is provided in the following table:
Trench |
Length |
Best composite |
Quartz vein chip samples |
L6-XT-01 |
36 m |
2.0 m grading 17.0 g/t Au |
0.84 to 4.30 g/t Au (6 veins sampled) |
L6-XT-02 |
39 m |
16.0 m grading 1.4 g/t Au
and 4.0 m grading 3.35 g/t |
0.88 to 4.86 g/t Au (5 veins sampled) |
L6-XT-03 |
20 m |
2.5 m grading 1.68 g/t Au |
0.14 to 16.3 g/t Au (10 veins sampled) |
L6-XT-04 |
25 m |
6.0 m grading 5.1 g/t Au |
0.02 to 46.6 g/t Au (5 veins sampled) |
L6-XT-06 |
30 m |
21.0 m grading 0.80 g/t Au, including 2.0 m grading 14.93 g/t Au |
MK-XT-01 |
41 m |
3.0 m grading 1.40 g/t Au |
2.94 to 7.72 g/t Au (4 veins sampled) |
MK-XT-02 |
34 m |
2.0 m grading 1.45 g/t Au |
22.2 g/t Au (1 vein sampled) |
MK-XT-03 |
4 m |
No significant results |
No quartz veins exposed |
MK-XT-04 |
15.7 m |
2.9 m grading 2.72 g/t Au |
8.54 to 66.4 g/t Au |
MK-XT-06 |
16 m |
5.5 m grading 0.81 g/t Au |
Higher grade gold mineralization is strongly controlled by the density of quartz veins and vein breccias within the volcanic host rock. Of 31 vein chip samples, 20 have returned in excess of 1 g/t gold. Gold showings display a positive correlation with As, Sb, Hg and Mo. This correlation is generally well reflected in soil geochemical surveys. Silver/gold ratios are variable, ranging from ten to less than one, but tend to be relatively consistent for veins exposed within a particular trench.
Prospecting of soil geochemical anomalies outside of the Mik and Line 6 showings has identified a number of additional discovery during the program. A float sample of a quartz veined and altered crystal lithic tuff collected approximately 500 m south of the Mik showing, has returned 119.37 g/t gold and 271 g/t silver. Veining within this sample exhibits a weakly developed chalcedonic banding and contains trace, dark grey metallic sulphides. Mineralization at the Tower zone has returned gold values ranging from background up to 505 ppb gold. Initial prospecting of the southeastern extension of the property identified a mixed sequence of mafic and felsic volcanic rocks, as well as an anomalous quartz vein float boulder exhibiting colloform banded epithermal textures. A sample of the 30 cm subrounded boulder returned 0.59 g/t gold, as well as significantly anomalous mercury and antimony values, two key elements that are important pathfinders in epithermal gold mineralized systems. Future work will include a more detailed evaluation of this area of the property.
Deposit Model: Vein textures, alteration styles and assemblages, and geochemical signatures of gold occurrences within the SBGB are diagnostic of low suphidation epithermal systems. Regionally, vein textures are dominated by massive to banded to colloform textures, and quartz is typically fine-grained to chalcedonic, which is typical of very high levels of erosion in a vein system. Pseudomorphs of quartz after bladed lattice calcite are also evident and indicative of boiling. At Shovelnose, the presence of siliceous fragments, possibly representing sinter material, within heterolithic tuffs hosting mineralized veins suggests surface eruption at shallow depths. Silicification is generally confined to the wall rocks adjacent to the quartz veins and the individual veins are typically massive to brecciated with a weakly developed irregular colloform banding. Although epithermal gold deposits are hosted largely in Tertiary or younger volcanic centres, older examples have been discovered and hence should be considered as part of the working exploration model. The gold occurrences of the SBGB have been identified in both Tertiary and Cretaceous volcanic rocks. Gold-bearing veins identified in the property are interpreted to be hosted within Princeton Group (Eocene) felsic heterolithic crystal lithic tuffs.
Strongbow has entered into an option agreement with Westhaven Ventures Inc. (Westhaven) (see Jan 25, 201 press release) where Westhaven can earn an initial 51% interest in the Shovelnose property by (i) incurring $1.5 million in exploration expenditures over a three year period and (ii) issuing a total of 300,000 common shares to Strongbow including 100,000 common shares within 5 business days of regulatory approval of the Agreement. Within 12 months of having earned its 51% interest in the property, Westhaven will have the option to earn an additional 19% interest (bringing its total property interest to 70%) by (i) issuing an additional 500,000 shares to Strongbow, and (ii) incurring an additional $1.5 million in exploration expenditures. Westhaven's first year exploration commitment will include exploration drilling of the Mik and Line 6 gold targets, as well as follow up work on geochemical targets identified on the property. This program is expected to be initiated in the summer of 2011.
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