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Technical SessionAbstracts

ABSTRACT GUIDE

Association for Mineral Exploration 1

CONTENTS

TECHNICAL SESSIONS

MONDAY AFTERNOON—REGIONAL REVIEWS ................................................................................................. 2

TUESDAY MORNING – COMMODITIES AND FINANCIAL MARKETS ................................................................... 6

TUESDAY AFTERNOON – GOLDEN STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH ......................................................................... 8

WEDNESDAY MORNING – INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS ............................................................................... 13

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON – CANADIAN HIGHLIGHTS .................................................................................... 20

THURSDAY MORNING – BC/YUKON/ALASKA ................................................................................................. 26

PASSPORT TO EXPLORE

MONDAY AFTERNOON – NEW GEOSCIENCE: RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE FOR EXPLORATION .................... 33

TUESDAY MORNING – PASSPORT 2 EXPLORE TALKS ...................................................................................... 40

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TECHNICAL SESSIONS

SESSION CHAIRS: MICHAEL CHOI, HEMMERA; LINDSAY STEELE, APEGBC

MONDAY AFTERNOON—REGIONAL REVIEWS

MINERAL EXPLORATION AND MINING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 2016

Gordon Clarke, Jim Britton, Paul Jago, Fiona Katay, Jeff Kyba and Bruce Northcote, B.C. Ministry of Energy and

Mines

Mineral and coal production for 2016 continued to be a major contributor to the economy of British Columbia. In

recent years, three quarters of this value has been from combined coal and copper production. During the year,

low commodity prices for base metals contributed to the cessation of production from the Myra Falls and

Huckleberry mines. Low thermal coal prices contributed to the cessation of production of the Quinsam mine.

Mine development projects included the Brucejack project of Pretium Resources Inc. and the Silvertip project of

JDS Silver Inc. In 2016, Pretium continued advancing construction at the project site with a commercial production

target of mid‐2017. Silvertip produced its first concentrate at the end of the third quarter of 2016 with commercial

operations planned for year end.

In the fall of 2016, an increase in the price of metallurgical coal helped support the sale of the three former coal

mine assets of Walter Energy in the northeastern area of the province.

A number of high‐profile metal projects continued to be advanced, including KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.’s Ajax project,

Seabridge Gold Inc.’s KSM project, IDM Mining Ltd.’s Red Mountain project, New Gold Inc.’s Blackwater project,

AuRico Metals Inc.’s Kemess Underground project and Canada Zinc Metals Corp.’s Akie project.

Programs for a number of advanced coal projects progressed in 2016. In the northeast, projects included HD

Mining International’s Murray River project, Glencore plc’s Sukunka project and the Wapiti River project of

Canadian Dehua International Mines. Among the projects in the southeast were Teck Coal Ltd.’s Baldy Ridge

Extension, Cougar Pit Extension and Burnt Ridge Extension projects, Jameson Resources Limited’s Crown Mountain

project and CanAus Coal Limited’s Michel Creek project.

Work continued on industrial mineral projects including environmental assessment and project evaluation for

phosphate, silica, jade, gypsum, magnesite, graphite, limestone and aggregate.

Significant metal exploration programs continued to be carried out. Highlights include programs carried out by

Ascot Resources Ltd., Serengeti Resources Inc., Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd., Amarc Resources Ltd., Seabridge Gold

Inc., Skeena Resources Limited, Colorado Resources Ltd. and Teck Resources Limited.

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YUKON EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT AND MINING OVERVIEW, 2016

Scott Casselman, Economic Geologist, Yukon Geological Survey

In 2016, exploration and development expenditures in Yukon remained essentially on par with 2015 levels.

Exploration spending for the year is estimated to be C$61 million, whereas development expenditures should

come in at $22 million. Of the 65 active projects in Yukon, 14 of them spent over C$1M. Gold continues to

dominate the attention of explorers, with 85% of the projects searching for the precious metal. The remaining

programs were focused on copper, silver, lead, zinc, nickel, platinum‐group elements and jade.

In May, Goldcorp Inc. announced the acquisition of the Kaminak Gold Corporation and their flagship Coffee gold

project. The $520 million deal excited the local mining community and prompted investors to free up cash for

other projects in the region. Goldcorp did not stop spending on Coffee with the acquisition; they also spent $5

million in exploration and $20 million in development activities to prepare the project for an environmental

assessment.

Other significant gold exploration projects in the year include Victoria Gold Corp on the Olive and Shamrock zones;

Golden Predator, in a late‐season surge, at the 3 Aces project; Atac Resources Ltd. at the Rackla gold project;

Rockhaven Resources Ltd. at the Klaza project; Goldstrike Resources Ltd. at the Plateau project; and Klondike Gold

Corp. at the Lone Star/Dominion projects. BMC Minerals continued exploration at the Kudz Ze Kayah Cu‐Pb‐Zn‐Ag‐

Au VMS project in 2016. The company spent $19 million on exploration, geotechnical, environmental and

metallurgical work in preparation for a feasibility study.

Production continued at Capstone Mining Corp’s Minto copper‐gold‐silver mine, although it has announced it will

shut down in the spring of 2017 unless metal prices improve. The Bellekeno mine (silver‐lead‐zinc) of Alexco

Resources Corp. remained shut down due to low silver prices; however, the company has continued exploring

successfully. The company has also collared the portal at the Flame and Moth deposit in preparation for restarting

mining operations when silver prices improve.

Several projects are advancing through the permitting process. Victoria Gold Corp. has all the necessary permits in

place for Eagle gold deposit and continues to methodically prepare for a production decision by purchasing a

second 110 person camp, arranging $28.8 million financing and updating the feasibility study for the project.

Western Copper and Gold Corp. continues to prepare for a panel review with the Yukon Environmental and Socio‐

economic Assessment Board (YESAB) to develop its mammoth Casino copper‐gold porphyry deposit in western

Yukon.

ALASKA EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY SUCCESSES IN 2016

Melanie Werdon, Geologist, Mineral Resources, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys

Alaska’s diverse metallogenic provinces, consistent ranking in the top five areas of the world for underexplored

mineral‐resource potential and world‐class gold, copper, lead, zinc and coal deposits continue to attract

exploration capital. Near‐mine exploration is the primary driver of Alaska’s exploration expenditures in 2016.

Companies with mines are prioritizing exploration efforts in and around active operations to maximize discovery

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success. Kensington mine is focusing on potential resource conversion and expansion within the Main orebody and

nearby Raven vein, as well as defining the high‐grade Jualin deposit, which was discovered in 2015. Pogo is

developing their new East Deep zone and investing in discovery and delineation of additional gold zones within and

adjacent to the mine. Green’s Creek has yet again succeeded in replenishing resources to maintain their 10 year

mine‐life plan. Red Dog mine has enough reserves to last more than a decade and nearby deposits will likely add to

the mine’s life. Fort Knox poured its 7 millionth ounce of gold in July 2016, owners of the Nixon Fork mine

submitted restart applications, and Usibelli coal mine continues to provide coal to Alaska power plants, despite

weak export markets.

With increasing metal prices and capital availability in 2016, there is renewed optimism, deals are being made and

companies with exploration‐stage properties in Alaska had numerous exploration successes and discoveries.

Drilling, surface‐sampling and geological evaluation efforts to advance projects were carried out at the Tetlin,

Palmer, Unga, Caribou Dome, Shorty Creek, RoundTop, Elephant Mountain and Bonnifield properties. In 2016,

Alaska’s Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys documented 20 new mineral localities while conducting

geological mapping and geochemical sampling in the Tok River area. The Alaska government encourages resource

development by providing airborne geophysical surveys, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority

(AIDEA) partnerships with private entities to finance infrastructure and the Large Mine Permitting Team that

coordinates permitting.

SASKATCHEWAN’S MINERAL SECTOR GOING INTO 2017: STATUS AND OUTLOOK

Gary Delaney, Ph.D., P.Geo, Chief Geologist, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Saskatchewan Ministry of the

Economy

Saskatchewan is one of Canada’s leading mining jurisdictions. In 2015, the province was the world’s largest potash

producer and the second largest producer of primary uranium. There was also production of coal, gold, base

metals, sodium and potassium sulphate, silica sand and clay products. In 2015, the value of mineral sales, mostly

from potash and uranium, was approximately C$8.2 billion, up from $7.3 billion in 2014 and $7.1 billion in 2013.

For 2016, as of the end of September, volumes of potash sold were similar to 2015 and, although prices have

decreased, they appear to have stabilized recently. For the remainder of the year and into 2017, potash demand is

forecasted to be strong, whereas the value of uranium sales is forecasted to be flat due to surplus supply in the

market from primary and secondary sources.

Saskatchewan remains one of Canada’s and the world’s most attractive jurisdictions for mineral exploration

investment. In the Fraser Institute’s annual survey of mining companies, for both 2014 and 2015, the province

ranked first nationally and second globally for investment attractiveness, a composite measure of geological

potential and government policy.

In 2016, it is estimated that more than $226 million will be spent on mineral exploration in Saskatchewan, similar

to the previous three years, when exploration expenditures averaged about $221 million. The bulk of the spending

is anticipated to be for uranium and potash. There is also renewed interest in diamond exploration. An estimate by

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) indicates that Saskatchewan will account for 16.4% of Canadian exploration

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expenditures in 2016, up from 15.1% in 2015. This puts the province on track to rank second nationally for

exploration spending after Ontario.

The government of Saskatchewan undertakes an innovative geosciences program to support the exploration for

and development of the province’s mineral resources.

NUNAVUT EXPLORATION AND MINING OVERVIEW

K. D. Costello and M. D. Senkow, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Nunavut Regional Office

Nunavut makes up more than one‐fifth of Canada’s land mass and hosts a wealth of mineral resources, including

gold, base metals, diamonds, iron and uranium. There is one operating gold mine and one iron mine. A second gold

mine is planned to enter production in early 2017.

The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which allowed for the creation of the territory, underpins the territorial

regulatory system, providing certainty about ownership and use of lands and resources.

Under this agreement, the Inuit of Nunavut, as represented by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the regional Inuit

associations, hold surface rights to 20% of the territory, of which 2% have subsurface rights. The Government of

Canada administers subsurface rights to the remaining 98% of Nunavut.

Currently, two important regulatory initiatives are in progress: the Government of Canada is establishing the

Nunavut Map Selection Initiative, which will replace traditional ground‐staking with online selection of mineral

tenure; and the Nunavut Planning Commission is developing a territory‐wide land‐use plan to provide clear

guidance and direction on resource use and development in the Nunavut settlement area.

Due to Nunavut’s size and isolated nature, the territory remains underexplored but has consistently ranked in the

top five Canadian jurisdictions for mineral exploration and deposit appraisal expenditures over the last several

years. Most exploration is currently for gold, but there are also active projects exploring for base metals, diamonds

and uranium.

SIGNS OF LIFE? THE STATE OF EXPLORATION IN CANADA

Robert Schafer, President, Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)

PDAC will provide a national perspective on the state of mineral exploration in Canada, situated within a global

context. Key topics will include the state of exploration finance globally and within Canada, the state of exploration

expenditures within Canada as compared to key competitors, and the factors affecting how competitive Canadian

jurisdictions are at attracting investment. It will conclude with an overview of the specific actions PDAC is taking

nationally to help support a competitive and responsible exploration industry to access the land and capital

needed to discover and develop deposits of the minerals and metals that make modern life possible.

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CHAIRS: MICHAEL GRAY, MACQUARIE; DALE MAH, ENDEAVOUR SILVER

SPONSOR: GOLDCORP

TUESDAY MORNING – COMMODITIES AND FINANCIAL MARKETS

THINKING ABOUT WHAT COMES NEXT

Jim Allworth, RBC Dominion Securities

Ever since the Great Recession ended in 2009, RBC Dominion Securities’ view on the outlook for financial markets

has been informed by several underlying assumptions:

• Major central banks would remain very accommodative until the ‘minefields’ laid down in the financial

crisis had been successfully negotiated and the major economies were on a sustained growth footing;

• The outlook for the United States economy was of the greatest importance because of its ‘tractor’ effect

on the rest of the world through the medium of trade; and

• Until a renewed global economic downturn, and in particular a recession in the United States, were on the

horizon, equities should be given the benefit of the doubt.

We continue to believe these are the factors that will shape the investment landscape in 2017 and beyond;

however, their interpretation has necessarily become more nuanced in recent months due to the Brexit vote, the

divergence of monetary policies by major central banks and the uncertainty stemming from a new activist

administration in Washington, DC.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM A DECADE ON THE DARK SIDE: A GEOLOGIST’S PERSPECTIVE OF THE

FINANCIAL MARKETS

Neil Adshead, Sprott Asset Management

Many disparate factors can move exploration and mining company share prices. Nontechnical drivers for

materially increasing or decreasing the share price of a listed issuer include commodity price shifts due to

speculation, genuine supply‐and‐demand dynamics, geopolitical events, societal trends, effective promotion,

excessive equity dilution, broader stock‐market sentiment and the unpredictable behaviour of larger shareholders.

On a fundamental basis, looking past the commonly ephemeral market noise confronting mining‐sector capital

allocators, the cornerstone input that needs to be best understood ahead of making an investment decision is

geological quality. This can be the terrane potential for a grass‐roots exploration play, the resource delineation

upside following a drill discovery or the creation of the resource model used in mine design or expansion. There is

a heavy reliance in the financial industry to make big‐dollar decisions on bottom‐line numbers calculated in

spreadsheets. In part, this reflects the strong human urge to forecast the future, with the quantitative result

commonly providing a false degree of comfort. Financial modelling is important and is part of the decision‐making

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arsenal, but the adage of ‘garbage in, garbage out’ should always be considered when evaluating a ‘target price’.

Modeling will invariably generate ‘garbage’ with incorrect or insufficient geology.

The geological input into investment decisions of all types in the sector, such as drill‐program design, drill‐sample

data collection and subsequent resource modelling, is of a variable quality. Shortfalls in building the geological

picture of a mineral deposit have been observed on hundreds of site visits conducted during a decade working in

various roles at a major mining company, and the last more than 12 years as a buy‐side analyst for two dedicated

mining sector funds. Specifically, drill‐cutting sampling is an underappreciated discipline, as is geological mapping,

irrespective of the percentage of outcrop (all maps are mostly interpretation), plus creating and maintaining large‐

format cross‐sections for an active resource delineation drill program. It is unfortunate in our industry that the

promotion of the brightest and most driven field geologists results in greater office time, more gazing at computer

screens and roles where work becomes responding to email and less hands‐on geology.

Younger geologists keen to make the transition into the various finance roles in the mining industry commonly

seek advice on how to break in. Their belief is that they will be well qualified with an MBA and/or CFA designation,

on top of their geology degree, plus a limited amount or fieldwork or mine‐site experience. Every year, MBA

graduates greatly outnumber geologists and the former will almost always have better financial modelling skills.

Consequently, the recommendation to budding analysts is simple: become a better geologist, rather than trying to

compete with a multitude of modellers. Two invariably important value‐add contributors for equities in the

exploration and mining are ‘quality’ and ‘scarcity’. The same applies to geologists: to stand out, do more geology

and do not rush to leave the core shack or mine site for the creature comforts of the office.

POWER OF DISCOVERIES—INVESTING IN MINING

Willem Middelkoop, Commodity Discovery Fund

The Commodity Discovery Fund is one of the very few investment funds globally that focuses on raw materials

discoveries. Gold, silver, uranium, copper and zinc discoveries yield billions of dollars in value. Exploration

companies that make a significant resource discovery are often acquired at a premium by larger mining companies

looking for additional reserves, usually within a few years. This form of investing is called ‘discovery investing’—a

strategy that in recent years has resulted in a takeover in the Commodity Discovery Fund portfolio once every

quarter on average.

STATE OF THE MINING MARKET: TRENDS IN METALS PRICES, EXPLORATION, PRODUCTION

AND FINANCINGS

Mark Ferguson, Associate Director/Head of Mining Studies, S&P Global Market Intelligence

The year 2016 was, overall, relatively good for the price of mined commodities and for the industry’s market

capitalization; however, commodity prices and investors’ valuation of mining has come from a nadir in January,

marked by patchy performance as the year progressed.

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Market conditions improved notably early in the March quarter, leading many near‐dormant exploration

companies to tap into equity markets through much of the year. Although certainly an important step for many of

these companies and a marked improvement over 2015, the aggregate amount raised was still less than the total

raised in 2014, and far below levels recorded in 2010–2011.

Improved market conditions came too little and too late to stave off another decline in global exploration budgets,

which fell for the fourth consecutive year to an estimated US$7.2 billion in 2016, the lowest amount allocated for

organic efforts in more than a decade. Gold‐focused companies fared best among all explorers, with the

commodity attracting 48% of the global nonferrous total, increasing its 45% share recorded in 2015.

Perhaps the most striking outcome from the 2016 exploration data is the type of asset being explored; the share

devoted to mine‐site programs is almost on par with those for late‐stage projects, surpassing grass‐roots

allocations for the third consecutive year. Although slashing earlier stage exploration programs is fashionable

during downturns, it directly impacts the medium‐ and long‐term supply pipeline of new mines. In particular, the

rate of gold‐significant discoveries continues to fall, despite significant investment in exploration during the past

15 years.

CHAIRS: DAVID GALE, INDEPENDENCE GOLD CORP; CRAIG HART, UBC MINERAL RESEARCH

DEPOSIT UNIT (MDRU)

TUESDAY AFTERNOON – GOLDEN STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH

AGNICO EAGLE’S MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS STRATEGY: ALIGNED TO MEET OBJECTIVES

Marc Legault, Senior VP, Project Evaluations, Agnico‐Eagle Mines Ltd.

Agnico Eagle's mergers and acquisitions strategy is closely aligned with its objectives for quality growth—not an

easy task to accomplish unless the whole team is engaged. That engagement is obtained by involving key

participants and stakeholders in each stage of the process, from identification to evaluation, due diligence and

acquisition.

TAKING REGIONAL CONCEPTS TO DISCOVERY IN A CHANGING MINING LANDSCAPE

Morgan Poliquin, President, CEO, Director, Almadex Minerals

Almadex Minerals, and its predecessor Almaden, have successfully navigated a volatile mineral market during the

last several decades since Almaden’s initial public offering on the Vancouver stock exchange in 1986. Much has

changed in this time in the mineral sector. Perhaps the most significant shift is a reduction in greenfields

exploration carried out by producing companies, most of which now focus on mergers and acquisitions to acquire

reserves. This has led many junior companies to focus on advanced projects, wherever they might be located, that

can quickly be derisked for acquisition by a producer. The Almadex team has taken an entirely different approach

by focusing on early‐stage grass‐roots exploration in new terrains. Because this approach is rare, once a high‐

potential region is selected, exploration can be carried out virtually competition free. This technically driven

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geological approach also harnesses Almadex’s earth‐science talent and allows for the long‐term systematic

exploration necessary for discovery to be carried out largely independent of market cycles.

Almadex has taken considerable care to select regions with high geological potential but as yet underexplored to

conduct this work. Good geology is not enough for many places on earth, so the areas selected also passed the

tests of low jurisdiction risk, excellent access and infrastructure, and the presence of a skilled labour force.

Almadex further reduced risk by addressing the capital needs of exploration. Systematic long‐term regional

exploration can only be conducted successfully if it is accompanied by early‐stage and aggressive target definition

and drilling. To reduce the capital required, Almadex has become a fully integrated exploration group, conducting

in‐house target definition and prospecting, geochemical and geophysical surveys and, most notably, diamond

drilling using company drills operated by long‐term employees. Almadex’s lightweight portable rigs can reach

depths of 1000 m using NQ2 core and are used as an extension of prospecting. The capacity to drill early in a

project’s history allows for rapid targeting and testing conceptual targets. Low‐cost drilling changed the dynamic of

Almadex’s regional programs, which can be fluid. Projects can be tested early and cheaply to determine their

priority.

By focusing on regional early‐stage exploration, Almadex is also able to address community and stakeholder

engagement in an innovative manner. These interactions necessarily occur at the earliest of stages, often before a

project is even defined. This allows for continuity and the communication of the exploration and development

process to stakeholders from first principals, in an environment very different from that surrounding an advanced

project. Almadex has placed a major emphasis on education and transparency, driven by tours to operating mines

for community representatives. Because Almadex in investing over the long term on a region as opposed to a

single project, in the age of high connectivity these efforts at true transparency lay the groundwork for successful

consultation when a mine is ultimately permitted.

MANAGING THE TRANSITION FROM GRASS‐ROOTS EXPLORER TO DEVELOPER

John Robins, Chairman, Director, K2 Gold Corporation

In July 2016, Goldcorp Inc. concluded its acquisition of Kaminak Gold Corp almost 11 years after the company was

formed. The company was a typical grass‐roots explorer focused in northern Canada. In 2010, Kaminak announced

the discovery of gold on its Coffee Creek project located in the White Gold district of Yukon; over the next six

years, they invested over C$100 million in the project and identified more than 5 million ounces of gold. The

project was nearing the permitting stage when the company was sold for more than C$500 million. During its 11

years in operation, the company faced many challenges as it grew to meet the changing needs of the project.

Making a discovery and seeing it all the way through to commercial production is the ultimate dream for many of

us in the mineral exploration industry. The path following discovery reaches far beyond the obvious technical and

logistical challenges of developing the project itself.

The personality and skillset of the grass‐roots explorations and their team is seldom the same as that of the

developer or mine builder. For a company to succeed as it transitions from discovery through to development, it

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must adapt to meet the changing needs of the project and the requirements of the company itself. These can

affect the entire framework of the company—from the composition of its board of directors, to its most junior

employees. Among the most common issues a transitioning company will face are the following:

shifting management and technical skill requirements

human resources

increased focus on community and social responsibility including First Nations engagement

environmental considerations (permitting)

health and safety

increasing capital requirements and financial capacity

corporate governance

Managing this process can be challenging and at times unpleasant. One must be able to recognize the strengths

and weaknesses of a team and be willing to act decisively to implement those changes. Of equal importance—and

for some, the most difficult challenge of all—is confronting one’s own limitations and strengths.

Mineral exploration can be one of the most rewarding and exciting aspects of the mining industry. Most

exploration projects fail for technical reasons beyond our control. For projects that succeed technically, the

journey is still far from over.

TRYING TO REPRODUCE THE UNREPRODUCIBLE

Darin Wagner, President, CEO and Director, Balmoral Resources Ltd.

An adage among resource investors and horse‐racing enthusiasts alike is to ‘bet the jockey and not the horse’ if

you want to win in the resource space or at the track. In horse racing, you are doing almost exactly the same thing,

in exactly the same place, often over the same distance, time after time. It is repetitive and thus the experience of

the jockey can help make the difference between going home with the winning ticket or having to explain to your

partner they will be enjoying a ‘staycation’ in rainy Surrey this year instead of on the sandy beaches of Hawaii.

That said, in the mineral exploration business, you are asking the jockey(s) to, in many ways, reproduce the

unreproducible. Each mineral deposit is in many ways as unique as the snowflakes covering the vast Canadian

landscape for much of each year. Each deposit type has its own characteristics, and within each deposit type, each

deposit is unique in form, controls, grade distribution, size, metallurgy, etc. Geophysical and geochemical

variations between even adjacent deposits in the same camp can be considerable. Each mining jurisdiction

presents distinct challenges and opportunities. Likewise, each discovery story is a unique volume with often

disappointing sequels.

And yet, certain individuals and groups are consistently able to fund their projects, make new discoveries, add new

mineral deposits and mines to the global map and, as a result, reward their investors for the inherent risks they

took in placing their bets.

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There are some common themes or elements and paths or strategies employed by our group and its partners and

associates over the last two and half decades that have led to exploration success.

Themes include understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your team, project selection criteria and when to

hit the eject button, the importance of understanding and being realistic about the inherent risks in the geological

and socio‐political environments, the evolution of targeting in advanced districts, the necessity of sustainable

exploration funding in successful exploration and how to navigate tough markets.

Ultimately, there is no secret formula for success as an explorer. It is, and likely always will be, hard work and

persistence that leads to discovery (with a smattering of good luck thrown in). A number of strategies, however,

can be employed to increase the odds of success and to help you and your shareholders arrive at the cash‐out

window with a winning ticket.

DE‐RISKING THE EXPLORATION PROCESS: SCIENCE, PRAGMATISM AND DATA MINING

Moira Smith, Mark O’Dea, Cal Everett, Pilot Gold

Precious metals exploration is an inherently risky venture. Among other things, it is difficult to predict whether a

property holds an economic ore body until it has been thoroughly tested. Value creation is best achieved by

market recognition during the discovery phase to facilitate ongoing funding with minimum dilution. A number of

strategies is employed by junior companies to manage risk including spreading it among a large number of

properties, or employing a joint venture model to spread the risk to other companies. Pilot Gold’s approach is a

little different.

At Pilot Gold, predecessor Fronteer Gold, and the Oxygen portfolio of companies, de‐risking strategies include:

1. Searching for assets that appear from the outset to be “mines in the making”

2. Not overpaying for them

3. Assembling great technical and marketing teams

4. Carrying out exhaustive data compilation and modeling.

5. Securing adequate financing to carry out meaningful programs

6. Starting metallurgical, baseline and engineering studies, permitting and acquisition of land and water

rights as early as possible

Hallmarks of “mines in the making” include large properties with clear indications of district‐scale mineralization;

an abundance of drill data; indications of favourable metallurgy and shallow depth of mineralization; good

jurisdictions both geologically and politically; and a “gut feeling” based on past experience. With a little patience

and contrarian timing, these assets can be obtained at low cost. For example, Pilot Gold recently acquired Black

Pine, a past‐producing Carlin‐type system with a 12 km2 footprint of mineralization and 1866 historic drill holes,

for approximately $1 million US.

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A patient exploration team skilled at data compilation and modeling can assess whether a data‐rich old mining

camp is past its prime or holds abundant additional mineralization without ever drilling a single hole, and use this

information to leverage exploration at low cost. Pilot Gold’s current program at the past‐producing Goldstrike

mine in Utah is based on modeling of over 1500 drill holes, 100 000 blast holes and abundant surface data, and is

focused on extensions of mineralization recognized during the compilation process.

The days are mostly gone when potential acquirers will pay top dollar for a raw prospect, or even a resource, and

more of the de‐risking process is falling on the shoulders on junior companies. Demonstrating that the deposit is

metallurgically simple and that there are no impediments to development can add value to the project. Fronteer

was acquired in 2011 on the basis of the Long Canyon deposit, with the acquirer paying top dollar for outstanding

metallurgy, relatively advanced permitting, private land and water rights.

While some aspects of exploration, such as gold prices and market sentiment, are out of Pilot Gold’s control, the

company can control what it acquires, how much it pays for it, the exploration strategy, finances and the

company’s message. With the right asset, team and approach, an inherently risky undertaking can be substantially

de‐risked.

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CHAIRS: ROSS GORDON, TECK RESOURCES LIMITED; TONY SCOTT, MACQUARIE

WEDNESDAY MORNING – INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

ALACRAN‐SAN MATIAS: AN EXCITING NEW DISCOVERY IN A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN

EXTENSION OF COLOMBIA’S CAUCA BELT

Mark Gibson, Chief Operating Officer, High Power Exploration (HPX); Mario Stifano, President and CEO, Cordoba

Minerals; Chris Grainger, VP Exploration for Cordoba Minerals and Graham Boyd, Senior Geologist, HPX

Cordoba Minerals (Cordoba) and High Power Exploration (HPX) have secured an extensive land package covering

approximately 20 000 ha (260 km2), with an additional 250 000 ha under application, in the northern part of the

Middle Cauca gold belt, 200 km north of Medellin, within the Department of Córdoba, Republic of Colombia. The

region is richly endowed with resources and infrastructure—within 30 km there are two large operating open pit

mines: Cerro Matoso (large Ni‐laterite mine operated by South32) and Carbon del Caribe (coal mines operated by

Argos).

Cordoba and HPX have an ongoing joint venture (JV) over Cordoba’s properties whereby HPX can earn up to 65%

of the JV in stages. Current work will lead to HPX earning a 51% interest, with the last phase requiring the

completion of a feasibility study for the last 14%. In addition to the JV, HPX holds 37% of Cordoba’s stock.

Two styles of mineralization are seen at surface and in drill core:

1) Alacran copper‐gold mineralization is associated with stratabound replacement of a marine

volcanosedimentary geological sequence. The deposit comprises moderately dipping stratigraphy that is

mineralized as a series of subparallel replacement‐style deposits and associated disseminations. The

copper‐gold mineralization is composed of largely chalcopyrite ±pyrrhotite with associated metasomatic

magnetite and distal disseminated pyrite. High‐temperature biotite‐amphibole alteration in the host

geological sequence indicate that the copper‐gold mineralization is proximal to a source intrusion.

Drill highlights include

o ASA051: 111 m at 1.01% copper and 0.38 g/t gold

o ACD006A: 109 m at 0.95% copper and 0.35 g/t gold

A NI 43‐101 non‐compliant inferred resource of 37 million tonnes at 0.62% copper and 0.40 g/t gold has

previously been defined at Alacran.

2) Montiel West, Montiel East and Costa Azul mineralization is hosted by porphyry stocks and host

volcanics. The mineralization is associated with high‐density quartz‐magnetite veining and as sheeted

veins and stockworks containing chalcopyrite, bornite and pyrite mineralization. Hydrothermal alteration

related to porphyry‐style mineralization is largely potassic (magnetite, K‐feldspar, biotite/phlogopite),

with lesser distal propylitic (epidote, chlorite, sericite, pyrite) and minor sodic‐calcic alteration (albite‐

actinolite).

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Drill highlights include

o SMDDH004: 101 m at 1.0% copper and 0.65 g/t gold (Montiel East)

o MWDDH001: 52 m at 0.43% copper and 0.35 g/t gold (Montiel West)

o CADDH003: 87 m at 0.62% copper and 0.51 g/t gold (Costa Azul)

Current work is focused on making the historical Alacran resource NI 43‐101 compliant and delineating the

porphyry mineralization at depth.

DISCOVERY AND GEOLOGY OF THE SALARES NORTE GOLD‐SILVER DEPOSIT, NORTHERN CHILE

Nathan Brewer, Francisco Azevedo, Diego Huete Verdugo, Teresa Guevara, Fernando Rojas, Juanita Rodriguez

Melo, Christian Lagos, Claudio Cerda, Constanza Moreno, Regina Baumgartner, Alex Trueman and Andrew Foley

The Salares Norte deposit is located in the northern part of the Maricunga Belt, Chile, an area characterized by

Cenozoic volcanic rocks, eroded stratovolcanos, volcanic domes and pyroclastic rocks. Gold mineralization is part

of a high‐sulphidation epithermal system. The system is hosted mainly by a breccia complex located along the

contact of two volcanic domes of andesitic and dacitic composition. Hydrothermal alteration is pervasive and

characterized by the presence of steam‐heated–style alteration, argillic and advanced argillic alteration,

silicification and local vuggy quartz. Mineralization is associated with advanced argillic alteration and silicification.

Most of the defined mineralization is oxidized, containing iron oxides and jarosite formed during weathering of

sulphides. The sulphide mineralization comprises mainly pyrite and is accompanied by variable amounts of

sphalerite, silver sulphosalts and minor enargite. Since its discovery by Gold Fields in 2011, drilling has delineated

two discrete bodies of mineralization, each approximately 600 m long by 100–200 m wide by up to 200 m thick.

Gold and silver grades are variable, but typically in the range of 0.5–2.0 g/t gold and 10–60 g/t silver with local

high‐grade zones of more than 10 g/t gold and more than 100 g/t silver. Current mineral resources are 26.8 million

tonnes at 3.9 g/t gold and 48.9 g/t silver, for 3.3 million ounces gold and 42 million ounces silver.

IVANHOE MINES’ KAKULA COPPER DISCOVERY – A TRULY WORLD‐CLASS DEPOSIT ON THE

CENTRAL AFRICAN COPPERBELT

David Edwards, Stephen Torr, George Gilchrist, and David Broughton

Kakula is a high‐grade, giant (> 2 million tonnes copper), stratiform copper deposit recently discovered by Ivanhoe

Mines Ltd. on the Kamoa mining licence in the Central African Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of Congo

(DRC). Drilling over a single season has defined indicated mineral resources of 192 million tonnes at 3.45% copper

and inferred resources of 101 million tonnes at 2.74% copper. What sets Kakula apart from most other giant

copper deposits is its lateral and vertical continuity at elevated cut‐offs: within the larger resource, Kakula contains

indicated resources of 66 million tonnes of 6.59% copper and inferred resources of 27 million tonnes at 5.26%

copper, both at a 3% cut‐off.

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Kakula is Ivanhoe’s second major discovery on the mining licence; the Kamoa‐Kakula project is now the largest

copper discovery on the African continent and ranks among the 10 largest copper deposits in the world.

Kakula is a thick, relatively flat‐lying zone of high‐grade, stratiform copper mineralization at the redox boundary

between the host Grand Conglomerate Formation and underlying redbeds of the Mwashya subgroup—the same

stratigraphic position as the Kamoa deposit. As at Kamoa, sulphides are generally finely disseminated, coarsely

replace clast rims and display a vertical‐upward hypogene mineral zonation from chalcocite to bornite to

chalcopyrite to pyrite.

The Kakula zone occurs between two small, roughly east‐west–trending domes, southwest along the semiregional

basement‐cored antiform that hosts Kamoa. The Kakula zone trends northwest at a high angle to the regional

Lufilian deformation trend and appears to be localized within a synsedimentary syncline or graben. It lies less than

300 m below surface between the domes and is doubly plunging, gently toward the northwest and the southeast.

Copper mineralization at Kakula is consistently bottom‐loaded, with the highest grades—commonly > 10%—

occurring in a chalcocite‐rich, approximately 2 to 6 m thick subunit of grey sandstone‐siltstone. This sandstone‐

siltstone subunit is key to the exceptional grade and continuity of Kakula, and overlies a thin (approximately 0.5 m)

bed of poorly mineralized, clast‐rich diamictite at the base of the Grand Conglomerate Formation. Diamictite

overlying the sandstone‐siltstone subunit is also well mineralized with chalcocite but is commonly maroon

(hematitic), which appears to represent a pre‐mineral colouration.

The October 2016, Kakula’s mineral resource estimate is as follows:

Resource

type

Copper

cut‐off

grade (%)

Tonnes

(millions)

Copper grade

(%)

Contained

copper

(billion lbs)

True

thickness

(m)

Area

(km2)

Indicated 3 66 6.59 9.6 5.9 3.8

Indicated 2 115 4.80 12.1 9.2 4.3

Indicated 1 192 3.45 14.6 14.3 4.6

Inferred 3 27 5.26 3.2 5.2 1.8

Inferred 2 51 3.92 4.4 7.7 2.2

Inferred 1 101 2.74 6.1 10.3 3.3

The mineral resource estimate is based on approximately 24 000 m of diamond drilling covering an area of 8.7 km2

within the larger 60 km2 Kakula exploration area. At the time of writing the zone has been expanded to more than

4 km in length and remains open in both directions.

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HISTORY, GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION AT THE GOLDSTRIKE PROPERTY, SOUTHWESTERN

UTAH

Moira Smith, Peter Shabestari, William Lepore, Randy Hannink and April Barrios, Pilot Gold

Goldstrike is a Carlin‐style, sedimentary rock–hosted gold property located in Washington County, southwest Utah,

with a stratigraphic and structural setting and gold mineralization similar to other sediment‐hosted gold systems in

the Great Basin. Pilot Gold controls 100% of the 6700 ha property.

Goldstrike operated as an oxide heap leach mine from 1988 to 1994. It produced approximately 209 000 oz. of

gold and 197 000 oz. of silver from 8 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.2 g/t gold, produced from 12

shallow pits, and closed due to low gold prices and lack of space on the leach pads.

Since acquisition of the property in mid‐2014, Pilot Gold has compiled a digital database of drill holes (> 1,500),

blast hole samples (> 100 000) and historical rock and soil samples, and has constructed a 3D model of geology and

mineralization. Fieldwork has included the collection of an additional 1384 soil samples and 294 rock samples,

staking of additional claims and detailed mapping. A drilling program began in late 2015 and is ongoing.

At Goldstrike, the Eocene Claron Formation and overlying Oligo‐Miocene volcanic rocks rest unconformably on a

basement of deformed middle and late Paleozoic carbonate and siliciclastic rocks. The sequence is cut by steep,

arcuate, oblique‐slip faults that form a sequence of horsts and grabens. Sandstone and conglomerate comprising

the basal portion of the Claron Formation are the primary host to mineralization, which is also focused at the

intersections of the unconformity with west‐northwest– and north‐northeast–striking faults. Alteration consists of

early, largely barren, passive silicification, followed by hydrothermal and tectonic brecciation and gold

mineralization. Decalcification and clay alteration are also present. The mineralization is largely oxidized, with

limonite, goethite, jarosite, scorodite, stibiconite and realgar present in mineralized zones. Rare areas of sulphide

mineralization consists of very fine grained pyrite. Gold is well correlated with arsenic, antimony, mercury, thallium

and silver. Gold mineralization is believed to be between 18 and 13 Ma.

Pilot Gold has drilled more than 175 reverse circulation holes since late 2015, with the objective of targeting

unmined and/or undrilled areas between, around and downdip of the historical pits along the 7 km long ‘Historic

Mine Trend’ in areas where gold has been confirmed but not systematically drilled off. Ten core holes provided

sample material for metallurgical studies (including column testing).

Beyond the Historic Mine Trend, gold mineralization on surface and in shallow drill holes has been discovered over

the entire northern part of the property, wherever the basal unconformity of the Tertiary sequence is exposed,

suggesting the potential for a multimillionounce gold system at Goldstrike.

EXPLORATION SUCCESS IN THE RAILROAD‐PINION DISTRICT ON NEVADA’S CARLIN TREND

Mac R. Jackson, Robert J. Edie, Michael T. Harp, Steven R. Koehler, Melanie N. Newton and John W. Norby

During 2016, Gold Standard Ventures Corp. continued to have exploration success at multiple targets within its

115 km2, Railroad‐Pinion property on the southeastern Carlin trend. This success can be attributed to a highly

ABSTRACT GUIDE


prospective geological setting, a systematic geological approach to exploration, aggressive drilling, teamwork and

persistence. This exploration program was made possible through the funding and key land acquisitions completed

by Gold Standard’s corporate team in Vancouver.

The Railroad‐Pinion property is centred on a structural dome with prospective carbonate hostrocks exposed within

the centre of the dome and present at shallow depths along the periphery. The most important host is dissolution‐

collapse breccia developed along the contact between the Devonian Devils Gate limestone and overlying silty

micrite of the Mississippian Tripon Pass Formation. At the Dark Star deposit and recently discovered North Dark

Star deposit, Pennsylvanian‐Permian overlap sequence carbonate rocks host Carlin‐type oxide‐gold zones. An

Eocene intrusive centre composed of intermediate to felsic rocks ranging in age from 38.9 to 37.4 Ma, respectively,

forms the core of the Railroad dome. High‐angle faults, low‐angle thrust faults and folds all exert important

district‐ and deposit‐scale control on gold mineralization.

Since the inception of the exploration program in 2010, Gold Standard Ventures has used a systematic, fact‐based,

multiple dataset approach to targeting. This includes outcrop geological mapping of lithology and alteration, soil

and rock chip geochemistry, gravity, CSAMT and relogging of historical drill holes. Hand‐drawn cross sections,

structure contour maps as well as three dimensional geological models are all used to help understand target

geometry. The entire team contributes to the definition and testing of targets. Drilling is followed by

reinterpretation of subsurface geology and adjustment of targeting.

In 2016, this persistent work rewarded Gold Standard Ventures with some of the best holes drilled to date on the

property. The highlight was an oxide intercept of 3.95 g/t gold across 126 m in a 100 m step‐out from the 2015

discovery hole at North Dark Star. At North Bullion, a new interpretation of a west‐northwest–trending structural

control to high‐grade gold was tested and returned 11.16 g/t gold across 8.5 m within a thicker intercept of

3.17 g/t gold across 65.6 m. In addition to these intercepts, step‐out drilling and detailed geological modelling

resulted in expansion of the Pinion oxide‐gold deposit to 630 300 oz. of indicated resources at 0.62 g/t gold and

1 081 300 oz. of inferred resources at 0.55 g/t gold. The Gold Standard team is continuing to work on

understanding the prospective geological setting of the district and is looking forward to more discoveries at

Railroad‐Pinion.

ABSTRACT GUIDE


NATOUGOU PROJECT, EAST BURKINA FASO

Michel A. Crevier, VP Exploration and Mine Geology, SEMAFO Inc.

The Natougou project, part of the Tapoa permit group, lies approximately 320 km east of Ouagadougou, the

capital of Burkina Faso.

No exploration other than artisanal mining had been carried out on the Tapoa permit group prior to 2010, when

Orbis Gold (Orbis) began soil and rock chip sampling. A reverse circulation (RC) drilling program in 2012 resulted in

the discovery of the Natougou gold deposit and subsequent completion of an initial mineral resources estimate by

Snowden in August 2013. Further infill drilling enabled an update by Snowden in August 2014. In March 2015,

SEMAFO Inc. (SEMAFO) closed the acquisition of Orbis. Between March 2015 and August 2015, SEMAFO

completed an infill drilling program designed to define reserves.

The Tapoa permit group is located within the Birimian gold province in West Africa, consisting of Paleoproterozoic

granite‐greenstone belts developed during the Eburnean orogeny (2195–2067 Ma). Lower Birimian predominantly

consists of metagreywacke sediments with mafic volcanics. It is overlain by the upper Birimian, predominantly

volcanic rocks, including andesitic tuffs and tholeiitic basaltic volcanics, with associated basic intrusive rocks, all of

which have been metamorphosed to greenschist to amphibolite.

An amphibolite hosts the Boungou mineralized shear at Natougou. Narrow volcaniclastic units are seen and seem

to play a major role as host of the subhorizontal shear zones due to the rheological differentiation. Gold

mineralization is associated with biotite and silica‐sericite alteration, along with disseminated sulphides and

occasional free gold. The Boungou hear zone is located at the contact between the footwall and hangingwall

volcanic units, where the volcanic flowtop breccias have formed and the volcaniclastics have been deposited. The

main mineralized lode is a flat‐lying anticlinal shear that outcrops in the southeast and plunges gently to the

northwest.

Previous exploration work used titanium and zirconium profiles based on XRF data to locate the Boungou shear

zone and separate the footwall and hangingwall volcanics. Both units were believed to be geochemically

distinctive. Recent work by SEMAFO suggests that proximal to the deposit, the difference is caused by the

hydrothermal alteration, which has preferentially altered the more porous volcaniclastics.

In October 2014, Orbis announced in‐pit total resources (indicated plus inferred) of 13.0 million tonnes at 3.7 g/t

gold for 1.5 million ounces gold, based on a gold price of $1300 per ounce. Lycopodium’s 2016 definitive feasibility

study for SEMAFO showed 9.6 million tonnes at 4.1 g/t gold for 1.28 million ounces gold of proven and probable

reserves, using $1100 per ounce. Proximal and regional exploration resumed recently. Proximal drilling is

expanding the Boungou shear zone potential, and the combination of soil sampling with mapping, new airborne

geophysics, trenching and RC drilling has suggested new exploration opportunities.

Natougou is currently at the construction‐planning stage, with production scheduled to start during the second

half of 2018 and continue for more than 7 years. Mining will be by open pit, blasting over 6 m height benches but

with flitches of 2 m to optimize the selectivity‐cost ratio. Processing will be through a CIP plant averaging 93%

recovery.

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TIJIRIT GOLD PROJECT

André Ciesielski, P.Geo., D.Sc., Senior Research Geologist & Francois Auclair, P.Geo., M.Sc., President and CEO,

Algold Resources Ltd.

The Tijirit property is located in the Reguibat Shield of northwest Mauritania, where gold mineralization has been

identified by soil geochemistry in metamorphosed, folded and sheared sedimentary, basic and igneous units

accreted before 2.9 Ga. The deformation is characterized by steep foliation involved in large, regional, symmetric

folds, numerous local drag folding and fault‐related folds where lithostructural domain contacts are interpreted as

shears. Farther east, the late‐tectonic deformation is outlined by dominant north‐northeast–trending quartz

veining. Late brittle deformation is trending northeast and east‐west. Regional metamorphism reaches lower

amphibolite grade. Quartz‐carbonate stockworks and quartz veining are late to post‐tectonic, locally carrying

visible and fine‐grained gold. Disseminated cluster or veinlet sulphides, mainly pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite

±pentlandite are late, locally remobilized in fractures. Chlorite and biotite are the major alteration minerals.

The Sophie I zone is mainly composed of north‐northeast–trending metabasites with local banded iron formations

(BIF) and minor porphyry. Fine‐grained gold is related to syn‐ to late‐tectonic, millimetre‐ and centimetre‐sized

quartz‐carbonate veining. Minor veinlet sulphides are late and locally related to carbonate veining.

The Sophie II zone, 1 km to the southeast, shows a north‐northeast–trending, folded homoclinal sequence of

intercalated metabasites, serpentinite, BIF and metasedimentary rocks bordered by northeast‐ and east‐trending

faults. Fine‐grained gold is related to syn‐ to late‐tectonic, millimetre‐sized quartz‐carbonate stockworks and

veinlets invading metabasic and metasedimentary units. Locally, the fine‐grained gold is related to quartz and

carbonate veining and chlorite‐bearing BIF. Late disseminated sulphides are locally related to carbonate veining.

The Sophie III zone, 2 km further south, occupies the interpreted northern limb of a north‐northeast–trending

symmetric regional fold affecting metabasic and BIF succession, crosscut by a major granodiorite body parallel to

the axial trace. Similarly, fine‐grained gold is related to late‐tectonic, millimetre‐sized quartz‐carbonate stockworks

invading local BIF and metabasic units.

The Lily zone, 4 km to the south‐southeast, is in a major north‐northeast–trending deformation zone composed of

fine‐grained metasedimentary and intermediate metavolcanic sequences in contact with a late‐tectonic quartz

porphyry and a quartz‐rich tonalitic granitoid. Fine‐grained gold shows a thicker distribution up to 100 m and is

related to late‐tectonic, millimetre‐ and centimetre‐sized quartz stockworks and veining. Vein, cluster and

disseminated sulphides are late, locally remobilized or at the contact between quartz veins and the hostrock.

The Eleonore zone, 7 km to the northeast, is in a north‐northeast–trending homoclinal sequence composed of

quartz‐rich metasediment intercalated with metagabbro and/or metabasalt and minor porphyry. Coarse visible

and fine‐grained gold is related to late‐tectonic, centimetre‐sized quartz veining. Three distinct zones stretching

over 3.4 km with a maximum width of 400 m are offset along east‐west faults. Disseminated and veinlet sulphides

are late, locally related to carbonate veining.

It is concluded that gold was mobilized with quartz‐carbonate‐sulphide circulation along distinct deformation

zones and precipitated in part due to lithological discontinuities at the end of the last tectonic phase affecting the

ca. 3 Ga meta‐volcanosedimentary and igneous assemblage in the Reguibat shield. There is no direct correlation

between gold and sulphur, although the latter plays a role in the emplacement of the mineralization.

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CHAIRS: ALBERT CHONG, SILVER WHEATON; CHRIS HAUBRICH, NATIONAL BANK

FINANCIAL; KENDRA JOHNSTON, INDEPENDENCE GOLD CORP.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON – CANADIAN HIGHLIGHTS

SYNOROGENIC GOLD MINERALIZATION IN GRANITE‐GREENSTONE TERRANES: THE DEEP

CONNECTION BETWEEN EXTENSION, MAJOR FAULTS, SYNOROGENIC CLASTIC BASINS,

MAGMATISM, THRUST INVERSION AND LONG‐TERM PRESERVATION

Wouter Bleeker, Research Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada

Major faults (“the breaks”) characterize granite‐greenstone terranes such as the Abitibi in Ontario and Quebec,

i.e., the empirical association of major steep faults, preserved panels of synorogenic clastic rocks and alkaline

volcanics, synorogenic magmatism and world‐class gold endowment. All of this can be explained by a model in

which the principal faults were initiated as synorogenic extensional faults, playing a critical role in basin formation,

before being inverted as thick‐skinned thrusts that buried (and preserved) upper crustal depositional

environments with gold deposits in their structural footwall. Extension played a critical role in the flare‐up of

synorogenic magmatism, and it is the extent of this magmatism that may be the ultimate predictor of overall gold

endowment. This new model for large Archean gold deposits improves our understanding of their formation closer

to how we think many modern gold deposits form.

MINERAL EXPLORATION PROJECT GENERATOR MODEL IN CANADA

Scott McLean, President and CEO, Transition Metals Corp.

Exploration is hard. It is difficult to find an economic mineral deposit and many geologists retire without ever

finding one. Exploration is also expensive and the odds of success are stacked against those willing to take on the

risk. There are more than 2000 listed junior companies; however, only the occasional spectacular discovery results

from millions of exploration dollars spent. So how does a rational speculator invest in this highest‐risk, but highest‐

return, segment of the resource sector?

The project generator (PG) model offers an intelligent and relatively lower risk alternative for speculating in the

junior exploration market. It also improves the chances of success. The model shifts the high risk and cost of

exploration to third party interests in exchange for a stake in the project assets. Rather than the traditional funding

method of selling ownership in the company to fund exploration, the PG endeavours to sell interest in the projects.

The PG typically has ownership in many projects (> 15 properties) that are funded by partnership arrangements. By

actively participating in multiple projects at a time, the odds of discovery are ultimately improved.

One of the model’s key strengths is that it capitalizes on the PG’s intellectual advantage—which is often a regional

or deposit‐type focus. These companies tend to be dynamic and recognize opportunities earlier. A PG first

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identifies a property it believes is prospective and typically conducts grass‐roots prospecting and reconnaissance

exploration. If the project is indeed promising, a business arrangement is formed with better‐funded partners to

advance the project further. A typical arrangement requires the incoming partner to spend a fixed amount on

exploration and often provides cash and/or stock to the PG, as well as a residual minority interest in the project or

a royalty.

By restricting its efforts to reconnaissance and surface studies, the PG minimizes its exploration budget and need

to raise new funds. Unlike traditional juniors who solely fund their exploration, PGs minimize shareholder equity

dilution and mitigate exploration risk, and with a pipeline of projects, maximize the opportunity to discover.

Impala Platinum Holdings, Nunavut Resources Corporation and Sudbury Platinum Corporation are three

partnership arrangements with Transition Metals that have resulted in the advance of key discoveries under the

PG business model. We will present case studies centred on the work undertaken in the Mid‐Continental Rift,

Nunavut and Sudbury that led to attracting partner funding.

LEVERAGING THE MOST FROM EXPLORATION DATA IN MATURE MINING CAMPS: CANADIAN

INNOVATIONS

Jean‐Philippe Paiement, Geology Project Manager, SGS Canada Inc.

Exploration expenditure will increasingly shift to deeper domains and blind targets as the world’s ‘easy discoveries’

are progressively exhausted. The rate of discovery has fallen significantly in the past decade, due in part to this,

which begs the question of whether the industry’s exploration targeting process is optimized. The Gold Rush

Challenge presented by Integra Gold was a great showcase of the possible evolutions in the mineral exploration

industry, from online crowd sourcing to big data processing ideas.

Up until now, the mining industry has relied on deterministic geological modelling from early exploration phases to

resource estimation and mining; however, most of these models use linear interpretation from a single individual.

The deterministic approach makes it difficult to quantify the risk associated with the geological uncertainty.

Recently, SGS Canada Inc. has started applying existing geostatistical techniques and new algorithms to create 3D

probabilistic geological models and data‐driven exploration targeting. This approach not only creates different

iterations of probable geological models, but also quantifies the interpolation and extrapolation errors for a given

density of information. Combined with machine‐learning algorithms, these geological models enable a more

dynamic and extensive use of existing databases.

Using this innovative approach, SGS Canada Inc. has provided several Canadian companies with novel exploration

targets derived from all of their available data. Unlike in other industries, where data is collected where it is most

useful, we rarely have drill hole data where we want to discover new deposits. The clustered nature of the data

around known deposits is a major limitation of the application of the many algorithms available, and we must rely

more heavily on indirect measurements such as geophysics and extrapolations of interpretation. More research is

needed to identify the most robust and productive algorithms that will enable prediction of orebodies. Careful

consideration of the inputs by human geologists is required to ensure that the model predicts what is already

known versus spurious results. This requires quality geological data, solid interpretations, a good dose of common

sense and in most cases several iterations to understand what the software is predicting.

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LAMAQUE PROJECT: RECENT WORK AND STATUS, INTEGRA GOLD

Carl Pelletier, Co‐President Founder, InnovExplo Inc.; Francine Fallara, Senior Geologist, InnovExplo Inc.; and

Hervé Thiboutot, Senior Vice President, Integra Gold Corp.

During the past few years, Integra Gold Corp. (Integra) has been actively exploring their Lamaque project, located

in one of Canada's premier gold producing districts, Val‐d'Or, Quebec. The Lamaque project represents the merger

of the Lamaque South property and the Sigma‐Lamaque mill and mine complex.

In 2016, Integra attracted much interest with their famous Gold Rush Challenge. The Integra Gold Rush Challenge

successfully implemented one of the largest, organized, crowd‐sourcing analytical challenges ever created in the

mining industry. Integra intentionally opened the challenge to any individuals and organizations worldwide and

designed the challenge to rapidly increase the probability of discovering their next major gold deposit within the

Sigma‐Lamaque gold properties.

After the contest, the resulting “Top 21” participants’ exploration targets were analyzed, characterized and ranked

within a unique 3D integrated geological map model. The ranking process and 3D model are important tools for

Integra’s current and future exploration programs. Integra’s first phase of drilling uses the new 3D Gold Rush

Challenge model and focuses on one of the most interesting, easily accessible targets at the project.

Parallel to the Gold Rush Challenge, Integra’s team has continually drilled their project, adding more than

100 000 m of diamond drill holes in 2016. These added data will be used to update future mineral resource

estimates. Infill and expansion drill programs at the project are major parts of the exploration program. Other

targets tested during 2016 include a 2200 m long pilot drill hole with multiple wedges on the Lamaque Deep target

area.

In 2015, a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) demonstrated the potential economic viability of the mineral

resources at the Lamaque project. Since then, the mineral resources have been updated twice and the PEA is in

progress to be updated accordingly. Current work on the property also includes initial underground development.

Portal and ramp access will be used for underground definition drilling of the Triangle deposit, bulk sampling and

resource reconciliation work.

Part of the Lamaque project includes the former Sigma‐Lamaque complex. Exploration effort is in progress to

assess the remaining potential of this area. A two‐phase mineral resource update is ongoing and includes a first

phase from surface to 400 m depth and a second phase from 400 m depth to the bottom of the mine at

approximately 1.6 km.

This talk is an overview of the recent exploration work and status of the Lamaque project. Integra’s team and the

participants of the Integra Gold Rush Challenge have completed an enormous amount of innovative, value‐added

work during the last few years with much more still to come.

MADSEN GOLD PROJECT, RED LAKE, ONTARIO: ANATOMY OF AN ARCHEAN OROGENIC GOLD SYSTEM

Christopher Lee, Chief Geoscientist, Pure Gold Mining; and Phil Smerchanski, Vice President Exploration, Pure

Gold Mining

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More than 28 million ounces of high‐grade gold have been mined in the prolific Red Lake district of northwestern

Ontario, making it one of the largest gold‐producing districts in Canada. This mining‐friendly jurisdiction continues

to produce some of the highest‐grade, highest‐margin gold ounces in the world, and is home to Pure Gold Mining’s

Madsen gold project. The project is anchored by the historic Madsen mine which, having produced 2.45 million

ounces of gold between 1938 and 1999, retains the title of second largest gold‐producing operation in the district.

The Madsen deposit is currently estimated to contain an indicated mineral resource of 928 000 ounces gold

(3.24 million tonnes at 8.93 g/t gold) and an inferred mineral resource of 297 000 ounces gold (0.79 million tonnes

at 11.74 g/t gold).

The importance of folded mafic‐ultramafic contacts and associated structures, the relative timing and association

with carbonate alteration and silicification, and the proximity to regional‐scale unconformities are well‐

documented features of gold deposits in the district and are fundamental to Goldcorp’s High Grade zone, G zone, L

zone and HG Young deposits. The well‐developed expression of these key geological components in the under‐

explored southern half of the greenstone belt led Pure Gold to consolidate 100% ownership of the third largest

land package in the district with more than 45 km2 of contiguous, patented ground hosting two significant historic

mines and numerous advanced and greenfield exploration targets.

The wealth of historical data from the Madsen mine operation, including 600 000 fire assays from more than

1 million m of drilling in 14 300 drill holes, 67 km of mapped development and more than 500 detailed geology

plans and sections, has been substantially digitally captured, allowing the benefit of three‐dimensional target

development and analysis in real time. Ongoing reconstructions of the detailed geological context of

mineralization and addition of newly acquired data continue to provide deep insights into the fundamental

controls on gold distribution within the deposit. These insights have underpinned Pure Gold’s successful targeting

strategy to date, not only at the Madsen deposit, but also at other key target areas—Russet South, Fork and

Starratt—and are allowing Pure Gold’s team to build a coherent predictive model for gold mineralization in this

part of the Red Lake greenstone belt.

Pure Gold’s understanding of gold mineralization at Madsen is hinged on a developing knowledge of: (i) the

stratigraphic and intrusive setting of the region, (ii) the kinematic history and styles of deformation overprinting

the rocks, and (iii) the timing and location of mineralization within that context. In summary, the property‐scale

distribution of gold in the area is best understood in terms of the interaction between cryptic structures associated

with early‐ and syn‐D2 deformation and the local stratigraphic and intrusive setting; whereas, the more local

deposit‐scale distribution can be tracked by its distinct alteration footprint and is heavily influenced by a later D2

ductile transposition overprint.

THE MUKETEI METALLOTECT IN THE RING OF FIRE – AN EMERGING BASE‐METAL CAMP

Ryan Weston, P.Geo., VP Exploration, Noront Resources; Riku Metsaranta, P.Geo., Precambrian Geoscientist,

Ontario Geological Survey

The Ring of Fire (ROF), also known as the McFaulds Lake greenstone belt, is an arcuate Archean greenstone belt

> 200 km long, located largely under the cover of the James Bay Lowlands in northern Ontario. Since the initial

mineral discovery in 2002, exploration companies have discovered nine deposits of magmatic nickel‐copper‐

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platinum group elements, chromite, and VMS copper‐zinc with estimated resources and/or reserves, and more

than 50 polymetallic occurrences. Work by the Ontario Geological Survey and Geological Survey of Canada during

the past six years has led to the identification of seven distinct assemblages within the ROF, of which the Muketei

assemblage is by far the most well endowed, as it hosts all known chromite and nickel‐copper‐PGE deposits, and a

large proportion of the known VMS occurrences.

The Muketei assemblage is a magmatic‐volcanic succession interpreted to have been deposited during extensional

rifting of older evolved crust, ca. 2735 Ma. Tabular, sill‐like, ultramafic bodies emplaced at or near the contact

between basement tonalite and an older supracrustal sequence are interpreted to reflect komatiitic magmatism

derived from high‐degree partial melting of the mantle. Feeder systems to these ultramafic sills are locally well

defined and have the potential to host significant high‐grade nickel‐copper‐PGE mineralization as at the Eagle’s

Nest deposit. World‐class chromite resources occur stratigraphically above nickel‐copper‐PGE mineralization as

thick accumulations of semicontinuous strata within two main sill complexes. A regionally extensive sequence of

ferrogabbro sills and lesser large, layered intrusions occur higher up in the stratigraphy and are known to host

titanium‐vanadium‐iron‐phosphorus mineralization in cumulate horizons. The relationship between the ultramafic

sills and regionally extensive ferrogabbro sills remains unknown, but we speculate the two are genetically related,

either as co‐products of high‐degree partial melting in the upper mantle, or as endmember fractional

crystallization products of mantle melts at higher levels in the crust. The latter has the potential to impact

exploration targeting the Muketei assemblage because the presence of thick ferrogabbro intrusions may provide a

vector towards smaller ultramafic intrusions with potential for nickel‐copper‐PGE and chromite mineralization.

The Muketei volcanic sequence, located generally above the ferrogabbro sills, is a folded, bi‐modal volcanic

succession up to approximately 10 km in mapped thickness and hosts the McFaulds #1 and #3 copper‐zinc VMS

deposits in the south and the 5.01 zinc‐copper VMS occurrence in the north. Age determinations for the volcanic

sequence indicate that it is contemporaneous with ultramafic and mafic magmatism at depth, suggesting the heat

source that generated the felsic volcanic melts, and possibly the hydrothermal systems, may be linked to their

emplacement.

The Muketei assemblage is unique in the ROF with its extraordinary mineral endowment and the

contemporaneous nature of its magmatic and hydrothermal mineral deposits. In this respect, we recognize it as a

mineral metallotect that we are only just beginning to understand and appreciate in characteristics and spatial

extent. Questions remain as to why the Muketei is so unique relative to its sister assemblages in the ROF, to other

greenstone belts in the Superior Province and beyond.

GEOLOGY OF THE KELVIN‐FARADAY CLUSTER, KENNADY NORTH DIAMOND PROJECT, NWT

Rory Moore, President and CEO, Kennady Diamonds Inc.; Martina Bezzola, Project Geologist, Aurora

Geosciences Ltd.; Chris Hrkac, Senior Project Manager, Aurora Geosciences Ltd.; Gary Vivian, President, Aurora

Geosciences Ltd.

The Kennady North project is located in the southeastern region of the Archean Slave craton, 300 km east‐northeast

of Yellowknife, NWT. The project is 100% owned by Kennady Diamonds Inc. and consists of 22 mining leases and 58

mineral claims covering an area of 67 164 ha. Seven kimberlites have been discovered on the property to date and

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include Kelvin; Faraday 1, 2 and 3; Hobbs; Doyle; and MZ, together with numerous kimberlite sheets. Hosted in

metaturbidites of the Yellowknife Supergroup, the cluster occurs along a regional northeast structural trend, 8 km

from the Gahcho Kué diamond mine. The kimberlite bodies are significantly diamondiferous and characterized by

multiple emplacement events and nontraditional inclined pipe shapes. Detailed core logging, petrography,

microdiamond investigations and preliminary 3D modelling have been completed during the past three years to

establish the pipe morphology and internal geology of the Kelvin, and Faraday 1, 2 and 3 pipes.

The Kelvin pipe is primarily infilled by volcaniclastic kimberlite (VK). Hypabyssal kimberlite (HK) and a spectrum of

kimberlite displaying textures transitional between VK and HK have been identified. Seven kimberlite phases have

been established and grouped into three geological zones (A, B and C) based on textural characteristics, country rock

dilution, diamond grade and interpreted emplacement relationships. Internally, the Kelvin pipe displays

subhorizontal layering of different kimberlite phases over the length of the pipe. External to the Kelvin pipe are a

number of hypabyssal kimberlite sheets and a volcaniclastic blow (the Hobbes kimberlite), which together make up

an extensive associated sheet complex that extends for 1 km to the south of the Kelvin pipe.

The Faraday 2 pipe is infilled by VK, with minor amounts of HK and transitional kimberlite. Four kimberlite phases

have been identified. The internal geology of Faraday 2 also shows subhorizontal layered kimberlite phases trending

the length of the pipe, similar to the Kelvin kimberlite.

The Faraday 1 and 3 kimberlite bodies are also characterized by VK, extensive kimberlite‐rich marginal breccia

features, and several HK sheets. Work is currently underway to establish preliminary 3D geology models for Faraday

1, 2 and 3.

The geology of the Kelvin‐Faraday kimberlite cluster is similar and yet unique compared to kimberlites that have

been previously discovered and mined globally. Our understanding of emplacement processes of these

kimberlites, specifically with respect to Kimberley‐type pyroclastic bodies, will continue to evolve. This evolution

will have an impact on the exploration and recognition of nontypical volcaniclastic kimberlite bodies, particularly in

the southeastern Slave Province.

CHIDLIAK DIAMOND PROJECT: A HIGHLIGHT FOR NUNAVUT

Herman Grütter and Jennifer Pell, Peregrine Diamonds

The Chidliak kimberlite province is located on the Hall Peninsula, southern Baffin Island, Nunavut. Seventy‐four

kimberlites were discovered from 2008 to 2014 using glaciated‐terrain exploration techniques, including kimberlite

indicator mineral (KIM) sampling and analysis, ground and airborne magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical

surveys, ground prospecting and drilling.

A resource development program completed from 2013 to 2015 defined an inferred resource with a

US$1694 million in‐ground value for the CH‐6 kimberlite pipe (4.64 million tonnes at 2.45 cpt and US$149 per

carat), plus a further inferred resource with US$484 million in‐ground value for the CH‐7 kimberlite pipe

(4.99 million tonnes at 0.85 cpt and US$114 per carat). An independent preliminary economic assessment effective

July 7, 2016, shows a Phase 1 (i.e., initial) 10 year mine life based on open pit mining of the CH‐6 and CH‐7 inferred

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resources, with very attractive economics (after tax net present value [7.5%] of C$471 million, a 29.8% internal

rate of return, a two year payback and a 72% operating margin). Peregrine Diamonds has targeted six additional

pipes at Chidliak for future resource development activities (CH‐1, CH‐31, CH‐44, CH‐45, CH‐46 and CH‐28), in

support of a potential Phase 2 extension of mine life. Further project details can be found in the technical

summary on the Peregrine Diamonds website: https://www.pdiam.com/assets/uploads/Technical‐Update2016.pdf

The advancement of Chidliak toward a development‐ready project in Nunavut has many facets, with considered

attention to geological and geophysical attributes playing a pivotal early role. The Peregrine team has pioneered

several innovative methods to unlock resource potential at Chidliak, and we wish to share the outcomes of two

successful implementations, including

• back‐to‐source tracing of KIMs using an innovative fingerprinting (or profiling) technique. We found

counter‐intuitive, though ultimately sensible, ice‐flow directions and isolated specific KIM fingerprints that

distinguish high‐grade source(s), even after dilution into a population of ‘background’ KIMs. The

implications for exploration‐level sampling strategies will not be discussed, though this overarching

perspective is clear: ice flow is surprisingly dynamic—and not always downhill.

• relative benchmarking of Chidliak diamond populations. The size distribution(s) of commercial‐sized

diamonds obtained by mini‐bulk or bulk sampling of kimberlites CH‐1, CH‐6, CH‐7 and CH‐28 has been

integrated with microdiamond data in an innovative format that permits transparent benchmarking relative

to known diamond producers and other advanced diamond projects. We demonstrate that most Chidliak

pipes have an unusually coarse diamond size distribution and speculate that this uncommon characteristic

has a causal relationship to the high proportion of attractive commercial diamonds that occur in bulk

samples from Chidliak kimberlites.

CHAIRS: MARC BLYTHE; DAVE LANGILL, KEYSTONE ENVIRONMENTAL LTD.

THURSDAY MORNING – BC/YUKON/ALASKA

KSP PROPERTY, INEL AREA—HEART OF THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE

Adam Travis, President and CEO, Colorado Resources Ltd.

The KSP project is in the Golden Triangle in northwestern British Columbia. The Snip mine is 15 km to the

northwest of the project; 30 km to the east of the project are the Seabridge Gold Inc. KSM and Pretium Resources

Inc. Brucejack projects. Colorado Resources Ltd. has an option agreement with Seabridge Gold Inc. to acquire an

up to 80% interest in the KSP property.

The regional geology of the KSP property hosts stratified rocks of the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group, the Upper

Triassic–Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group and Early Jurassic plutons and smaller bodies that are considered

comagmatic with Hazelton Group volcanic units, similar to geology found at Seabridge Gold Inc. KSM deposit

30 km to the east.

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The KSP property covers 48 known mineral occurrences documented in MINFILE, which range from porphyry

copper‐molybdenum, porphyry copper‐gold, porphyry gold, magnetite skarns, copper‐gold skarns, polymetallic

veins and gold veins. These are generally related to the northwest‐trending 20 km long Sky‐Khyber fault system

and associated alterations but all occur along secondary structures and contacts.

In 2016, Colorado completed 59 drill holes totaling 8861.8 m, rock and soil sampling along the property,

geophysical surveys over the Inel area and an additional 50 km² of detailed geological mapping.

The focus for the 2016 program was at Inel, one of the 48 known MINFILE occurrences. The program was over a

target area of 500 by 600 m (0.3 km² area within the 305 km² property). Here, Colorado drilled 53 holes, totaling

7874.45 m. The drill program tested 20% of the 1 × 1.5 km Inel gold geochemistry anomaly (averaging 1.27 g/t Au

with a maximum value of 31.2 g/t Au¹).

The 53 drill holes at Inel had a 60% success rate in returning high‐grade (>5 g/t Au) gold intercepts. Both high‐

grade gold (165.5 g/t Au over 1.0 m in INDDH16‐029) and broader lower grade gold (2.11 g/t Au over 99 m in

INDDH16‐025) have been reported, demonstrating Inel’s potential to host significant gold mineralization. The 2016

drilling, along with preliminary surface geological mapping, geophysics and geochemistry, highlights six robust

zones.

Colorado continues to advance the technical understanding of the mineralized zones. The large target zones at Inel

are only partially tested and Colorado has barely scratched the surface of this large, robust system.

3 ACES GOLD PROJECT, SOUTHEASTERN YUKON

Mike Burke, Chief Geologist, Golden Predator Mining Corp.

The 3 Aces property consists of 1118 contiguous Yukon quartz mining claims (225 km2) located in southeastern

Yukon. The property is accessible by road along the all‐season Nahanni Range Road. Quartz veins mineralized with

visible gold and minor sulphides occur in sedimentary rocks of the Selwyn Basin. The 2016 work program started in

February with bulk sampling of the Ace of Spades vein, followed by a small reverse circulation drill program

completed in early April. The program resumed in August and included soil sampling; prospecting; excavator

trenching; grab, chip, and panel sampling; detailed 1:500 and 1:5000 scale geological mapping; an airborne

magnetic/radiometric survey; LIDAR; road construction and installation of a bridge over the Little Hyland River to

provide year‐round access to the project area. The work program has resulted in the discovery of 20 additional

gold‐bearing veins, seven of which have been identified with visible gold. A planned 3500 m reverse circulation

(5.5 in.) and 400 m diamond‐drilling (PQ‐sized core) program began late September, with initial results expected by

the fourth quarter of 2016. The program is designed to collect large‐volume samples to better estimate gold

grades from veins that contain visible gold. More than 800 surface samples were collected with results reported

for 301 samples as of November 2.

Historical work on the project by previous operators from 2010 to 2012 included 58 NQ and HQ diamond drill holes

totaling 11 410 m, focused mainly on the Ace of Hearts vein, which has produced spectacular gold samples with

grab values up to 4820 g/t gold. The 2010 discovery hole on the Ace of Hearts intersected 4.3 g/t gold over 30.3 m

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including 145.2 g/t Au over 1.05 m. Exploration on the project was dormant from 2012 to 2014, when Golden

Predator became involved and initiated metallurgical studies, followed in 2015 by a small rotary air blast (RAB)

drilling program and a bulk sample in the winter 2016 on the Ace of Spades vein. Metallurgical work determined

high‐gravity recoverable gold (74.5–88.5%) and established a rigorous sampling protocol to better estimate grades

of the veins that contain visible gold. Close‐spaced RAB drilling using the sample protocol demonstrated the

continuity of high grades in the Ace of Spades vein, with values ranging from 25.75 g/t Au over 2.5 ft. to 158.97 g/t

Au over 7.5 ft. Bulk sampling produced approximately 750 short tons of material with processing expected to be

completed in the fourth quarter of 2016. Initial processing results recovered 81.7 troy ounces of gold from 79.7 t of

material and indicated gravity‐recoverable gold in the range of 80%.

Golden Predator is well financed and focused on rapidly advancing this exciting project in Canada’s Yukon.

KZK PROJECT—FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: EVIDENCE FOR AN UPRIGHT SEQUENCE HOSTING A

REPLACEMENT‐STYLE VOLCANOGENIC MASSIVE SULPHIDE DEPOSIT AT KUDZ ZE KAYAH

Robin Black, Exploration Manager, BMC Minerals

The Kudz Ze Kayah (KZK) project is in the northern Pelly Mountains, approximately 135 km south of Ross River in

south‐central Yukon. The project, covering nearly 23 000 ha of the Finlayson district, includes the ABM

(approximately 20 million tonnes) and GP4F (approximately 1.7 million tonnes) volcanic‐hosted massive‐sulphide

(VHMS) Mississippian deposits. Since acquisition of the KZK property in January 2015, more than 40 000 m of

diamond drilling has been completed, principally aimed at confirming the veracity of historical work undertaken by

Cominco, completing a resource estimate compliant with modern reporting standards, and collecting data as the

basis for mining feasibility studies and permitting.

ABM is a copper‐lead‐zinc‐gold‐silver‐rich massive‐sulphide deposit, comprising the ABM and Krakatoa zones

separated by late‐stage brittle faulting. Mineralization is dominated by massive sulphide with a lesser component

of stringer/disseminated mineralization. The deposit subcrops beneath 2–20 m of overburden, dips at

approximately 35° to the northeast and extends approximately 800 m along strike and at least 600 m down dip.

Mineralized hostrocks are dominated by coherent and volcaniclastic felsic rocks, with lesser mudstone either

intermingled with rhyolitic material or locally forming discrete horizons up to several metres in thickness. A mafic

sill occurs in the footwall to the ABM deposit and is host to a significant portion of the mineralization in the

Krakatoa zone.

Previous studies on the Kudz Ze Kayah property interpret the ABM deposit to have formed on the seafloor, with

subsequent folding of the deposit into a north‐verging overturned syncline. This conclusion was based primarily on

the occurrence of intense chlorite‐cordierite alteration ‘above’ massive‐sulphide mineralization, an interpretation

of the mafic sill as postdating mineralization and marking a change in magma chemistry, the metal zonation within

the deposit and some parasitic fold geometries observed in core.

Since the original work on the property, numerous studies have demonstrated that subseafloor replacement is a

viable mechanism for VHMS deposit formation. Implicit in this model are multiple phases of hydrothermal fluid

infiltration resulting in complex overprinting alteration and mineralization styles.

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Recent work at Kudz Ze Kayah has provided an alternative interpretation, that of a ‘right‐way‐up’ package of

volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks hosting VHMS mineralization formed predominantly through the mixing of

hydrothermal fluids and seawater beneath the seafloor within the host volcanic stratigraphy.

Evidence for not being folded includes a lack of repeating stratigraphic units (coherent rhyolite, carbonaceous

sediments, mafic sill) and a conformable transition of host Kudz Ze Kayah Formation into the overlying Wind Lake

Formation. Moreover, alteration and metal zonation are not diagnostic for way‐up indicators because of an

inferred assumption around the ore formation model.

Evidence of subseafloor replacement includes the observation that mineralization overprints coherent rhyolitic

and mafic intrusive units as well as the clastic units. There is evidence of preferential replacement within units on

the lateral margins of the deposit, including:

‐ relic domains of hostrock in the massive‐sulphide ore,

‐ alteration and ‘stringer’ mineralization extends into the footwall and to a lesser degree the hangingwall of

the deposit,

‐ sulphide mineralization transgresses stratigraphy, and

‐ there is no evidence of reworked sulphide clasts in overlying clastic units.

BARKERVILLE GOLD MINES LTD. EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CARIBOO GOLD

TREND.

Jason Kosec, Sr. Geologist/Chief Mine Geologist, Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd.

The Cariboo Gold Project (CGP) is centred at the town of Wells, British Columbia, approximately 75 km east of

Quesnel.

The previous resource estimates on the Cow Mountain deposit represent some of the most controversial resource

statements since the implementation of NI 43‐101. Criticism of previous resource models indicated a distinct lack

of geological control leading to a poorly constrained geostatistical model. Since a significant corporate

restructuring in early 2015, Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. has built a systematic, scientifically controlled geological

model to constrain and validate an economic resource and direct future exploration.

Since the company’s overhaul, all previous work had to be reviewed to properly assess the company’s assets. The

first major drill campaign on Cow Mountain targeted large, poorly constrained zones of inferred mineralization

within the previous resource model. This 18 701 m of drilling allowed proper understanding of the geology and the

controls on mineralization, alteration and structure. Concurrent with the first phase, the team re‐logged all

available historical core totaling 56 357 m, which contributed significantly to the geological knowledge without the

cost of drilling. With this base of knowledge, the second phase of drilling (13 836 m) was designed to increase

confidence in the mineralization, test the team’s hypothesis of the distribution of higher grade ore chutes and

replace pre‐1981 drilling that was not NI 43‐101 compliant. In conjunction with drilling more than 1 km of

underground workings were mapped in the Cariboo Gold Quartz mine, which accessed areas targeted by drilling

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on Cow Mountain. Ultimately this work allowed for the classification of different vein types and delineated the

metasandstone unit as the main host of mineralization.

Three types of veins are present on Cow Mountain, each with a unique genesis. The two main sets are recognized

to be shear external extensional veins related to layer‐parallel shearing found throughout the stratigraphy. Of

these two, the system that principally hosts the deposit corresponds to veins that infill along an S3 defined by the

axial planes of an F3 event unrecognized by previous workers. The other extensional vein set is earlier and can be

mineralized where they intersect these axial planar veins, the trend of which defines a well‐developed down‐dip

plunge as reflected in the block model. The earliest vein system is a set of layered, parallel metamorphic veins that

are commonly unmineralized and are not included in the resource model.

The newly generated resource and geological models are now properly constrained due to the systematic and

scientific work of the team. Auriferous veins modeled by abundance and alteration are now confidently assigned

within the mineralized envelope of the metasandstone horizon. Importantly, this work now provides a consistent

geological framework that can be applied to further exploration along the Cariboo gold trend.

NEW MODEL FOR THE STRUCTURAL‐STRATIGRAPHIC CONTROL OF VEIN‐FAULT

MINERALIZATION AT KENO HILL, YUKON

Seymour Iles, Exploration Geologist, Alexco Resource Corp

The Keno Hill Silver mining district is in the northwestern region of the Selwyn basin within sedimentary rocks that

underwent deformation and metamorphism to lower greenschist facies during the mid‐Cretaceous. Silver‐lead‐zinc

mineralization is located within fault‐hosted veins within the lower member of the Mississippian Keno Hill

quartzite, the basal quartzite member. Despite the long history of mining, the ore controls have never been well

understood. The emergence of 3D modelling capabilities has permitted the application of new concepts to the

district and to a new interpretation of the structural‐stratigraphic ore controls at Keno Hill.

This study applies current concepts of fault growth within mechanically heterogeneous hostrocks to the structural

geometries observed at Keno Hill. The 3D modelling of vein‐fault surfaces shows that they are highly nonplanar,

and that wide vein mineralization is located on steeply dipping and more northerly striking fault elements.

Understanding the specific cause of acute variations in strike and dip along fault surfaces at Keno Hill is potentially

important in targeting future exploration.

At Keno Hill, the nonplanar geometry displayed by the vein‐faults reflects the fundamental process of their

development through the growth of incipient Riedel shear arrays and their subsequent linkage. This process

repeats at different scales and is strongly influenced by the mechanical properties of the host stratigraphy.

Lithological competency variations, between brittle quartzite and interbedded graphite schist, caused a vein‐fault

to develop as a series of stacked, stratigraphically bound arrays, where array geometries vary from level to level

depending on the thickness and gross strength of their hostrocks. Continued deformation eventually necessitates

the linkage of arrays to form larger, through‐going, composite faults. Mechanically heterogeneous stratigraphy at

Keno Hill controls the location and geometry of initial fault segmentation, later linkage, and a resultant nonplanar

fault surface, which in turn controls the location of dilation, fluid flow and mineralization. The model presented

here may be used as a predictive tool in the Keno Hill district mineral exploration, and is likely applicable in other

similarly hosted vein‐fault deposits.

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FORMING PARTNERSHIPS TO EXPLORE AND DEVELOP THE AMBLER MINING DISTRICT IN

ALASKA

Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, CEO, Trilogy Metals

Trilogy Metals (formerly NovaCopper) is taking new approaches to mining exploration by building partnerships

with NANA Regional Corporation and the Alaska Industrial Development Export Authority to explore and develop

the high‐grade copper, zinc and precious‐metals Ambler mining district in Alaska. Discovered in the 1950s by early

prospectors, and actively explored in the ‘60s and ‘70s by Kennecott and other mining companies, the Ambler

mining district was subject to an exploration hiatus in the ‘80s and ‘90s during the settlement period of the Alaska

National Interest Land Claims Settlement Act. Today, Trilogy Metals controls the mineral rights to approximately

353 000 acres of land in the Ambler mining district, containing two known mineral belts: the Ambler schist belt and

the Bornite carbonate sequence. So far, exploration work has outlined several known deposits, including the

Company’s polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide Arctic deposit and the carbonate‐hosted copper‐

replacement Bornite deposit. Combined, these deposits host more than 8 billion pounds of copper, 2 billion

pounds of zinc and significant precious metals. Current activities at Arctic are focused on the construction of an

integrated resource model to support a future prefeasibility study; the updated model will include recently

acquired data from more than 6000 m of drilling in 2015 and 2016 for geotechnical, hydrological, waste‐rock

characterization and metallurgical studies, as well as further resource definition. Current activities at Bornite are

focused on exploration as mineralization remains open to the north and northeast over a 1 km strike length. In

2016, Trilogy Metals reported a 173% increase in indicated resources at Bornite.

FOX TUNGSTEN: GROWING A TUNGSTEN DISCOVERY IN SOUTH‐CENTRAL BC

David Blann, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd.

Located 80 km northeast of 100 Mile House, on and adjacent to Deception Mountain, the Fox tungsten property

has returned drill results comparable to the world’s highest grade deposits, and zones start at or near surface.

Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. began exploring the prospect in 2005 and with seasonal and market‐dependent

programs, has outlined a northerly trending tungsten‐bearing mineral system that is 10 km by 3 km.

The western side of the Fox property is underlain by the continental‐scale Eureka thrust, which marks the collision

boundary between the Quesnel Terrane allochthon to the west, and the late Proterozoic–early Paleozoic

Snowshoe Group to the east, both of which are part of the Kootenay Terrane comprising displaced and deformed

North American shelf sedimentary rocks.

On the Fox property, the Snowshoe Group consists of a sequence of quartz‐biotite schist, micaceous quartzite, at

least three marble, skarn and skarnoid units (calcsilicate), garnet‐muscovite schist and plagioclase schist/augen

gneiss. The Deception Stock is a biotite‐muscovite monzogranite covering several square kilometres in the centre

of the property, and cuts the Snowshoe rocks. It is uranium‐lead zircon dated at 106.4 ±0.2 Ma, or mid‐Cretaceous

in age and compares closely with the Boss Mountain molybdenum mine stock (105 ±2 Ma) approximately 30 km to

the west. All rocks are cut by dikes and sills from less than 1 m to more than 30 m in thickness, and vary in texture

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from medium to coarse grained two‐mica varieties to finer grained with decreasing mafic minerals. Aplite, alaskite,

pegmatite and quartz veins are common.

Scheelite (a tungsten‐rich mineral) occurs within the calcsilicate for about 3 km around the south side, and for 3

km extending northward from the Deception stock. The scheelite occurs with various pyroxene, garnet and

amphibole minerals along with quartz, calcite and variable concentrations of mainly pyrrhotite, pyrite and

sphalerite.

The property holds at least five main tungsten prospects, and much of the property remains unexplored. The first

resource at the Ridley Creek zone returned 505,000 t indicated resources, grading 0.468% WO3 and 280 000 t

inferred resources, grading 0.456% WO3, with a 4.1:1 strip ratio and a 45° pit slope. It would rank among the higher

grade open‐pittable deposits today.

Additional work including drilling was performed in 2016. Positive geological observations, several new showings

and encouraging trench and drill results were obtained. One of the key findings is five new holes containing

intervals near to or greater than 1% WO3 at the BN zone. Drill hole F16‐17 intersected 4.1 m of 5.1% WO3 that is

approximately 50 m from drill hole F12‐27, which contained 14.8 m of 4.0% WO3; these results are comparable to

the highest‐grade tungsten drill results known. Exploration on the Fox property continues to return encouraging

tungsten results thought to make it an important new tungsten discovery in the Western world.

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PASSPORT 2 EXPLORE

CHAIRS: ADRIAN HICKIN, BC GEOLOGICAL SURVEY & STEVE IRWIN, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

OF CANADA

MONDAY AFTERNOON – NEW GEOSCIENCE: RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE FOR

EXPLORATION

ORE CONTROLS, OPPORTUNITIES AND OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS: MESOZOIC OROGENIC

GOLD SYSTEMS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND YUKON

Murray Allan, Research Associate, MDRU‐UBC; Craig Hart, MDRU Director, MDRU‐UBC; Jim Mortensen,

Professor Emeritus, UBC; Dave Rhys, Consulting Structural Geologist, Panterra Geoservices

Orogenic gold systems were eroded to form the rich placer deposits of the Cariboo and Klondike, the discovery of

which transformed economic development in Canada’s west. Geological knowledge gained from gold camps in

both BC (e.g., Wells‐Barkerville, Cassiar, Sheep Creek) and Yukon (e.g., Klondike, White Gold) reveal an emerging

picture of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous orogenic gold systems that are structurally linked to collision of the

Intermontane terranes with the ancient North American margin.

Orogenic gold of the Sheep Creek and Wells‐Barkerville districts of BC formed inboard (east) of the suture of the

Quesnellia arc terrane with North American upper Proterozoic to lower Paleozoic passive margin sediments.

Orogenic gold mineralization in the Cassiar district is similarly situated east of the Quesnellia margin, but is hosted

mainly in metabasaltic rocks of the Slide Mountain Terrane (Sylvester allochthon), which structurally overlies

platformal North American strata. In all three BC localities, penetrative strain fabrics of the hostrock sequence are

consistent with orogen‐normal shortening and orogen‐parallel extension. Quartz vein geometries are kinematically

compatible with their formation during progressive shortening under the same general stress regime responsible

for regional fold‐and‐thrust–style deformation. Previous geochronological studies indicate that the timing of

mineralization was broadly similar in Cariboo (148–139 Ma) and Cassiar (135–133 Ma). The age of mineralization in

the Sheep Creek district is loosely bracketed by Middle Jurassic, pre to syntectonic granitoids and Early Cretaceous

intrusions that postdate regional deformation (i.e., 161–118 Ma).

Orogenic gold veins of the Klondike district are hosted by late Permian meta‐igneous rocks of the Yukon‐Tanana

Terrane, and formed in response to brittle‐ductile deformation in the Late Jurassic (160–144 Ma), following a

phase of Early Jurassic collisional deformation and preceding a phase of crustal thinning and core complex

exhumation in the Early Cretaceous. Recent gold discoveries in the White Gold District also formed in the Late

Jurassic (160–155 Ma), in response to deformation along sinistral shear zones that transect tectonostratigraphic

subdomains of the Yukon‐Tanana Terrane and relate to orogen‐normal shortening.

The Mesozoic orogenic gold systems of BC and Yukon are predominantly situated in fold‐and‐thrust belts, and do

not appear to be related to steep, crustally penetrating transcurrent fault systems commonly invoked by published

orogenic gold models (with the possible exception of the White Gold district). In the gold camps investigated,

metal associations vary widely according to hostrock lithology, suggesting strong local control on vein mineralogy.

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Magmatism either contemporaneous with, or genetically related to, mineralization has been suggested by

numerous workers, but has yet to be demonstrated in any of the districts. Structural studies indicate that gold

mineralization formed in low‐strain environments at the terminal stage of contractional deformation associated

with collision and imbrication of the Intermontane terranes with the North American margin in the Jurassic. This

economically significant metallogenic event thus signals the transition from collisional orogenesis to the onset of

orogenic collapse and extensive mid‐Cretaceous magmatism.

TESTING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FAULTS, MAGMATISM AND GOLD MINERALIZATION

Luke Ootes, Senior Minerals Geologist, British Columbia Geological Survey

Vein hosted gold mineralization is inextricably related to structures in the upper crust. Such lode gold is commonly

referred to as epithermal or orogenic and, in some cases, as Carlin type. Epithermal mineralization occurs at

relatively shallow structural levels and is associated with magmatism. With orogenic gold, mineralization occurs in

a continuum from relatively deep (mesozonal) to shallow (epizonal) structural levels. Although the orogenic gold

style of mineralization is commonly considered unrelated to magmatism, new research from major gold‐producing

camps demonstrates a spatial and temporal relationship.

A review of current concepts about the regional development of Archean orogenic gold camps in the Abitibi

greenstone belt (Superior Province, Ontario) and the Yellowknife greenstone belt (Slave Province, Northwest

Territories) indicates a three‐part relationship between extensional faulting, magmatism and gold mineralization.

These camps demonstrate a marked spatial and temporal relationship between structurally hosted gold

mineralization and magmatism. Similarly, newly recognized regional controls on Eocene low‐sulphidation

epithermal mineralization in northwestern British Columbia and southern Yukon directly relate gold deposition to

both faulting and magmatism. The timing of this mineralization is coeval with localized extension related to

Cordilleran‐scale strike‐slip faulting, and overlaps with a peak in magmatism in the Coast Plutonic complex. The

three‐part relationship between faults, magmatism and gold mineralization that emerge from this Eocene example

in northwestern British Columbia differs little from the Archean gold camps. This similarity blurs the distinction

between the orogenic and epithermal (specifically, low sulphidation) gold deposit models, not on a single deposit

per se, but on the camp or orogen scale. In some cases, epithermal gold deposits may best be considered as

epizonal, which leads to the possibility of yet‐to‐be discovered mesothermal styles of gold mineralization in some

epithermal camps.

PLACER GOLD IN GLACIATED SETTINGS: NEW INSIGHTS FROM THE MAYO DISTRICT, YUKON

Jeffrey Bond, Surficial Geologist, Yukon Geological Survey

Placer gold deposits occur as the result of a complex history of landscape erosion, sediment transport and

deposition and further concentration. The nature of these processes is controlled by variations in past climates. In

Yukon, approximately 85% of the placer gold is mined from unglaciated terrain, whereas the remainder is mined

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within the Pleistocene glacial limits. The under‐representation of placer gold originating from glaciated terrain

highlights the region’s potential and the significance of identifying new deposit settings. Near Keno City in the

Mayo district of central Yukon, placer gold deposits have been affected by glacial and interglacial processes,

including alpine and ice sheet glaciation. Understanding the genesis of Quaternary deposits associated with these

climate extremes, and their ability to host economic placer concentrations, can directly support exploration for

new deposits.

Early hand mining in the Mayo district focused on shallow fluvial deposits, whereas modern excavator mining has

targeted deeper, more complex deposits. New exposures in upper Granite Creek and lower Duncan Creek have

highlighted the significance of glacial processes in producing economic placer gold deposits.

The alpine glaciated basin of upper Granite Creek contains placer gold originating from the erosion of quartz veins

within the Keno Hill quartzite. Mining under the terminus of a last glacial alpine end moraine has revealed coarse

gold‐bearing placers in an oxidized, matrix‐supported lodgement till overlying bedrock. The placer deposit was

concealed under a slab of glacially thrusted fractured bedrock and a younger lodgement till (late Wisconsinan–

McConnell) associated with the end moraine. The gold‐enriched lodgement till deposited prior to the last

glaciation (pre‐McConnell), unlike the McConnell lodgement till, contains rounded boulders likely reworked from a

placer gold–bearing Middle Pleistocene fluvial deposit.

In lower Duncan Creek, placer gold is finer and is mined from beds of coarse gravel that predate the McConnell

glaciation. Variations in gold concentration appear to be affected by changes in fluvial dynamics during glacial

versus interglacial climates. Moderately to well‐sorted interglacial fluvial gravel generally contains marginal

concentrations of placer gold despite its coarse texture. Conversely, poorly sorted, coarse‐grained, glaciofluvial

gravel contains relatively high concentrations of placer gold. The capacity of proglacial runoff to become enriched

in placer gold might also be attributed to changes in base level. Lower Duncan Creek has a confined valley

morphology that has focused stream flow and allowed reworking and concentration processes to occur. These

processes would have been enhanced during glacial periods when runoff from melting alpine glaciers was added to

the overall stream flow.

COMPOSITIONAL EVOLUTION OF THE CONTINENTAL CRUST AND ITS METALS

Christopher Lawley, Geological Survey of Canada

Igneous rocks represent the principal building blocks of the continental crust and can be broadly subdivided into

basaltic, andesitic and rhyolitic compositions. On average, the composition of each igneous rock type has evolved

through time. Archean basaltic and andesitic rocks are relatively incompatible‐element–poor compositions and

trend to progressively incompatible‐element–rich compositions during the Proterozoic. These ancient basaltic and

andesitic rock compositions are consistent with extensive mantle melting during the Archean, which, on average, is

unlike the modern igneous rock record. The impact of this global geochemical pattern on the chalcophile and

siderophile elements—which, in turn, might influence the endowment and style of mineral deposits through

time—is unclear.

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Some chalcophile elements—for example, copper—closely follow the geochemical evolution of other compatible

to mildly incompatible elements. Archean basaltic and andesitic rocks are relatively copper rich, which is consistent

with extensive partial mantle melting during the Archean that likely exhausted sulphide minerals within the mantle

source regions of these metal‐rich melts. Proterozoic basaltic to andesitic rocks are comparatively copper poor,

which is consistent with lower degrees of partial mantle melting that typify the younger igneous rock record.

Mineral explorers who are interested in defining the background enrichment of ore components in specific rock

types and/or geological environments should, therefore, consider the compositions of rocks in time and space.

Geological epochs and/or settings characterized by extensive partial mantle melting are also predicted to produce,

on average, metal‐rich melts, although the genetic relationship between these enriched, basaltic to andesitic rocks

and ore‐deposit genesis remains controversial. Global geochemical trends further suggest that the upper mantle

source for most of these metal‐rich basaltic magmas might have evolved in a complementary way.

To test this hypothesis, the distribution and budget of chalcophile and siderophile elements from the upper mantle

rocks of the Cache Creek Terrane will be studied as part of a new Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI)‐5 research

activity. Ophiolite exposures at Atlin (BC) provide an outstanding opportunity to study variable degrees of mantle

melting and refertilization processes in the field where clear relationships between igneous and metamorphic

processes can be established. Activity results will help define the behaviour of chalcophile and siderophile

elements during mantle melting and refertilization, which might represent one of the drivers controlling the

fertility and endowment of mineral deposits hosted within the mid‐ to upper crust.

REINVENTING THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE, ONE MAP AT A TIME

JoAnne Nelson, Senior Geologist, Northern BC Manager, British Columbia Geological Survey

Mapping is the basic tool of the geologist. A geological map records the systematic development of spatial

knowledge, which forms the necessary basis for inferences about process. As the biochemist returns again and

again to DNA analyses, so the geologist returns to mapping. One can journey through the stepwise evolution over

the last 40 years of key ideas about the Iskut region in northwestern BC’s Golden Triangle through map creation.

First came extensive regional mapping by Geological Survey of Canada geologists, which led to an understanding of

the spatial variations within the Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group and implications for paleogeography and volcanic

architecture. These ideas formed the basis for comparison of Stikinia with the modern Philippines microplate by

Marsden and Thorkelsen in 1994, through reflection on thesis work in the Spatzizi and Toodoggone map areas.

They realized that the breadth of exposure of the Hazelton Group and the facies belts within it were not

compatible with a single intra‐oceanic arc, but must represent at least two coeval, probably opposing arcs

separated by an intra‐arc basin (Hazelton trough). Publication of the Tectonic Assemblage Map of the Cordillera by

Wheeler and McFeely in 1991 provided an unprecedented view of the relationship of Stikinia to its neighbouring

terranes, and was a trigger for the development of the hypothesis that the oceanic Cache Creek Terrane was

trapped by oroclinal rotation of Stikinia against the inboard Quesnel Terrane. Mapping of the Iskut region by the

Mineral Deposit Research Unit of UBC and Geological Survey of Canada outlined the mid‐Jurassic Eskay rift as a

first‐order tectonic‐metallogenetic feature. In the 21st century, a new wave of exploration for porphyry and

related deposits has refocused attention on controls of mineralization in the Iskut region. The basal contact of the

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Hazelton Group, the ‘Red Line’ of Kyba and Nelson, stands out in its spatial relationship to important deposits,

probably because it corresponds to the paleosurface during the latest Triassic–Early Jurassic porphyry event. All of

these ‘aha’ moments occurred during, or as a result of, the transfer of outcrop observations to a geographic base—

the making of a geological map. Future advances will follow similar paths, but in new and surprising directions.

LATE TRIASSIC TO MIDDLE JURASSIC MAGMATISM IN THE INTERMONTANE TERRANES OF

YUKON

Patrick Sack, Economic Geologist, Yukon Geological Survey; Maurice Colpron, Head, Bedrock Geology, Yukon

Geological Survey; Jim Crowley; Murray Allan, Research Associate, MDRU‐UBC

A series of Late Triassic to Early Jurassic granitoid plutons intrude the Intermontane terranes (Stikinia, Quesnellia,

Yukon‐Tanana) in southern Yukon. These are the northern continuation of two paired magmatic belts intruding

Stikinia and Quesnellia in BC that converge in southern Yukon and diminish into easternmost‐central Alaska. In BC,

these magmatic belts host an incredible endowment of copper‐gold porphyry deposits.

In Yukon, the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic plutons define three magmatic suites: Stikine (220–206 Ma), Minto (204–

195 Ma) and Long Lake (190–180 Ma) suites. Plutons of the Stikine suite are generally more mafic monzodiorite to

quartz diorite, form small plutons and are restricted to Stikinia. They are inferred to represent subvolcanic

intrusions to basaltic andesite of the Lewes River arc (Stikinia). The Minto suite straddles the northern apex of

Stikinia/Quesnellia in central Yukon. It comprises variably deformed granodiorite intrusions that were emplaced at

midcrustal depths (6–7 kbar) and host high‐grade copper‐gold mineralization (Minto, Carmacks). These plutons

were emplaced during accretion of the Intermontane terranes to western North America and onset of orogenesis

in the northern Cordillera. The slightly younger Long Lake suite comprises granodiorite and granite intrusions

emplaced at a shallower crustal level (approximately 4 kbar) during development of the syncollisional Whitehorse

Trough. Trace‐element and isotope patterns for the Minto and Long Lake suites show decreasing subduction

influence consistent with syncollisional emplacement.

Late Early Jurassic to Middle Jurassic plutons of the Bryde (178–168 Ma) and McGregor suites (163–161 Ma) are

postcollisional and intrude Stikinia, Cache Creek Terrane and Whitehorse Trough. These plutons have alkalic

tendencies and range from syenite to granodiorite compositions. The Bryde suite locally hosts porphyry copper

mineralization (Mars) and might be a product of slab breakoff. The McGregor pluton is a weakly oxidized to

reduced intrusion, possibly sourced from enriched mantle material, and is perhaps a gold‐tungsten target as

opposed to a copper (±gold) target. Though no significant mineral occurrences are known in the vicinity of the

McGregor pluton, depth‐independent deposit models such as reduced intrusion‐related gold systems or skarns

might be appropriate exploration models.

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SYNCOLLISIONAL MIDDLE JURASSIC VOLCANISM AND PORPHYRY‐STYLE ALTERATION IN

NORTHERN STIKINIA: A NEW METALLOGENIC EPOCH IN THE CANADIAN CORDILLERA?

Bram van Straaten, JoAnne Nelson and Rohanna Gibson, BC Geological Survey

An unusual late Early to Middle Jurassic volcanic succession is reported on the northeastern margin of Stikinia that

hosts Middle Jurassic porphyry and epithermal mineral occurrences. The volcanic rocks and mineralization

postdate typical Late Triassic to Early Jurassic metallogenic epochs for porphyry copper deposit formation in

northern Stikinia, and are concurrent with accretion of the Stikine and Cache Creek terranes.

Fieldwork in 2015 and 2016 studied this enigmatic volcanic sequence southeast of Dease Lake (northwestern

British Columbia). The succession was previously interpreted as Stuhini Group (Triassic) and undivided Triassic‐

Jurassic volcanic rocks. Detailed mapping and geochronological studies found the unit to be late Early to Middle

Jurassic. The volcanic sequence is defined as the Horn Mountain Formation, a new subdivision within the upper

Hazelton Group. The Horn Mountain Formation (approximately 5.4 km thick) consists mainly of green to maroon

augite‐plagioclase–phyric mafic volcanic breccia, flows and tuff, and is cut by numerous, roughly coeval

subvolcanic feeder dikes, sills and stocks. It conformably overlies an up to 1 km thick sedimentary succession of the

Spatsizi Formation (late Pliensbachian to Toarcian), which unconformably overlies the Cake Hill pluton (Late

Triassic). The Horn Mountain Formation interfingers with, and is unconformably overlain by, Bajocian sedimentary

rocks of the Bowser Lake Group. Regionally, the Bowser Lake succession marks the onset of deposition of Cache

Creek–derived detritus in the foreland basin of the Stikine‐Quesnel accretionary welt. The Hazelton Group

volcanosedimentary sequence is cut by the ca. 173–169 Ma calcalkaline Three Sisters pluton (Middle Jurassic).

Regional evaluation suggests the Horn Mountain Formation might extend for 110 km in a west‐northwest to east‐

southeast–trending belt that parallels the boundary between the Stikine and Cache Creek terranes. Subsequent

Middle Jurassic intrusions define an at least 300–400 km long east‐southeast to northwest trend that spans the

Stikine and Cache Creek terranes. Lithogeochemical analyses for the volcanic and intrusive rocks show a clear

subduction signature, indicating these suites were formed by the remelting of subduction‐modified lithosphere

during arc‐arc collision.

The volcanic sequence hosts two early‐stage porphyry prospects, each associated with a several‐square‐kilometre

quartz‐sericite‐clay‐pyrite alteration zone. Drilling in 2015 by Kaizen Discovery Inc. at Tanzilla intersected porphyry‐

style alteration with anomalous copper‐molybdenum below an advanced argillic lithocap. Quartz‐sericite‐pyrite

and potassic alteration is hosted by a syn‐mineral 173 Ma calcalkaline plagioclase porphyry. Surface exploration

programs at the McBride showing by Teck Resources Limited identified widespread quartz‐sericite‐pyrite and local

potassic alteration associated with elevated copper‐gold anomalies. Field studies have extended the advanced

argillic alteration at Tanzilla for at least 17 km along strike, representing one of the most extensive alteration zones

of its kind in British Columbia. It is interpreted as a lithologically controlled lithocap, formed by acidic hydrothermal

fluid flow below a local unconformity within the upper part of the Horn Mountain Formation.

The Horn Mountain Formation and Three Sisters suite are coeval with accretion of the Stikine and Quesnel island

arcs. The syncollisional magmatic event represents a potential new metallogenic epoch for the Canadian Cordillera

and is prospective for porphyry‐ and epithermal‐style mineralization.

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TERRANE BOUNDARIES AND TERRANE BOUNDARY DISPLACEMENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR

METALLOGENY OF STIKINIA AND CACHE CREEK TERRANES IN NORTHWESTERN BRITISH

COLUMBIA AND YUKON

Alex Zagorevski, Geological Survey of Canada; Mitch Mihalynuk, BC Geological Survey; Siobhan McGoldrick,

University of Victoria

Northwestern British Columbia is underlain by rocks of the Cache Creek and Stikine composite terranes. These

terranes comprise vestiges of seamounts, backarc basin and accreted oceanic arc that originated outboard of

Laurentia in the Panthalassa Ocean and were assembled at the Laurentian margin by the Middle Jurassic. The

timing of interaction and the nature of the boundaries between these terranes is not well understood. In BC, the

Stikine and Cache Creek terranes are separated by either the Nahlin (NTS 104N, K) or King Salmon (NTS 104I, J)

faults, thought to broadly represent a suture zone. The King Salmon fault imbricates Early to Middle Jurassic

marine sedimentary rocks of the Whitehorse Trough (Laberge Group), which forms an overlap assemblage on

Stikinia and Cache Creek (Kutcho assemblage). In Yukon, the relationship between Cache Creek and Stikine

terranes is even less clear. Recent studies of the Middle Triassic Lewes River Group (Stikine Terrane) and adjacent

Cache Creek Terrane indicate contemporaneous magmatism of similar character, supporting previous

observations.

Regional and detailed mapping of the Cache Creek Terrane reveals significant complexity that is not reflected in

any of the terrane maps. Specifically, the northern Cache Creek Terrane can be divided into three broad tectono‐

stratigraphic units: late Permian to Middle Triassic arc‐ophiolite, Carboniferous to Permian carbonate platform‐

seamount and Late Triassic to Early Jurassic chert‐siliciclastic overlap. The ophiolite is obducted onto the carbonate

platform‐seamount above a fundamentally important but previously unrecognized suture zone. This suture zone is

imbricated by Jurassic thrust belt. Structurally lowest thrusts carry only Stikine Terrane strata, and structurally

highest thrusts imbricate Paleozoic Cache Creek rocks with Triassic–Jurassic overlap. The Nahlin fault might have

been part of this thrust stack. Thrust‐belt deformation ceased ca. 172 Ma, marked by emplacement of the

postcollisional Three Sisters Plutonic Suite.

Cretaceous deformation resulted in significant displacements along the northeastern margin of the Cache Creek

Terrane, where the Teslin fault accommodated ca. 125 km of dextral strike‐slip motion. Cretaceous deformation

was not previously considered to be significant along the southwestern margin of Cache Creek. The Nahlin

Mountain area (NTS 104K/16 and 104J/11) was long known to preserve two distinctly oblique ophiolitic ultramafic

massifs and an isolated ultramafic massif near Calliston Ranch. Reconnaissance mapping indicates a steep fault

bounds the Peridotite Peak and Calliston Ranch massifs to the north, separating them from the Nahlin massif. This

fault appears to continue to the northwest, where it generally marks the southwestern boundary of the

Carboniferous to Permian Horsefeed Formation in the Nakina (Silver Salmon fault), Teresa Island and Turtle Lake

areas. The presence of major truncations along this fault, herein called Silver Salmon fault, and spatial association

with Cretaceous basins along strike suggest significant but poorly constrained displacement subparallel to the

Teslin fault. The Silver Salmon fault might extend across the Cache Creek–Stikine terrane boundary and structurally

duplicate the Late Triassic magmatic axis and truncate the Eskay Rift in the northern Stikine Terrane.

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CHAIRS: STEVE ROWINS, BC GEOLOGICAL SURVEY & JESSICA NORRIS, BC GEOLOGICAL

SURVEY

TUESDAY MORNING – PASSPORT 2 EXPLORE TALKS

A PERSPECTIVE ON THE TOPS AND BOTTOMS OF EOCENE HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEMS IN

NEVADA: MORE THAN JUST CARLIN‐TYPE DEPOSITS

Michael W. Ressel, Economic Geologist, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology; Christopher D. Henry, Research

Geologist, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology; Elizabeth R. Hollingsworth, Ph.D. Candidate, University of

Nevada, Reno; Curtis Johnson, Geologist, Newmont Mining Corporation

Carlin‐type deposits (CTDs) are often perceived as solitary gold‐bearing giants restricted to a small area of north‐

central Nevada without much connection to other ore deposit types. Early work on CTDs focused more on deposit‐

scale features and less on the regional geological framework. This was in part because it was difficult to accurately

date CTDs because of their fine‐grained alteration, although deposits clearly crosscut Paleozoic host strata.

Difficulty dating CTDs limited the usefulness of early models, which called upon diverse origins including volcanic‐

related epithermal, Mesozoic or Cenozoic intrusion‐related, metamorphogenic, SEDEX, high‐magnitude extension

and lateral secretion. Consensus circa 2000 from several studies demonstrated an Eocene age (ca. 42–35 Ma) for

almost all deposits. The scale of districts and trends require regional processes to have driven hydrothermal

circulation. Ore deposition coincided spatially and temporally with a major pulse of arc magmatism; most CTDs

contain shallowly emplaced Eocene dikes that are variably altered and mineralized. Crustal extension likely played

a role in facilitating hydrothermal flow, but major Cenozoic extension postdated deposits.

Other types of Eocene gold‐dominant deposits are abundant in north‐central Nevada. Gold skarns, sediment‐

hosted gold‐(silver) deposits, similar to CTDs but located at or near the hornfels aureoles of Eocene intrusions, and

intrusion‐hosted stockwork gold deposits formed at deeper structural levels. Together, these higher temperature,

gold‐rich, copper‐poor deposits account for more than 25 million ounces of gold from past production and current

reserves (PPCR). The largest deposit in the area is the Phoenix‐Fortitude gold skarn, which, with more than

12 million ounces gold PPCR, ranks as the world’s largest such skarn. The mineralogy of the intrusion‐related

deposits is reduced, dominated by pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite and bismuthinite. Eocene intrusions and/or

hydrothermal fluids may have been reduced as they ascended through a 10–15 km thick wedge of carbonaceous

strata comprising the Proterozoic‐Paleozoic passive margin.

The peripheries of several major CTD districts (Cortez, Carlin, Jerritt Canyon, Eureka) contain thick accumulations

of near‐vent Eocene volcanic rocks and underlying Eocene sedimentary rocks. These early Cenozoic rocks partly

overlap ore‐hosting Paleozoic strata. New mapping and dating in the southern Carlin trend show that CTDs there

were formed very near (probably less than 250 m) to the Eocene paleosurface. In several instances, Eocene

sedimentary strata have been altered to jasperoid and contain high gold, silver, arsenic, antimony, thallium and

mercury. These typically lower grade paleosurface‐associated CTDs differ from classic CTDs by having greater

amounts of jasperoid, an abundance of barite and stibnite, local open‐space epithermal textures, higher mercury

and thallium, and a gold to silver ratio of less than 1, compared to classic CTDs, which have a gold to silver ratio of

greater than 3. These characteristics are similar to the volumetrically minor late paragenetic stages of classic CTDs.

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Abundant lower‐grade CTDs throughout northern Nevada at structurally higher positions near Eocene

unconformities may infer more robust gold deposits at depth.

Recent dating indicates a close time‐space relationship between CTDs and Eocene igneous rocks and that several

Eocene gold deposit types are distributed at different structural levels from

• deeper gold skarns, and distal disseminated and porphyry deposits that formed at depths greater than 3 km,

• Carlin‐type deposits that fill a niche between 1 and 3 km, and

• shallow paleosurface‐type Carlin‐type deposits, which formed at less than 1 km.

ROCKS ARE US – 175 YEARS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA

Philip Hill, Director, Geological Survey of Canada–Pacific

Twenty‐five years before Confederation, the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) was established under William

Logan to discover, map and tell Canadians about the natural resources of the land around them. As Canada

expanded, the GSC led the way in recording the shape of the landscape, the resources to be found and the people,

animals and plants that lived here. Its exploration, maps, images and specimens were part of the ‘vision’ of

Canada. It affected our history, politics, art and public imagination.

Out of the GSC grew the Canadian Museums of History, Canadian Museum of Nature, and Canada Science and

Technology Museum. Over the years it also gave birth to the federal agencies that mapped our topography and

guided and stimulated the development of our resources. Although the Provinces and Territories have taken over

some of its activities, it remains the one federal agency and centre of expertise that is responsible for documenting

the geology and resources of the whole Canadian landmass and its offshore areas.

NEW EXPLORATION TOOLS FOR THE CANADIAN CORDILLERA: INDICATOR MINERALS,

GEOCHEMICAL METHODS AND DATABASE INTERROGATION

Stephen M. Rowins, Chief Geologist, BC Geological Survey

A key objective of the BC Geological Survey is to develop new techniques and novel methodologies for exploration

underneath the extensive glacial cover of the Canadian Cordillera. The use of apatite as an indicator mineral is one

such method. Mao et al. (2016) analyzed approximately 600 apatite grains from the major types of mainly

magmatic‐hydrothermal mineral deposits (30 localities) and carbonatites (29 intrusive complexes) as well as 300

apatite grains from various unmineralized igneous rocks by electron microprobe and laser ablation–inductively

coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. Results showed that apatites from carbonatites, unmineralized rocks and

different deposit types have distinct trace‐element compositions that are readily discriminated by linear

discriminant functions using Mg, V, Mn, Sr, Y, La, Ce, Eu, Dy, Tb, Pb, Th and U. Stepwise discrimination diagrams

permit the subdivision of apatites by origin. Rukhlov et al. (2016) tested this approach on 4 porphyry Cu‐Mo‐Au

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deposits in south‐central BC and found that detrital apatite grains in down‐ice basal till were correctly classified as

originating from porphyry deposits. This apatite approach is currently being tested over the glaciated Nechako

Plateau in central BC. Apatites in basal till from 10 separate areas have identified prospective new zones of

mineralization buried up‐ice. Other promising indicator minerals for carbonatite‐associated rare‐earth element

and specialty metal deposits include fluorite (Mao et al., 2016), pyrochlore and columbite‐tantalite (Mackay and

Simandl, 2015).

A relatively inexpensive method of determining Pb isotopic ratios in basal till by measuring 2.5 N HCl leachates

using HR‐ICP‐MS was developed by Rukhlov and Ferbey (2015). This method provides another robust new

exploration tool for concealed Pb‐rich deposits including volcanogenic massive sulphides.

A new series of basal till potential maps for BC builds on earlier drift exploration potential maps developed by

Proudfoot et al. (1995). These basal till potential maps assist in the design of surface sediment exploration

programs by identifying areas where basal till is most likely to occur. Such knowledge greatly reduces the cost of

till exploration programs by avoiding those areas where basal till is rare or absent. Ice‐flow indicators, compiled by

Arnold et al. (2016), are included in the maps to illustrate the general transport direction of basal till.

MapPlace 2 (Beta) is the new BCGS web service launched in 2016. It allows anyone with an Internet connection to

efficiently mine multiple geoscience databases. MapPlace 2 goes beyond simply displaying information. Databases

are continuously updated and communicate with each other, enabling users to conduct queries and generate

custom results by connecting to current data from many sources. Relative to the original version of MapPlace,

MapPlace 2 requires no plug‐ins, is faster, handles larger datasets, accesses third‐party base maps and imagery and

with a simpler more intuitive interface, is easier to use. To summarize, the new mineralogical and geochemical

exploration techniques, combined with surficial geology maps and MapPlace 2 databases provide a suite of tools

for assessing and identifying mineral potential in underexplored areas of BC.

TWENTY‐FIVE YEARS YOUNG: YUKON’S EVOLVING GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Carolyn Relf, Director, Yukon Geological Survey

Anchored by the albeit short‐lived 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, mining and exploration have been cornerstones of

Yukon’s economy ever since. In the early days of Yukon’s mining history, government’s role focused on recording

mineral claims and settling disputes among miners. By the early 1970s, however, Ottawa had established a

regional geology office in Whitehorse, tasking four geologists with tracking exploration and mining activities.

In 1992, the first incarnation of what would become the Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) was formed, with federal

and territorial governments cooperating to deliver a modern mapping program, publication services and geological

expertise on the diverse geology of Yukon. The inaugural version of Yukon’s MINFILE database was released, and

the first digital maps were created using AutoCAD software.

Since its early days, the one constant at YGS has been change, driven by evolving needs of our clients and

influenced by the opportunities presented by new technologies. For example, the original regional stream‐

sediment survey data were critical to the discovery of several deposits (Kudz Ze Kayah and Osiris, among others),

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but because most deposits have a more nuanced geochemical signature, YGS has worked to enhance the dataset

by reanalyzing samples to a common, modern analytical standard and modeling the data by principle component

analysis for each sample catchment. Similarly, reprocessing regional aeromagnetic data across Yukon is proving

useful for ‘teasing out’ subtle features and improving the accuracy of geological interpretations.

The information services at YGS have similarly evolved. Seven years ago, we began to merge our various datasets

(MINFILE, publications, geochemistry, etc.) into an Enterprise database on an Oracle® platform. We have been

adding modules to the database each year and building user‐friendly web applications so clients can access data.

Last year, we released an updated version of the Yukon bedrock geology map, first compiled by the Geological

Survey of Canada in 1999. The new version is a ‘live’ map generated from a geodatabase into which new mapping

is uploaded annually.

A key influence in setting research priorities is the input we get from industry clients. Projects such as the recently

completed electromagnetic survey of the Livingstone Creek area and the petrology and metallogeny of Jurassic

plutons were proposed by the Minerals Technical Liaison Committee. Results of current projects are on display in

the Yukon Room and we encourage you to come by and talk to our staff about their work. Among these projects

are new bedrock maps that provide a regional context for mineral occurrences in Selwyn basin, Stikinia and the

Coast Plutonic Complex; a map‐based web tool that allows users to search for assessment reports spatially; an

overview of placer operations; and information on the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program, which provides funding

to assist early‐stage exploration.

Mineral exploration continues to be an important part of Yukon’s economy, and YGS is committed to providing

timely and relevant information to attract investment and reduce exploration risk.

EXPLORATION SUPPORTIVE GEOSCIENCE PROGRAMMING OF THE MANITOBA GEOLOGICAL

SURVEY

Scott D. Anderson, Chief Geologist, Precambrian Geoscience, and the staff of the Manitoba Geological Survey

Manitoba’s diverse geology spans the Paleoproterozoic Trans‐Hudson Orogen and the margins of the Archean

Hearne and Superior cratons, and includes portions of the Phanerozoic Hudson Bay and Western Canada

sedimentary basins. World‐class deposits of magmatic nickel, volcanogenic base metals, orogenic gold and rare‐

metal pegmatite in the Precambrian Shield, and important resources of petroleum, potash and gypsum in the

Phanerozoic section, speak to Manitoba’s exceptional exploration potential.

Under its mandate to document this diverse geology and promote its resource potential, the Manitoba Geological

Survey (MGS) conducts a range of geoscience programs focused on the Precambrian Shield, Phanerozoic

sedimentary rocks and Quaternary surficial sediments, with the goal of attracting private‐sector investment and

informing a comprehensive economic development strategy for Manitoba’s northern regions.

Multidisciplinary bedrock mapping at scales suitable for target generation is ongoing in established mineral belts as

well as frontier regions. Highlights from 1:20 000 scale mapping in the northwestern Superior Province, along

strike from the Monument Bay gold‐tungsten project (Yamana Gold Inc.), include an improved structural and

ABSTRACT GUIDE


stratigraphic context to guide exploration for orogenic gold deposits and identification of carbonatite and

shoshonitic lamprophyre intrusions, with potential implications for rare‐metals and diamond exploration.

In parallel with bedrock mapping, the MGS has partnered with the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) under the

Geo‐mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) 2 Program to reanalyze archived samples of lake sediment collected

during the National Geochemical Reconnaissance Program. New high‐precision 65‐element analytical data replace

the original 17‐element data over highly prospective frontier areas of Manitoba.

A number of initiatives currently underway in the Lynn Lake belt of the Trans‐Hudson Orogen are supporting

ongoing exploration for magmatic nickel and orogenic gold, including the prefeasibility‐stage MacLellan and Farley

Lake projects (Alamos Gold Inc.). New collaborative mapping and metallogenic studies with the GSC under Phase 5

of the Targeted Geoscience Initiative are providing new insights into the key controls of gold mineralization,

complemented by a regional seamless compilation of all previous bedrock mapping at 1:50 000 scale.

The prolific Flin Flon–Snow Lake belt in the Trans‐Hudson Orogen is one of the world’s most productive

volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) districts, yet remains underexplored to the south beneath Phanerozoic

cover. To address the challenges of exploring for the next generation of world‐class VMS deposits, the MGS has

undertaken an initiative to systematically relog and sample historical drillcores that penetrated Precambrian

bedrock. Rock‐type and alteration mapping, coupled with new high‐precision lithogeochemical, geochronological

and tracer‐isotope datasets, are being applied to identify and correlate favourable stratigraphic horizons, with the

goal of establishing key vectors to VMS mineralization.

In areas of extensive drift cover, the MGS has an ongoing program of surficial geology mapping to facilitate drift

prospecting through the application of till geochemistry, indicator mineral surveys and ice‐flow mapping. The MGS

has compiled all existing surficial geology maps and is actively updating the geoscience knowledge as it pertains to

till composition, especially in palimpsest areas that record complex ice‐flow histories.

ONTARIO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY—EXPLORE ONTARIO WITH US

Mark Smyk, A/Senior Manager, Resident Geologist Program–Ontario Geological Survey, Ministry of Northern

Development and Mines

Ontario continues to be Canada’s leading destination of choice for mineral exploration, with a projected one‐

quarter of 2016 Canadian exploration expenditures. Exploration expenditures on more than 200 active grass‐roots

and advanced‐stage properties in Ontario are estimated at C$351.3 million in 2016. The Ontario Geological Survey

(OGS), which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2016, supports the minerals industry in Ontario by collecting

geoscience data that help identify areas of high mineral potential and generate exploration targets. The OGS

undertook and/or supported more than 20 field projects across Ontario in 2016, including

• bedrock‐mapping projects in a number of Archean greenstone belts (e.g., Wabigoon, Shebandowan,

Michipicoten, Swayze, McFaulds Lake [Ring of Fire] and Fort Hope); in the Sudbury Basin; and in the Perth area of

the Grenville Province;

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• an airborne magnetic gradiometer and gamma‐ray spectrometer survey in the Ear Falls area of the western

Superior Province. covering an area of approximately 32 600 km2;

• structural and gold metallogenetic studies in the southern Swayze greenstone belt, in the Rowan‐Kakagi lakes

area and in the Terrace Bay batholith; and

• Quaternary mapping and sampling programs in the Shebandowan, Borden Lake and Kapuskasing areas.

Many of these projects are part of multiyear plans and build upon previous surveys. They continue to generate

exploration interest and investment and have resulted in development. For example, till sampling by the OGS in

1987 and 1988 identified the first gold grain anomalies in the frontier Rainy River area of northwestern Ontario.

Follow‐up deep overburden drilling and diamond drilling by exploration companies over the next 20 years led to

the discovery of the Rainy River gold deposit. New Gold Inc.’s Rainy River mine project is slated to start production

in 2017 and represents an investment of more than $1 billion.

In addition to collecting geoscience data, the OGS also participates in the promotion of exploration and mineral

development opportunities across Ontario by highlighting areas with mineral potential. The OGS brings its

geological expertise to investment attraction and promotional activities. OGS technical experts support investment

attraction efforts by providing

• geoscience knowledge of available mineral properties,

• in‐depth knowledge of Ontario geology and the potential for different types of mineral resources across all

Ontario, and

• knowledge of key players in the mineral industry and the ability to liaise between interested clients.

Recommendations for Exploration are also published annually by the Resident Geologist Program to provide ideas

and identify exploration opportunities. The OGS also makes data available to all its clients through several web

applications. Geology Ontario is an online warehouse that contains all the publicly available, searchable and

downloadable digital data collected by the OGS and the Mines and Minerals Division. OGS Earth allows access to

these geoscience data in user‐friendly geographic information systems such as Google Earth.

Geoscience Laboratories is a full‐service inorganic analytical facility that provides research‐grade analysis and

services to the Ontario Geological Survey, government, academia and the private sector.

Through its many products and client services, the Ontario Geological Survey can help you explore Ontario’s

potential.

ABSTRACT GUIDE


NEW INITIATIVES IN RESOURCE EVALUATION IN NOVA SCOTIA

Geoffrey Baldwin, Trevor MacHattie, Denise Brushett, Chris White, Garth DeMont and Diane Webber, Nova

Scotia Department of Natural Resources

Nova Scotia contains a diverse Proterozoic to Mesozoic Appalachian geology across five geotectonic terranes.

Research projects conducted as part of the Resource Evaluation Program of the Nova Scotia Department of Natural

Resources (NSDNR) are currently focused on three of these terranes: the Aspy (Gander/Exploits), Avalon and

Meguma terranes. New mapping in the Aspy Terrane of the Cape Breton Highlands has highlighted VMS potential

in the Jumping Brook metamorphic suite, with mineralization sharing characteristics with known VMS deposits in

correlative rocks in Newfoundland.

In the Meguma Terrane, due to recent exploration interest in tin and lithium, NSDNR has begun to revisit the

mineral potential of the peraluminous South Mountain batholith, focusing on reassessing specialized granite‐

related mineral potential around East Kemptville, New Ross and other areas. This has thus far included bedrock

studies and the relaunch of the long‐dormant surficial geology program, with an emphasis on new till geochemical

studies in the target areas, coupled with the reanalysis of legacy samples from the large South Mountain batholith

till‐sampling program conducted in the 1980s. Although in its infancy, this project has already identified new

copper, fluorine and beryllium potential in the New Ross area.

In the Avalon Terrane, a thick package of Carboniferous bimodal volcanic (rhyolite and basalt) rocks located within

the eastern Cobequid Highlands is being evaluated for its potential to host low sulphidation–type epithermal gold.

A detailed multimedia approach to exploration and research has been initiated, with 1: 10 000 scale bedrock

mapping, stream‐sediment geochemistry and till geochemistry to identify areas of maximum mineral potential.

Compiled data from historical assessment reports have been used to isolate target areas for the most intense

sampling. Currently, this work has identified several areas with anomalous arsenic and antimony, as well as minor

gold anomalies. These studies will continue in 2017, in conjunction with a community outreach program and

surface‐water chemistry sampling. These initiatives, coupled with the support of the Nova Scotia Mineral Incentive

Program, are expected to provide a much‐needed boost to the mineral exploration industry in Nova Scotia for

years to come.

Association for Mineral Exploration | 800-889 W Pender Street | Vancouver, BC V6C 3B2 | T: 604.689.5271 1

Thank you to our 2017 AME Roundup Sponsors

Association for Mineral Exploration | 800-889 W Pender Street | Vancouver, BC V6C 3B2 | T: 604.689.5271 2

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Technical Session Abstracts - AME Roundup | …roundup.amebc.ca/wp-content/uploads/RU_17_TechSession...metals, sodium and potassium sulphate, silica sand and clay products. In 2015,