Introduction
The Four J’s property hosts unusual, fine-grained stratiform mineralization in black sediments. Petrographic studies suggest the mineralization could be of a VMS nature, similar to that of Eskay Creek. High-grade, silver rich boulders located in the same vicinity as the stratiform mineralization have yet to be traced to source.
In 2011, the property was optioned to Rotation Minerals which can earn a 50% interest in the property by paying $180,000 and incurring exploration expenditures of $1,800,000 over the four year term of the option. The first year commitment calls for a $20,000 down payment and $250,000 worth of work. Rotation Minerals has another option to earn another 20% interest by carrying the property to feasibility.
Rotation Minerals is a Stewart-based company run by Randy Kasum and E. R. Kruchkowski, P. Geo. , the same principals behind Decade Resources and Mt. Boy Minerals. It is presently a private company but plans to go public soon.
Location
The 4J’s property of Teuton Resources Corp. is located 2.5km north of the access road into the former East Gold mine (connecting from the northern terminus of the Granduc Mining road system), about 40km by air from Stewart, BC. It borders to the east of Teuton’s Tennyson property.
History and Property Status
Teuton Resources Corp. staked the Four J’s property in 1983. In the same year, stratiform mineralization (Main Zone) was discovered in sediments, after which the property was optioned to Canadian United Minerals. Canadian United re-optioned the property to Noranda in 1985, in a deal that required Noranda to spend $3,000,000 to earn a 51% interest in the property. The Noranda crew mobilized to the property too early in the field season and could not locate the Main Zone due to snow cover. A short program consisting of prospecting, sampling and geophysical surveys was carried out on exposed portions of the property identifying several types of mineralization.
After Noranda relinquished its option, the property was re-optioned to Wedgewood Resources. Wedgewood carried out prospecting, trenching, sampling and geochemical surveys on the Four-J’s and surrounding claims before returning the property to Teuton.
In 1989 immediately after the Eskay Creek discovery, Maple Resources Corp. entered into an agreement with Teuton to earn a 60% interest in the Four-J’s claims by spending $1.2 million on the property. A field program was carried out by Maple concentrating on the Main, Centre, South and North Zones. The primary target areas were defined as: the sedimentary exhalative style lead-zinc-silver mineralization in the Main and North Zones and a zone of highly anomalous soil samples collected along contours northeast of the grid area.
Maple drilled 334.06m to test a strong gold-in-soil geochem anomaly in the FM Zone (north of the Main Zone). The first two holes intersected significant gold mineralization in an argillite/siltstone unit: Hole MA-90-1 returned 0.078 oz/ton gold over 9.84m and Hole MA-90-2 returned 0.069 oz/ton gold over 7.16m. Two gold-in-soil geochem anomalies were identified elsewhere on the property.
Teuton personnel revisited the property in 1998 to assess the Main Zone. A trench was blasted through overburden to reveal the extension of the Main zone to the west-southwest. Several samples were taken for petrographic studies which concluded that the mineralization was likely syngenetic.
In 2006 Teuton carried out an Aeroquest airborne geophysical survey over the Four J’s property. This survey disclosed a sharp EM anomaly under ice cover, approximately 150m from an embayment in the ice where large mineralized float boulders were found in 1983.
Main Zone
The Main Zone banded sulfide mineralization was found by happenstance in 1983 while following up a prominent train of massive to semi-massive float boulders (the source of these boulders, some of which carry high values in silver, is yet to be determined but may well be related to the EM anomaly discovered during the 2006 airborne survey). One of the trenches put in during this work uncovered a narrow interval of high-grade lead-zinc-silver mineralization, featuring wispy bands of extremely fine-grained galena-sphalerite mineralization in argillite. This novel form of mineralization did not show any stain on weathered outcrop and was difficult to detect other than on a polished surface. Extensive talus precluded efforts to follow the zone along projected strike.
In 1998, a one-day program successfully located an extension of the zone 10m to the west-southwest, under talus. A trench, #1998-1, was blasted out revealing the most heavily mineralized section found to date: sampling of a 3.0m interval yielded a weighted average grade of 7.4% Pb, 11.7% zinc and 6.1 oz/ton silver.
Petrographic samples from the trench were examined by Ross Sherlock, Ph.D., of Steffen, Robertson and Kirsten (Canada) Inc. In a brief letter report, Sherlock stated:
“I have taken a quick look at the thin sections from the 4-J’s property. I was most interested in the rock textures that may indicate if the zinc-lead mineralization was syngenetic (Sedex-VMS) or epigenetic (vein hosted) in origin. Thin section #1 [taken from Trench #1998-1] is interesting in that it is a band of sphalerite and a band of black argillite. All the fabrics are parallel and metamorphic/deformation in character. No primary textures are preserved. However, the deformation textures are also in the sphalerite bands, suggesting that it formed pre-deformation. This supports the idea that the sphalerite mineralization may be syngenetic. The early stage of mineralization combined with its host in an argillite strongly suggests that mineralization may be Sedex or VMS in nature.
Thin section #2 [taken from Trench #1991-3 area] is a quartz-carbonate matrix with parallel bands of sphalerite and minor galena. None of the textures are primary, all are metamorphic and deformation textures. It was difficult to tell anything conclusive about this section.
I think that the textures seen in thin section #1, combined with the hand samples and the field relationships described, suggests that mineralization is sygenetic. This indicates the potential for a deposit of significant size and value making it a worthwhile exploration target.”
