The Iron Horse Project
The Iron Horse claim group is located 45 km southwest of Kelowna, B.C., and 14 km west-northwest of Peachland, B.C. The total area of the 9 tenures is 2439.5 hectares. The property consists of the Iron Horse, Bolivar and Silver King claims. The claims were located to cover high grade gold mineralization discovered by the drilling and sampling of known surface showings.
Significant economic commodities found on this property are; Gold, Copper, Zinc, Molybdenum, Silver and Cobalt.
Disclosure
Information of a scientific or technical nature in respect of the Iron Horse Project on this website is derived from the Technical Report prepared by Hardolph Wasteneys, Ph.D., P.Geo., a "qualified person" under NI 43-101.
For readers to fully understand the technical information on this website, they should read the Technical Report (available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company's profile) in its entirety, including all qualifications, assumptions and exclusions that relate to the technical information set out in this prospectus.
Iron Horse
Sought After Location
The Iron Horse Property is located on the west side of the Okanagan Valley, west of the regional city of Kelowna, British Columbia and straddles the border between the Osoyoos and the Similkameen Mining Divisions. The Property consists of 9 variously named cell claims. The claims are located approximately 15 kilometers west of Peachland BC. and approximately 8 Km. southeast of the past producing Brenda Cu-Mo-Ag-Au Mine open pit.
Another deposit significant to the presence of gold bearing skarns on the Iron Horse Property is the Nickel Plate Mine, which produced, from 1904 to 1996, 14.6 million tonnes of skarn mineralization yielding over 2.1 million ounces of gold and 0.5 million ounces of silver.
Previous Results
The area of the Property has been intermittently explored since the 1890s. The earliest work was reported on the Silver King showings in the eastern part of the Property, which described minor underground gold production in the 1939 to 1941 period from a gold-quartz vein associated with molybdenite in sheared granodiorites.
Comprehensive exploration covering the Iron Horse Property was initiated by Fairfield Minerals in 1986. A subsequent drilling program in a joint venture with Placer Dome using short percussion drill holes targeting gold in soil geochemical anomalies revealed numerous significant intersections of gold mineralization.
More recent exploration has been focused on porphyry copper molybdenum deposits and gold bearing veins and structures associated with intrusive, volcanic and sedimentary units.
Comprehensive Mapping
In 2012, Portofino Resources enlisted Precision Geosurveys Ltd to conduct a helicopter-borne geophysical survey employing radiometric and magnetic sensors. Simultaneously, a ground geochemical sampling initiative was implemented, specifically targeting designated areas within the Iron Horse and Bolivar Zones of the Property.
The geophysical survey encompassed the acquisition of high-resolution magnetic and radiometric data over the Iron HorseBolivar property. The surveyed area spanned approximately 3.8 km by 9.1 km. It entailed 173 kilometers of main survey lines spaced at 150-meter intervals.
Excellent Logistics
The Property is readily accessible by an all-weather road from Peachland, a distance of about 20 kilometers, and during snow-free seasons via connectors from the Coquihalla Highway near the Brenda Mine site. The perimeter of the Property is closely followed by well maintained active resource roads, from which branch a series of abandoned exploration and logging trails.
The Headwaters Lakes logging road transects the property providing good access. Numerous mainline, and spur logging and drill roads were constructed by previous operators.
Location
The Iron Horse is located 23 kilometers Southwest of the Elk Gold Mine and 50 kilometers North of the past producing Nickel Plate Mine.
RESOURCE / PEA
NI 43-101 Mineral Resource:
- Measure and Indicated – 806,000 AuEq ounces
- Inferred – 262,000 AuEq ounces
-PEA contemplates a 65,000 ounce per year mine plan by Year 4
-PEA results in a Post-Tax NPV of $231M
-Low Op Ex / Cap Ex*CA$
- 9.0M start up CapEx
- AISC US$554/oz
HISTORIC PRODUCTION
Gold was discovered in the area in 1898 and the development of the mine started in 1903. More than 120 km of tunnels were excavated and the mine operated until 1955. In 1986 the mine was reopened and operated as an open pit mine for about ten years. This was one of the most productive gold mines in British Columbia.
In the Nickel Plate mine, gold occurs with native bismuth, bismuth tellurides, and As-Cu-Fe-Co-Mo sulfides in the disseminated stockwork of a garnet-pyroxene skarn at the contact between Early Jurassic dioritic Hedley intrusions and the host siltstone and limestone units of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group.
Previous Exploration
Surface Sampling
A program of targeted soil, silt and rock geochemical sampling was undertaken on the Iron Horse claims by Craig Lynes (Rich River Exploration), the property owner at the time, in May 2012. A total of 24 rock, 15 silt and 151 soil samples were collected in the Silver King, Alma Mater, Bolivar Road, Bolivar Creek and Bolivar East areas.
Surface Sampling Results
• A continuous chip sample in garnetite skarn with 2% arsenopyrite assayed 15.6 g/t gold over 1.5 metres.
• A section across a garnet skarn near the footwall contact of a low angle fault assayed 38.3 g/t (1.12 opt) gold over 1.5 m.
• A section across an arsenopyrite vein with clay gouge yielded 15.7 g/t gold over 0.8 m.
• A section of altered diorite with disseminated pyrite and arsenopyrite assayed 8.2 g/t gold over 2 m.
• Grab samples from surface exposures range from 0.16 to 11.19 opt gold.
• Several large gold geochemical soil anomalies have been defined over an area greater than four- and one-half kilometers in length.
• Anomalous gold in soils range upward from 20 ppb to 490ppb.
Diamond Drilling Results
• A section of fine grained siliceous rock yielded 14.33 g/t Au over 1.52 metres.
• A section of altered, sericitized and silicified sheared mudstone with traces of pyrite and arsenopyrite assayed 16.2 g/t Au over 1.0 m. This intersection was within a section averaging 9.38 g/t Au over 2.5 m.
• Hole 88-20 assayed 5.8 g/t gold over 6 metres, including 3 metres that assayed 9.2 g/t gold. • A second intersection in Hole 88-20 assayed 14.9 g/t gold over 1.52 metres, and was associated with a pink skarn containing 4% disseminated and massive pyrite.
• Assays greater than 0.5 g/t gold have come from all 12 holes drilled in diverse rock types including skarn, marble, diorite and granodiorite, quartz veins, limestone, argillite, and andesite all containing traces of pyrite.
Reverse Circulation Drilling results
• 3.1 metres ~ 3.6 g/t gold
• 6.0 metres ~ 4.7 g/t gold
• 3.0 metres ~ 7.5 g/t gold
• 9.1 metres ~ 2.6 g/t gold
• 1.6 metres ~ 14.3 g/t gold
• 4.6 metres ~ 4.5 g/t gold
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Sampling by the BC Geological survey has identified highly anomalous values in copper, zinc, gold, silver, bismuth, and cobalt. One such sample ran up to 1 percent copper and 19 grams per tonne gold and 13 g/t silver.
Significant economic commodities minerals found on this property are; Gold, Copper, Zinc, Molybdenum, Silver and Cobalt. Gold is inferred to occur as Bi-tellurides based on geochemical correlation with bismuth, and tellurium in mineralized rock and anomalous soil samples.
Geology & Mineralization
Mineralization on the Property is associated with reactions between the Nicola Group roof pendant and dioritic phases of the Pennask Batholith. In the east, at the Iron Horse Prospect, marbleized limestone units are characterized by widespread gold and chalcopyrite bearing fractured garnetite commonly associated with sporadic lenses of pyrrohotite-rich massive sulphide. In the western section of the roof pendant at the Bolivar and Silver King prospect areas, the intrusive contact zone is structurally complex, and the gold-quartz veining is associated with clastic sediments and volcanic lithologies metamorphosed to amphibolites and cut by numerous aplitic and dioritic dykes. Recent prospecting and sampling of trenches has confirmed mineralization with high gold values broadly disseminated in the garnetites and in quartz veins.
Geological Setting
The geology of the Iron Horse Property evolved with the growth of the Triassic to Jurassic Quesnel Terrane (Figure 27),which is interpreted to have formed by the rifting away of a magmatic arc from western continental North America in the Late Paleozoic and the opening of the Slide Mountain oceanic basin.
The claims are underlain by sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the upper Triassic Nicola Group that occur within a large, metamorphosed roof pendant enveloped by the Early Jurassic Pennask Batholith. The stratiform units consist mostly of andesitic to dacitic volcanics, with minor interbeds of argillaceous sediments commonly hornfelsed with minor development of calc-silicate minerals. Metamorphism and deformation were enhanced by dikes and sills of diorite and granodiorite of the Pennask Batholith. Carbonate layers in the Nicola strata were recrystallized to marble and metasomatised to skarn in the vicinity of intrusive contacts. Sulphide bearing drusy limonitic quartz veins with boxwork textures cut all of the lithologies and range from a few centimeters to over three meters wide.
The area is within a prolifically mineralized segment of the Jurassic Quesnel Terrane consisting of by large pendants of sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the upper Triassic Nicola group, intruded by Triassic to Jurassic age Nelson Plutonic rocks.
Regional magmatism is characterized by two sets of calc-alkaline to alkaline magmatic belts, a Late Triassic pair in the west and an Early Jurassic pair in the east illustrated in Figure 28. The subduction polarity of both sets of arcs is easterly with the alkaline arc inboard over deeper or more evolved parts of the subducting slab. All four magmatic belts are well mineralized and characterized by porphyry deposit types affiliated with the magmatism. The western Late Triassic calcalkaline belt age is affiliated with the major 210 Ma Highland Valley copper-molybdenum porphyry in the Guichon Creek Batholith, while the western alkaline or monzodioritic belt of the same age hosts alkalic copper-gold porphyries such Copper Mountain, Afton and Mount Polley. East of Late Triassic monzodiorite belt, the Early Jurassic calc-alkaline, granodiorite belt hosts the Brenda Cu-Mo, and the Woodjam Cu-Mo-Au porphyry deposits. The plutons are especially large and include the Pennask Batholith and several similar sized batholiths of Early Jurassic, 197 to 193 Ma age and granodioritic, dioritic and monzogranite compositions (Fig. 28). Finally, at the eastern edge of the Quesnel Terrane and the Nicola Arc, an Early Jurassic alkaline belt, characterized by syenites, monzonites and Alaskan-type mafic-ultramafic complexes, hosts numerous copper-gold skarns and porphyry deposits (Fig. 28).
GEOPHYSICS
2012-2014
In 2012 Portofino Resources contracted a helicopter-borne geophysical survey by Precision Geosurveys Ltd, with radiometric and magnetic sensors, and carried out a ground geochemical sampling program targeting specific areas of the Iron Horse and Bolivar Zones of the Property.
The geophysical survey involved the acquisition of high resolution magnetic and radiometric data over the Iron HorseBolivar property. The survey area, indicated by the TMI image in Figure 20 was approximately 3.8 km by 9.1 km, covered by 173 kilometres of main survey lines at 150 meter spacings on headings of 340° and 160° with orthogonal tie lines at 1 km intervals and at an average survey clearance of 44 meters.
A possibly significant feature of the TMI map is a northwest-trending, elongate annular magnetic low (blue colour on Figure 19) that encloses a moderate magnetic high in the northwest corner of the property. The Silver King, Oka 8, Bolivar West and Bolivar East showings all occur within this magnetic low; the Alma Mater showing is along the southern edge of the area of low magnetic intensity. The area of low magnetic intensity corresponds to an area of pyritic hornfels observed on surface near the Oka 8 showing. The Silver King area is characterized by sericitized granitoids, which may have lost magnetite by the alteration. This pattern of annular magnetic lows is commonly developed by magnetite destructive, argillic alteration in the outer zones of some porphyry copper deposits.
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The Iron Horse showings occur on the southern flanks of a northwest trending moderate to high magnetic intensity zone as shown in Figure 19. This magnetic feature may be the result of secondary magnetite and pyrrhotite related to skarning in Nicola Group sedimentary rocks adjacent to plutons or it may be a contrast between hornfelsed sedimentary rocks and a dioritic intrusion of the Pennask Batholith.
Radiometric surveys detect and map natural radioactive decay products from uranium, thorium and potassium in minerals in soils and rocks by characteristic wavelengths of gamma rays. The purpose of radiometric surveys is to determine either the absolute or the relative ratios of U, Th, and K in surface rocks and soils. The image for the potassium equivalent radiometric survey generated by Precision Surveys is shown in Figure 21 with major geological contacts and mineral occurrences superimposed. Potassium is mobile in hydrothermal alteration systems and the K concentration is a useful measure to evaluate the zoning across an altered area. Areas of K enrichment correspond to the potassic zone; removal of K (plus Na, Ca, Mg) occurs as a result of intense and pervasive argillic (clay) alteration.
The most striking feature visible on Figure 21 is a northwest elongate high-K anomaly in the northwest corner of the property. This anomaly roughly corresponds to an area of pyritic hornfels that is also a magnetic low in Figure 20. Other areas of high K concentration occur in the southeast and southwest corners of the property. The significance of these anomalies is unknown. Some of the potassium lows (Fig. 21) may also be due to feldspar destructive hydrothermal alteration. However, in contrast to magnetic field intensity measurements of bedrock, radiometric intensity measurements are significantly attenuated by organic and inorganic overburden and a knowledge of surficial geology is required for accurate interpretation. The noticeable potassic anomaly along Bolingbroke Creek is a proportionate to a high degree of bare outcrop exposed on steep slopes and in blasted rock cuts and quarries, compared to bedrock in upland areas buried under radiation-attenuating glacial drift and forest.
The 2014 ground-based magnetometer surveys focused on high magnetic susceptibility areas defined by the 2012 airborne survey that coincided with known mineralized zones. Ground magnetic highs within these zones commonly were found to correlate more precisely with some types of mineralization such as skarns and pyrrhotite-bearing massive sulphide lenses. A map from the report by Kikauka and MacIntyre is shown in Figure 23, which highlights magnetometer anomalies above an arbitrarily determined 56,200 nT that may correlate with higher mineralization potential resulting from skarn formation.
Geochemical Surveys
2012-2014
In 2014 Portofino Resources Inc. continued exploring the Iron Horse Property with an expanded program of geological mapping (1:5,000 scale, 420 hectares), geochemical 30 element ICP and Au geochemical analysis (34 rock samples, 334 soil samples), magnetometer geophysics (18.54 line-km), and prospecting carried out between April 16, 2014 to May 31, 2014. on mineral tenure numbers 518238, 518239, 537695, 559571, 581151, and 1028372. Most of the effort was placed around the Gayle and Iron Horse mineralized zones at the east end of the property as it existed in 2014.
A program of targeted soil, silt and rock geochemical sampling was undertaken on the Iron Horse claims by Craig Lynes, the property owner at the time, in May 2012. A total of 24 rock, 15 silt and 151 soil samples were collected in the Silver King, Alma Mater, Bolivar Road, Bolivar Creek and Bolivar East areas shown in Figure 22.
A total of 20 rock samples were collected and analyzed as part of Rich River’s targeted geochemical program. Several samples returned anomalous values for Cu, Mo, Pb and Zn and one sample returned anomalous Ag. The best result was for sample IRN-CR-016 (coordinates in Table 3, Kikauka and MacIntyre, 2012; no map provided) which returned 2600 ppm Cu and 17800 ppm Zn. This sample was collected from a malachite-stained shear zone exposed 20 m up a cliff exposed along the east bank of a logging road. This locality is approximately 200 meters south-southeast of the Alma Mater adit. Another sample from this locality contained 1095 ppm Mo. This sample was also anomalous in Zn and Ag. Sample IRN-CR-015 was collected from a 20 cm wide banded quartz vein approximately 150 meters north of the Alma Mater adit . This sample returned 1535 ppm Mo suggesting that the dark bands in this sample are composed of fine grains of molybdenite. The only other significant result was for sample IRN-CR-013, a grab sample obtained from the waste dump at the Silver King showing which returned 4800 ppm Pb and 4740 ppm Zn. One sample near the Bolivar Creek showing described as an angular quartz subcrop returned anomalous Au (0.02 ppm) and Ag (21.2 ppm).
The surveyed area lies in the vicinity of the Iron Horse and Gayle showings. Rock samples collected in the 2014 program are plotted by location on Figure 24, with values for Cu, Zn, As, Ag and Au listed in the labels at each site.
Soil samples were collected along 16 lines in a NW trending en-echelon array from which 334 soil samples were collected and analyzed by multi-element ICP spectrometry. Two maps summarizing the geochemistry for gold and copper are shown respectively in Figures 25 and 26. The map for gold (Fig. 25) shows the location of values above 20 ppb, which range up to 320 ppb. Twelve samples fall within this range; two proximal to the Gayle showing and the other 10 north of the Iron Horse showings mainly in an area of second growth forest on a silty till veneer.
The copper soil map highlights values of copper in soil above 100 ppm, which is a common value for anomalous threshold in many geological environments of British Columbia, and shows a convincing NW trending anomalous zone extending from the Gayle showing across the Iron Horse zone. Fifteen copper values above 100 ppm range from 106 to 436 ppm with three clusters of 2 or 3 anomalous samples in the Gayle and Iron Horse areas.
Kikauka and MacIntyre (2015) correlated the anomalous soil geochemical zones to 4 geological / geophysical features including a feldspar porphyry breccia, folded and faulted strata, magnetic anomalies and a well-defined sulphide mineralized fold hinge (see Table 15 in Kikauka and MacIntyre, 2015).
Historic Exploration
The area of the Property has been intermittently explored since the 1890s. The earliest work was reported on the Silver King showings in the eastern part of the Property, which described minor underground gold production in the 1939 to 1941 period from a gold-quartz vein associated with molybdenite in sheared granodiorites. Intermittent subsequent exploration of the Silver King area occurred between 1964 and 1978 with unsuccessful underground and diamond drilling.
More comprehensive exploration covering the entire Iron Horse Property was initiated by Fairfield Minerals in 1986, and discovered high silver grades in prospecting samples ranging up to 68 g/t Ag, but low gold and a lack of associated base metals. Subsequent drilling program in a joint venture with Placer Dome using short percussion drill holes targeting gold in soil geochemical anomalies did, however, reveal numerous significant intersections of gold mineralization. The final work by Fairfield Minerals was in 1994 when 4 diamond drill holes were completed to examine percussion drilled gold anomalies.
King Resource Ltd. (1963-1965)
Molybdenite is reported to have been discovered by R.S. Taylor and J.E. Nott in 1963, in waste dumps in the area of the Alma Mater and the Silver King workings (Figure 4). The discoverers staked the area, and the property was subsequently referred to as the Silver King Group (Robinson, 1965).
Trenching and test-pitting, which was carried out in 1964 in the vicinity of the historical workings, yielded no records except for the observation that the mineralization comprised threads and stringers of molybdenite with sparse coarse 15 pyrite and rare chalcopyrite, associated with a white, siliceous, fine-grained, bleached, altered and unevenly textured rock. In thin section, the rock was seen to comprise mainly quartz with much altered plagioclase, carbonate, and phlogopite mica with lesser apatite and cordierite.
The presence of quartz veins with molybdenite and galena was noted. by Robinson (1965) who also mapped the Alma Mater and Silver King underground workings. The underground observations at Alam Mater from Robinson (1965) were that a number of quartz veins with pyrite and intermittent galena, and possibly molybdenite, characterized the mineralization. The lower tunnel (Fig. 3) exposed an east-northeast striking and south dipping shear zone at the contact between feldspar porphyry and greenstone. Feldspar porphyry was observed at the entrance to the main tunnels transitioning into granodiorite. The Silver King adits generally are mineralized by quartz veins with pyrite and minor very fine-grained grey sulphides, including galena or molybdenite hosted in shear zones.
Brenmac Mines Ltd. 1966
The earliest reported work on the eastern side of the Iron Horse Property, around the showing of the same name, came in 1966 from Brenmac Mines Ltd. who completed Induced Polarization and resistivity surveys, geological mapping, soil sampling, trenching and test pitting, and eleven short percussion holes totaling 250 meters drilled with the objective of locating porphyry type mineralization similar to the recently discovered Brenda ore body (Hallof and Bell, 1966). The IP survey revealed relatively weak irregular patterns of chargeability and the other results were not available.
Anuk River Mines Ltd. 1967
A large area north of Greata Creek was restaked in 1967 by Anuk River Mines Ltd. who carried out geochemical soil surveys, and 305 meters of drilling in three holes principally for gold. Mineralization in the drill core was sparse black sphalerite with minor amounts of chalcopyrite and pyrite in sheared quartz diorite, or granodiorite, with few or no quartz veins but containing epidote, calcite and chlorite seams and veinlets (Lazenby and Read, 1967 AR 01110).
Brenda Mines Ltd. 1978
In 1978, Brenda Mines Ltd. restaked an area of the Property centered around the confluence of Bolingbroke Creek with Greata Creek to cover the areas around the Alma Mater and Silver King prospects. Two diamond drill holes were reported by Bankes (1980, AR 07872) divided as 2 holes totaling 200 meters at Alma Mater and 2 with 79 meters at Silver King. The target was the extent of the sericitized diorite-granodiorite and the associated molybdenite- galena mineralization. At Alma Mater GR-3-79 graded 0.003% Mo and 0.004% Pb over 135 meters with some continuity to drill hole GR-4-79, which averaged 0.005% Mo and 0.002% Pb. At Silver King, the extent of the sheared, sericitized granitoids was found to be minimal and the mineralization weak.
Esso Minerals Canada Ltd. 1980
Esso Minerals completed two geophysical surveys over parts of the Property in 1979 and 1980 (Stewart, 1980; AR08143). In 1980 a ground magnetometer survey was completed on 24 line km in the eastern part of the present Property and in 1981 a helicopter-borne magnetometer and EM survey over 810 line kilometers of a grid extending NW from the shore of Okanagan Lake towards Peachland Lake and north to Trepannier Creek. The ground survey highlighted areas around some of the skarns in the Iron Horse showing area, though it was not clear if they were responding to magnetite in the intrusive diorites or the skarns themselves. The airborne EM survey showed weak anomalies related to overburden.
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