Jean Marie Property

The Jean Marie property is a copper-gold-silver-molybdenum porphyry prospect located 180 km north of Prince George and 50 km west of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan Copper-Gold Mine in central BC. The property covers 6,300 hectares and has multiple mineralized zones which are open for expansion with drilling.

Historical work conducted on the Jean Marie Project includes over 10,000 metres of drilling and dozens of ground-based geophysical and geochemical surveys, with the majority of exploration being completed by Cominco Ltd. between 1970 and 1974. Historical exploration activities were focused on drilling in three copper porphyry zones: the A, B and C Zones (see below). Each of the three mineralized zones straddle the Jean Marie fault, a significant controlling structure that has been mapped for over 12 km on the Project (see below).

The A and C Zones have seen limited historical drilling, with the deepest drilling in both zones being 92 vertical metres. Mineralization in these zones exists as chalcopyrite dominated by pyrite, with rare covellite and bornite. In select surface samples at both the A and C zones, anomalous gold has been seen to be associated with chalcopyrite mineralization and monzonite dikes, though the historical drill core was not systematically assayed for gold. Historical exploration encountered angular float on the southwest margin of the A zone assaying up to 4.43% copper and 0.95 g/t gold.

The A Zone is open to depth and to the north and northwest. The most northwesterly hole in the zone, percussion hole P74-27 graded 0.3% copper over the entire 76.2 metre length of bedrock drilled, including 27.4 metres grading 0.53% copper.

The B Zone has seen more extensive drilling, with the deepest historical drilling being a 277 m vertical drill hole, J97-11. A high-grade interval in this hole occurs between 181 and 208 metres, where a hydrothermal breccia containing angular clasts of porphyritic material with bornite and chalcopyrite graded 1.2% copper over 27 metres. The presence of this breccia provides direct evidence of a mineralized porphyry system at depth beneath the B-zone.

The C Zone is characterized as a broad area of low-grade copper-molybdenum mineralization, with the easternmost hole in the zone grading 0.17% copper over the entire 85.3 metre length of bedrock drilled. However, the presence of a large, strong copper-in-soil anomaly measuring 2,500 x 600 metres, immediately north and east of the C zone, with soil samples assaying up to 0.66% copper suggests more appreciable copper mineralization may exist at depth. The presence of widespread, locally intense clay alteration further suggests there may be potential for higher copper grades at depth.

An initial rock sampling program was completed on the Jean Marie for the purpose of evaluating the potential for gold in and around the historical drill-indicated copper zones. An area south of the C zone, where a 2008 rock sample along a road cut exhibited significant gold mineralization, was followed up with a 20 m hand excavated trench and systematically chip sampled over 2 metre intervals.

Anomalous gold results are associated with oxidized, locally semi-massive pyrite, arsenopyrite, and sporadic quartz-sulphide veinlets. Moderate to strong hematite, limonite and scorocite with localized jarosite comprise the oxides that are associated with gold mineralization. Further follow up is clearly warranted at this intriguing mineralized showing, both on the north and south side of the exposure at the road cut.

Table 1. Continuous chip sampling results from hand trench south of C zone (start of trench at 377,703 E / 6,106,027 N, end of trench at 377,721 E / 6,106,031 N, UTM NAD 83 zone 10).

Historically, the A and C zones did not see systematic analyses for gold. Entire hole composites from 1974 percussion holes were assayed for gold with a high detection limit and, as such, gold was not detected. The recent collected rock samples show that there is, in fact, a significant precious metal component associated with copper mineralization, at least in part, at the A and C zones.

Table 2. Rock sampling results from A and C zones (UTM NAD 83 zone 10).