Projects

NEW VMS DISCOVERY IN YUKON WHITE GOLD DISTRICT

On October 4th, 2011 Arcus announced the discovery of the first significant volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) system in the White Gold District of north central Yukon at its Touleary property. 

Diamond drilling targeted a 300 by 100 m area within a 1,200 m long zone of coincident geophysical and intermittent gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies. Highlights from the 2011 drill program include:
 

• High-grade copper-silver-gold-zinc mineralization grading up to:
  • 7.18% Cu, 116 g/t Ag, 3.55 g/t Au and 4.03% Zn across 2.25 m
  • 1.44% Cu, 16.5 g/t Ag, 0.77 g/t Au and 0.29% Zn across 14.15 m
• Near surface intersections starting at 64.21 m
• Excellent lateral continuity within the initial 300 m area drill tested
• Onsite road access

The Dawson area, including the White Gold District is underlain by rocks of the Yukon Tanana Terrane and is considered highly favorable for VMS style mineralization. 

A cluster of VMS deposits in the Finlayson District, 450 km to the southeast are hosted in the same Yukon Tanana Terrane stratigraphy. Certain parts of the Dawson area and the Finlayson District are believed to have been linked as part of a concurrent back-arc / basinal environment prior to displacement along the Tintina Fault. 

The most notable deposit in the Finlayson District is Yukon Zinc Corporation's Wolverine Deposit where a NI 43-101 measured and indicated mineral resource is reported at 4.46 Mt grading 12.14% zinc, 354.8 g/t silver, 1.16% copper, 1.70 g/t gold and 1.58% lead (Yukon Zinc Corporation Technical Report, 2007).

COINCIDENT GEOPHYSICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL ANOMALIES

Host rocks at Touleary are pervasively sericitized fine tuffaceous felsic-to-intermediate volcaniclastic units with narrow intervals of weakly preserved fragmental textures. These rocks coincide with a laterally continuous linear magnetic low feature identified by a detail airborne magnetic survey completed by Arcus in the spring of 2011. This feature, although structurally offset at a number of locations, can be traced along strike from the discovery for a distance in excess of 5 km.

DRILL RESULTS

The Touleary discovery represents the first significant VMS mineralization reported in the White Gold District and having only drilled 25% of the 1,200 m trend of coincident geophysical and geochemical anomalies, the exploration potential at the Touleary property remains largely untested.

Sulphide mineralization within the volcaniclastic horizon(s) is dominantly pyrite and occurs as moderate to heavily disseminated concentrations and rarer semi-massive to massive bands. Much of the mineralization is coarsely recrystallized and remains roughly parallel to foliation but evidence of primary finely laminated textures has largely been destroyed.

Copper mineralization is present as chalcopyrite and rarer covellite. These sulphides preferentially occur in two lower felsic volcaniclaistic intervals within the thicker sequence as fine foliaform wisps, clots and aggregates plus coarsely recrystallized masses, believed to be strain induced near the apex of folds.

Results for the five holes drilled at Touleary are shown below:
 

(*) True widths are believed to be 70 - 90% of the intervals reported in the table above. 

FOLLOW UP WORK AT TOULEARY

Subject to available financing, Arcus intends to carry out additional drill testing of the magnetic low feature and other targets on the Touleary property in 2022. 

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