Dewdney Trail Property

Exploration Potential

Exploration has identified potential for intrusive related gold-copper-silver targets in the Estella Basin, Sullivan type (zinc, lead, silver) base metal targets at depth under Lewis Ridge, and orogenic gold targets in Tackle Basin area.

Property map shows PJX’s target areas in the Sullivan Mining District and Vulcan Gold Belt, including Estella Basin, Lewis Ridge and Tackle Basin.

Dewdney Trail target areas all occur within the hinge and/or limb of a large regional north-south oriented anticline fold structure.

Mineralization occurs in sediments similar in age (Proterozoic) and/or type (turbidites, quartzites) to other deposits such as Telfer, Sukoi-log and Sullivan.

Sediments have been intruded by felsic intrusives (syenite/alkalic) possibly similar in age (Cretaceous to possibly Eocene) to deposits such as Pebble in Alaska or the Butte mining district in Montana.

More than 10 km of favourable geology with potential to host orogenic gold mineralization have also been identified.

Estella Basin, Lewis Ridge and Tackle Basin Target Areas

Estella Basin target area covers an area approximately 2.5 km x 3 km. Estella Basin may be a magmatic center with possibly multiple phases of porphyritic syenitic/alkalic intrusives that are Cretaceous to possibly Eocene in age.

Gold, silver, and copper mineralization occur in multi-phased, variably altered, and veined syenitic/alkalic porphyritic intrusions. The intrusive phases contain disseminated sulphides (see photo A). For example, grab sample MS22-57 with quartz veining from this phase analyzed 6.9 g/t gold, 447 g/t silver and 1.108% copper (see Estella Basin Geology Map and Table 1)

Diatreme breccia is located approximately 500 metres west of the intrusions with gold-silver-copper mineralisation. The diatreme breccia (photo B) locally has magnetite as the matrix (photo C) with quartz flooding occurring along the margin (photo D). Three grab samples from quartz vein flooding in the brecciated gabbro from the margin area contained 8.79 %, 3.35 %, and 2.01% copper (see Table 2).

Erosion has only exposed part of the tops of the intrusives (see photo E). Therefore, there is potential for deposits to occur near surface and at depth as they would not have been eroded.

Intrusives occur as a cluster for over 600 metres along strike (see photo E).

Gold, copper and silver mineralization occur with alkalic intrusions that have characteristics somewhat similar to calc-alkalic systems, such as copper-gold-silver mineralization at the top of the system and the presence of diatreme breccias. (see Sillitoe calc-alkalic model, 2010, with relative locations of rocks in photos A, B, C, D).

The Estella Basin is part of the Sullivan Mining District that has geological similarities to other intrusive related copper-gold mining districts, such as the Butte and Bingham Canyon districts located to the south in Montana and Utah, respectively.

All 3 districts occur along continental scale transverse structures, the Uinta arch/lineament at Bingham Canyon, Great Falls tectonic zone at Butte, and the Vulcan tectonic zone at the Sullivan District (see Regional Geology and Deposits Map with Sullivan and Butte Mining Districts)

Sulphide rich Proterozoic age sediments that occur in the Butte mining district are similar to the Estella Basin and across the Dewdney Trail property. Proterozoic sediments are also considered to occur at depth beneath Bingham Canyon. Sulphide mineralization in sediments can provide a source of sulfur to assist with the formation of copper, gold, silver, and other mineralization in the intrusives.

Silty carbonate sediments on the Dewdney Trail property may be good host rocks for the formation of potential gold, copper, zinc, lead, and/or silver skarn, CRD, or other deposit types that can occur proximal to magmatic centers.

Proterozoic age gabbro sills in the area may form impermeable rock layers which can help enrich copper, gold, silver, and other mineralization by impeding and concentrating rising fluids that transport the metals.

Lewis Ridge target area covers an area approximately 3 km x 2 km in size. Lewis Ridge area has a multi-element signature of gold, copper, zinc, lead, bismuth, molybdenum, arsenic and silver in soil. (See geology maps with various soil analyses)

3-dimensional modelling of the airborne MobileMT and Magnetic geophysical surveys by Expert Geophysics has identified a strongly conductive EM anomaly with a coincident magnetic signature in a geological environment with potential to host Sullivan type massive sulphide mineralization at the Lewis Ridge Target (see Lewis Ridge Target information below).

During Fall 2022, approximately 2000 m were drilled as a first phase to test a number of targets along the 3 km long by 2 km wide area of geophysical anomalies. Results are pending.

Tackle Basin target area covers an area approximately 2 km x 2 km in size. Gold is the dominant element in soils in the Tackle Basin area. (see geology maps with various soil analyses).

Tackle Basin is located in the headwaters of the Wildhorse placer gold creek. It is a large basin with placer gold in the creeks draining the basin.

One favourable gold bearing quartzite-argillite unit ranges from 75 to over 200 m true width. Gold occurs with quartz veins or quartz stockwork zones and silica, sericite and carbonate alteration in the sedimentary unit.

Next Steps

The airborne survey is providing insight into geology and mineral potential that is new to the Lewis Ridge target area, Tackle Basin target area, and the historical Estella mine and Estella Basin area.

Exploration supports the potential for a magmatic centre with intrusive related gold-silver-copper deposit potential on the Dewdney Trail Property. Intrusive related deposits in Butte and other mining districts are associated with magmatic centres.

Next steps will be to compile geochemical analyses with geological, geophysical and drilling results to plan the next phase of exploration and drilling to test targets in the Estella Basin, Lewis Ridge, and Tackle Basin target areas.