BIG BULK COPPER-GOLD PROJECT
Dolly Varden Silver Corporation owns an exploration property called the Big Bulk Project, located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Big Bulk consists of 2,640 hectares in 7 mineral claims covering a copper-gold porphyry and skarn prospect on the southern shores of Kinskuch Lake, approximately 5 km east of the Dolly Varden Project and 23 km northeast of the village of Kitsault.
Big Bulk is in alcalic porphyritic rocks of the Hazelton Group, with altered quartz monzonite intrusives. Analogues for Big Bulk are the large Sulphurets (KSM) deposits of Seabridge and Red Mountain deposit of IDM Mining.
Intermittent exploration programs have taken place over several decades. Short historic drilling programs have been conducted by AngloGold Ashanti, Agnico Eagle, Teck Resources and Homestake Resources Corp.. AngloGold Ashanti drilled hole AGA01 in 2009 and intercepted 0.31% Cu over 54 metres from 67 to 121 m, plus 4.0 g/t Au over 10 metres from 427 to 437 m, coincident with an IP chargeability geophysical anomaly.
As a separate mineral claim, but part of the Big Bulk Project, is the Midnight Blue claim. This location has a large copper-gold anomaly in talus fines and suggests the Big Bulk mineralization extends approximately 4 km from Kinskuch Lake southwards under ice cover to Midnight Blue.
Two neighbouring companies, Hecla Mining Limited and OK2 Minerals, hold mineral claims contiguous with Big Bulk on their respective Kinskuch projects. In 2017, OK2 Minerals conducted mapping and surface rock sampling on their mineral claims. Hecla conducted a short diamond drilling program on targets to the south in the Illiance River area. Also in 2017, a joint study by the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Geological Survey (BCGS) consisting of structural geology mapping was conducted over the Big Bulk area, with logistical support from Dolly Varden Silver.
This page updated February 23, 2018.
The technical information in this website has been approved by Robert van Egmond, P.Geo., Chief Geologist of Dolly Varden and a Qualified Person.
Historic surface rock sampling data is available in various assessment reports and presentations. The maps prepared by LCT Holdings (covering claims which are now part of OK2 Minerals) reveals a 3 km x 2 km area of copper and gold mineralized outcrops, half of which overlaps onto ground held by Dolly Varden Silver Corp.
As a joint effort survey, Hecla Mining, Dolly Varden, and OK2 Minerals flew a large ZTEM geophysical survey over Hecla’s Kinskuch Project, the area of which includes the claim blocks of Dolly Varden Silver’s Big Bulk Project. The Dolly Varden and OK2 claims have been processed as one subset of the overall Geotech Ltd. survey.
In 2009, a ground Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical survey detected a strong chargeability anomaly on the Big Bulk claims. A slice of this anomaly at a depth of 500 metres is presented below, along with the location of the 2009 diamond drill holes. The main anomaly is open to the east and a weaker anomaly projects to the south.
Two recent phases of diamond drilling have been reported for the Big Bulk Project held by Dolly Varden Silver Corp. Under the direction of Durango Capital Corp., ten holes were drilled, with three in the Tracy Zone, five in the Marla Zone and two at Midnight Blue. (Smyth, 2010). During the same program two holes were drilled on the adjacent OK2 Minerals ground.
Copper and gold equivalents based on US$ 2.50/lb and US$ 1,200/oz respectively.
References:
Smyth, C., 2009, Report on the Hastings Project, northwestern British Columbia, Skeena Mining Division. for Durango Capital Corp., 76 p. (describes the 2008 exploration program)
Smyth, C., 2010, Report of the Kinskuch Project, northwestern British Columbia, Skeena Mining Division. for AngloGold Ashanti Holdings Plc., 67 p. (describes the 2009 exploration program)