Mountain Boy Minerals Ltd (TSXV: MTB) has kicked off field work on the Telegraph Gold Project with a geophysical survey is now underway in BC, Canada.
The geology team is applying multiple geoscientific techniques in addition to conventional geological work to define areas of favourable alteration and mineralisation in preparation for drilling.
The programme over the next few weeks involves ground geophysics (induced polarization and magnetotellurics) and on-site shortwave infrared analysis of rock samples which is used to identify alteration minerals that may be associated with mineralisation.
Geologists are continuing to map and sample the known mineralised areas and exploring other areas of the extensive property. The objective of this work is to define drill targets and establish a better understanding of the overall geological setting on the property.
Much of the historic work focused on the Dok target and included two drill holes which intersected sub-ore grade copper and gold mineralisation. The Dok target is now seen as part of a six-km trend which includes the Dok, Red Creek, Dok-X, and Nirvana Bowl areas and straddles the former property line near the middle of that trend.
The area around the former property line exhibits several encouraging features, including elevated copper and gold values on surface, with many samples over 1% copper, up to 17.95%, anomalous copper and gold soil samples, widespread hydrothermal alteration consistent with porphyry-style mineralisation and a chargeability high from the 2012 IP survey.
The area has received only minimal exploration and remains untested. This area, in the middle of the six-km trend, is currently interpreted as an important feature in the exploration of this extensive copper-gold porphyry system.
2022 Field Programme
A 14-line km 3D induced polarisation (IP) and magnetotelluric (MT) survey, using a Volterra distributed acquisition system, was designed to improve the understanding of the subsurface geology on the Telegraph project.
The grid lines are oriented northeast to best test several features obliquely and complement the IP survey lines conducted in 2012. The current survey will better define the strong chargeability anomaly and encouraging alteration identified in the area around the southeast end of the 2012 IP survey. The current lines straddle the Dok, Dok-X and Red Creek targets and are immediately west-northwest of the Nirvana Bowl target.
Recent interpretation of the 2012 IP results suggests a buried intrusive unit corresponding to a resistive anomaly in the MT data. This is capped by a strong chargeability anomaly which is interpreted to be phyllic hydrothermal alteration of the volcanic rocks overlying the intrusive, a common feature of porphyry deposits. Chargeability anomalies also exist at the northwest end of the 2012 IP program.
The current IP programme will infill the 2012 lines to test the hypothesis that the northwest anomaly is an extension of the southeastern chargeability anomaly. If that is the case, the high-grade mineralisation identified in the Nirvana Bowl area is on strike with this southeast trend. The terrain in the Nirvana Bowl is not well suited for ground IP and MT data collection, however there is good exposure for geologic alteration and structural mapping and sampling, which is currently underway.
To complement the geophysical surveys and structural and geological mapping, the company is conducting a systematic rock sampling program for short wave near infrared (SWIR) analysis. This technique identifies alteration minerals in hydrothermal systems. Initial results from the SWIR data collected in 2021 confirm the presence of porphyry-style alteration minerals and suggest that multiple hydrothermal pulses have altered and mineralised the host rocks in both the Dok and Yeti targets on the property. SWIR analysis is useful for vectoring within a porphyry system.
Other targets on the property will also be examined during the 2022 field program including the Yeti target where historic sampling has yielded 81 samples over 1% copper and 18 samples over 10 grams per tonne gold, including a sample that assayed 515 grams per tonne (16.56 troy ounces per ton) gold.
“Our in-house geological team, backed by some leading porphyry experts, have done an outstanding job of compiling, and interpreting the enormous amount of information that has been collected over the years on what is now a consolidated property position,” CEO, Lawrence Roulston, said.
“An important aspect of the current program is the Border Zone, the area that straddles the previous property line, and was largely overlooked. The MTB geological work last summer highlights the importance of this area, which sits in the middle of a six-km mineralised trend. The present geological work, together with results from the IP, MT, and SWIR will provide the information needed to determine the best drill locations.”
The 252 square kilometre Telegraph Project is located in BC’s Golden Triangle, in the vicinity of several large porphyry deposits including Galore Creek (Teck – Newmont), Schaft Creek (Teck – Copper Fox), Big Red (Libero Copper and Gold), Saddle and Saddle North (Newmont) and the operating Red Chris copper-gold mine (Newcrest – Imperial Metals).”
For further information please visit: https://mountainboyminerals.ca/
