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Mt. Haskin
The technical information and work program recommendations referred to below were derived from and are qualified by a technical report entitled "Review of Mt. Haskin and Cassiar Moly Molybdenum Prospects Cassiar District Northwestern British Columbia, Canada", dated December 1, 2007 and prepared by Eric Ostensoe, P. Geo., an independent a NI 43-101 Qualified Person. The information provided below must not be relied upon by itself and every visitor to this site should review the report in its entirety. The report is available on this site through the following link (CLICK HERE) and at http://www.sedar.com/.
The Property
The Mt. Haskin property is situated 8 km from Highway 37, the provincial highway that passes from Highway 16 at Kitwanga, B. C. to the Alaska Highway in the Yukon. Access from the highway is by unimproved mining roads: one road leads to the principal molybdenite zone and the nearby "A" massive sulphide occurrence, a second road rises steeply to alpine terrain near the summit of Mt. Haskin and outcroppings and trenches of the "Fort Reliance" massive sulphide skarn deposit area.
The Mt. Haskin claims include, in addition to an intrusive hosted porphyry-type molybdenite deposit, at least two skarn-type mineral zones comprising massive sulphides, principally pyrrhotite with zinc, copper, lead, silver tin and bismuth. The molybdenite zone, in a granitic porphyry, was first staked in 1961 by Emil Krysko, a local area prospector, and was explored in the period 1969 through 1974 by Della Mines Ltd.; skarn zones with molybdenite and base metals were drilled by Demand Gold Ltd. in 1997.
Della Mines Ltd., a private company that was largely funded by mining and oil companies, explored the molybdenite zone and several of the skarn occurrences. That company drilled 22,762 feet from surface in at least 47 holes, excavated 4767 feet in two adit levels, drilled 5900 feet from underground sites, and excavated bulldozer trenches. A molybdenite zone with dimensions about 1900 feet by 500 feet and 500 feet depth was indicated and several skarn zones, including "A", "B", "C", Cobra, Dako, Chopper Pad and Snow zones were explored by various means. [Note that not all of the known skarn zones are included in Velocity's Mt. Haskin property as it is presently configured.]
The Mt. Haskin skarn zones are located at the contact of limestone and argillite adjacent to granite porphyry. The "A" zone has been stripped to reveal massive pyrrhotite with streaks of sphalerite and galena and small amounts of silver; the "Fort Reliance" or "Snow" zone, located near the top of Mt. Haskin has many trenches and short adits in similar massive sulphide mineralization and is known to occur over at least 300 feet vertical distance. The "B" zone is located on crown granted claims immediately south of Mt. Haskin and is not part of the property that is the subject of this report.
The Cassiar district of northwestern British Columbia experiences warm, wet summers and cold, dry winter conditions. Highest summer temperatures are close to 25° C and winter temperatures may exceptionally reach -50° C. Precipitation, equally in the form of rain in summer and snow in winter, averages 750 mm. annually (Environment Canada website). Cloud cover prevails in summer and low hanging fog frequently obscures the mountains.
Mineral exploration activities can be completed during the summer months, from late May through to October. Drilling operations can be conducted on a year-round basis subject only to adequate provision for snow removal from access roads and work sites.
The Cassiar mining district lies in the Stikine Ranges of the Cassiar Mountains physiographic subdivision of the northern Cordillera (Bostock, 1948). More specifically, the Cassiar Mountains, the northwesterly continuation of the Omineca Mountains, have a batholithic core central to Paleozoic age sedimentary formations. The Tournigain and Dease River systems that flow northeasterly through the Cassiars are tributary to the Liard and thence the Mackenzie Rivers that lead to the Arctic Ocean.
Geological Setting
Mt. Haskin lies within the Cassiar terrain of uplifted early to mid-Paleozoic sedimentary formations with Upper Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous age granitic intrusions (Figure 7). Trends are dominantly northwesterly, consistent with Cordilleran structures and the Cassiar Mountains merge southeasterly with the Omineca Mountains.
Geology of the Mt. Haskin Area
The Mt. Haskin area is dominated by a nearly circular granitic intrusive "stock" of Eocene age with diameter approximately 1200 metres (4000 feet) that is intrusive into members of the Atan Group of clastic sediments of Lower Cambrian age (Figure 7). Structurally, the area exhibits northwesterly trending folding and northeasterly trending faulting: the resulting pattern of folded and offset sedimentary beds produces a complex pattern of relatively small but elongated segments of various rock types. Figure 7 is a simplified version of a geologic map prepared in 1969 by F. T. Graybeal, a geologist employed by Della Mines Ltd.
The Atan Group comprises a lowermost greywacke-shale-quartzite member 300 to 700 metres thick that, near the granitic intrusion, is altered to hornfels. This is overlain by a thin (50 metres) shale and a 500 metre thick massive, relatively pure limestone member that is commonly strongly folded and may be recrystallized or altered to skarn. The uppermost component member is chert and interbedded limestone: the chert is presumably primary but may represent in part limestone that has been completely silicified due to the influence of the Mt. Haskin intrusion. Sandpile group rocks are present southwest of the area under consideration: of Ordovician to Middle Devonian age, they are primarily dolomitic carbonate rocks.
The Mt. Haskin intrusion is reported to have a "...coarse-grained porphyritic granitic core which grades to fine textured locally silicified granitic marginal phases" (this description is attributed to George L. Lamont, geologist, who in March 1970 prepared a technical report for Della Mines Ltd.). The author of this report in August, 2007 visited the area but did not verify the description: where viewed in the vicinity of the molybdenite occurrences, the granitic rock is medium-grained with weakly developed porphyritic textures. Dykes with composition compatible with having originated with the principal intrusion are present close to the "Fort Reliance" mineral zone and perhaps elsewhere in proximity to skarn-type metallic mineralization.
Interpretations and Conclusions
Both the Mt. Haskin and Cassiar Moly properties .... have good exploration potential for development of viable porphyry-style intrusion-related molybdenum deposits. Each property is centered on a monzonitic intrusion with quartz stockwork and disseminated molybdenite mineralization that was investigated many years ago by programs of technical surveys and diamond drilling. Little attention was directed to these and nearby molybdenite properties during recent decades when metal prices were very low. Most metal prices, particularly those of molybdenum, are now strong, in some cases reaching historic highs, even when currency inflation is considered.
The Mt. Haskin property is also host to several hornfels-related massive sulphide deposits with significant zinc, copper, lead, silver, tin and bismuth values in association with magnetite and/or pyrrhotite. These deposits will benefit and perhaps be viable if a molybdenum mine is established in the vicinity. Exploration is recommended.
Recommendations
Along with the rehabilitation of the adit the Cassiar Moly property will look to relocate the high grade showings and trenching and drilling these as soon as possible. In particular the historically reported high grade showings on both the surface outcrop and the adit zones.
Following the phase 1 drill program in the summer and fall of 2008, the Company engaged David S. Boyer, MSc., R.G., an independent professional geologist and a qualified person (as defined in NI 43-101), who prepared a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate report dated May. 28,2009.
The estimate is based on limited information and sampling gathered through appropriate techniques from outcrops and drill holes, which included the 13 holes drill program and historical drill log and analytical information for 24 holes drilled by Della Mines Ltd.. A polygonal three dimensional solid model prepared by Mr. Boyer has been defined by him as an Inferred Mineral Resource in accordance with CIM definition standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves adopted by CIM Council on December 11, 2005.
The work completed by Mr. Boyer included:
- Collection of all available drilling and topographic information;
- Development of a 3-D solid of mineralized domain;
- Geo-statistical analysis of the data;
- Development of a 3-dimensional exploration block model; and
- Resource estimation and classification.
The phase 1 work program also began the process of rehabilitating the adit portal in anticipation of a complete re-entry in the summer of 2009 to be followed by the relocation and drilling of the historic high grade occurrences. There was also limited sampling carried out on surface and from the dump of material created when the adit was originally excavated.
The above mentioned 43-101 report prepared on the properties strongly recommended a two-phased program of geochemical and geophysical surveys and diamond drilling for the Mt Haskins property to confirm the historical data and expand the deposit, part of which was carried out with the 13 holes drill program of 2008. Following the analysis of the recent data further drilling is still recommended by the author of that report.
The report also recommends relocating the high grade showings on the nearby Cassiar Moly property and trenching and drilling these as soon as possible.
Management is particularly interested in duplicating and expanding the historically reported high grade showings of MoS2 on both the surface outcrop and the adit zones.
An initial budget of approximately $2,000,000 was set to fund the recommended work of which approximately $1,460,000 has been expended to date.