Introduction
The 1,894 ha, 100%-owned, Connector Gold property straddles Highway 97C and is located 40 km west of Kelowna and 55 km southeast of Merritt in south-central BC. The property is contiguous with Glencore Corp’s Brenda property which hosts the past-producing Cu-Mo (copper-molybdenum) porphyry Brenda Mine. The mine is located just 500 meters to the south of Trailbreaker’s claims.
The Connector Gold property was aggressively explored for Cu-Mo deposits in the early 1960s through to the 1990s when the Brenda deposit was discovered and developed into a mine. Many Cu-Mo soil anomalies were discovered, and several drill holes intersected significant Cu-Mo porphyry mineralization on the property. Exploration for precious metals, however, was largely ignored until 2008 when precious metal prices began to climb.
In 2009, Bitterroot Resources discovered a high-grade gold-bearing vein system during a trenching program targeting gold-in-soil anomalies located only 300 meters from the highway. Numerous narrow gold-bearing shear zones and quartz veins were intersected over a 900-meter area with bedrock grab samples assaying up 187.5 g/t Au and 71.8 g/t Ag. Several significant channel sample intercepts were encountered, including 39 g/t Au and 6.3 g/t Ag over 0.25 meters. In 2018, an inaugural 6-hole drill campaign tested a portion of the gold-bearing quartz vein system exposed by trenching. While no significant high-grade gold mineralization was encountered, anomalous gold was detected in all holes. No exploration has been conducted on the property since with other gold-in-soil anomalies remaining to be drill tested.
The geological setting and style of gold mineralization are very similar to the 1-million-ounce, currently producing Elk gold mine located 15 km to the southwest. Like the Connector Gold property, high-grade gold and silver within the Elk deposit is hosted in narrow quartz veins cutting Jurassic age intrusive rocks adjacent to Triassic age Nicola volcanic rocks. Trailbreaker’s team believes this modern, high-grade gold discovery at the Connector Gold property has been overlooked and has strong potential to host bulk tonnage, high-grade gold mineralization like the nearby Elk gold deposit. The Elk Gold mine continues to grow their resource with a 32% increase in total resource reported in late 2021.
Location & Access
The Connector Gold property is cut by the Okanagan Connector (97C) highway located 40 km west of Kelowna and 500 m north of the past-producing Brenda Cu-Mo mine. The property covers 18 square kilometers and can be easily accessed via numerous well maintained forest service roads that branch off the highway.
History
Mid 1950s – 1990
A significant amount of Cu-Mo exploration occurred on the property during the period that the Brenda deposit was explored, developed, and mined. The deposit was first discovered in 1956 and mining commenced in 1970 with over 2 decades of production, closing in 1990. The Brenda Mine processed 177 million tonnes grading 0.169% Cu and 0.043% Mo.
2006 – 2021
Bitterroot Resources held the Connector Gold property for over a decade completing soil geochemical surveys, geophysical surveys, mechanical trenching, and diamond drilling. Bitterroot’s initial exploration focus was Cu-Mo porphyry mineralization around the past-producing Brenda mine; however, property-wide soil sampling and prospecting lead to the discovery of high-grade precious metal veining, shifting their exploration efforts to precious metals. The property was worked intermittently by Bitterroot for over the 16 years until the claims expired in 2022.
2022
Trailbreaker staked the Connector Gold property covering the historical high-grade gold bearing quartz veins and associated gold-in-soil anomalies.
Geology and Mineralization
The Connector Gold property is situated in the south-central portion of the Quesnel terrane that hosts numerous copper and gold past-producing and currently producing deposits. The eastern portion of the property is underlain by the early Jurassic age Pennask Batholith. The Pennask Batholith is comprised mainly of granodiorite and has locally metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rock of the Triassic age Nicola group, which underlie the western portion of the property. The gold-in-soil anomalies outlined on the property are closely associated with narrow high-grade gold and silver veins hosted in faulted granodiorite. Gold mineralization is associated with quartz veining, clay fault gouge, and 1 – 5 % disseminated pyrite.
Maps
Presentation
Address
Trailbreaker Resources Ltd.
650 W Georgia St # 2110
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada, V6B 4N9
