Mineral Exploration

Photograph : S eabridge Gold Inc . W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 11 B y now, most people who live in British Columbia realize that the mineral exploration industry in this province is not enjoying its best days. But in case any- one thinks otherwise, the Ministry of Energy and Mines has released data that shows that the difficulties the indus- try has been experiencing lately are very real. Mineral exploration expenditures rose from $463 million in 2011 to $680 mil- lion in 2012, and then fell to $476 million in 2013 and even lower to $338 million in 2014. Exploration metres drilled told a similar story, rising from 1,040,000 metres in 2011 to 1,090,000 metres in 2012 before dropping to 650,000 metres in 2013 and then to 500,000 metres in 2014. These less-than-stellar results not- withstanding, mineral explorers remain optimistic that they will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel. British Columbia is still the land of opportunity, especially mineral exploration opportu- nity. Many of those opportunities are in northwestern B.C. In 2013, geologists Jeff Kyba and Joanne Nelson reported that most of the major porphyry- and intrusion-related gold-copper deposits there occur within two kilometres of a regional stratigraphic contact. According to Kyba and Nelson, sub- duction and volcanism took place 175 million to 220 million years ago along a 200-kilometre, horseshoe-shaped arc. Close to that arc, which they call "the red line," are such well-known deposits as Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell ( KSM), Brucejack, Eskay Creek, Schaft Creek and Red Chris. "The red line represents the contact between two areas of volca- nic activity, one older and [one] younger," says Kyba. The evidence strongly supports the significance of the red line. "Within two kilometres of the line, there are 398 known mineral occurrences, and within five kilometres there are 657," says Kyba. Kyba, northwest regional geologist with the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines in Smithers, did fieldwork in 2013 and 2014 in the region, and discovered a sig- nificant connection between the red line and known deposits in the area. Since Kyba and Nelson, who is a senior mapping geologist at the BC Geological Survey, reported their findings, pros- pectors have jumped on the data. "Over $220,000 has been spent in staking fees on mineral claims in an area covering almost 126,000 hectares around the red line," Kyba says. The red line shows that explorers in B.C. can take advantage of a large supply of public information that is available at low or no cost. Near Kyba and Nelson's red line lies Seabridge Gold Inc.'s KSM project. According to Seabridge, KSM is one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Bringing investment dollars home to B.C. BC GEOLOGICAL SURVEY'S "RED LINE" A POSITIVE MARKER FOR EXPLORERS By Peter Caulfield Seabridge Gold Inc.'s KSM project.

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