KING SOLOMON PROJECT
The King Solomon Dome is a topographical high point (1230m) in the Dawson Mining District in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It is a prominent feature on ridges long rumored to be the source of the gold that sparked the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890’s. Early maps of the Klondike Gold Fields, such as the one shown below depict the major gold discoveries (shown in pink) in creeks draining directly off the ‘Dome’.
LOCATION OF PROPERTIES WITHIN KLONDIKE PLACER GOLD FIELDS
Kestrel’s claim holdings are situated in key locations in relation to the original discoveries, notably those by George Carmack and Robert Henderson, considered the co-discoverers of what turned out to be one of the most significant gold rushes in history.
The map below (using NASA satellite imagery) showing Kestrel’s properties illustrates the placer mining still that is taking place in the region (the white areas), the drainage directions of the gold rich creeks (the yellow arrows) and the large geophysical IP chargeability anomaly present under the Dome outlined by Kestrel in June of 2012. All properties are road accessible.
KEY FEATURES OF SIGNIFICANCE
Kestrel’s properties feature en echelon NNW trending structures with associated high grade gold and silver (with gold values up to 51 g/t). Bulk samples taken in Klondike Schist at the King Solomon Dome property obtained by previous operators have returned up to 4 g/t Au near surface in areas surrounding the Dome.
The properties all exhibit strong soil anomalies in gold and associated path finder elements. The gold soil anomaly at the King Solomon Dome (KSD) property is particularly large with the main anomaly being 1.6km x 1km (using a threshold level of 30 ppb Au). A corresponding zonation of silver, arsenic, lead copper and zinc anomalies occur within and around the main gold bearing zone.
Three main vein systems have been recognized on the KSD property; Sheba, Mitchell and Orekon. These gold vein systems can be traced for several hundred metres and cut through the relatively flat lying and also folded Klondike Schists along moderately to steeply dipping (D4) fractures.
Kestrels trenching program at KSD within Klondike Schist host rocks, defined a strike length of the gold bearing quartz vein system which is over 1.7 km long and at least 0.4 km wide containing values up to 17 g/t Au and several values of silver greater than 50 g/t. Altered pyritic-sericitic wall rocks of Klondike Schist also contain good gold values up to several metres from the main veins.
Kestrels 2011 geophysical survey identified a large IP chargeability anomaly over a distance of 1.2 km parallel to the main Sheba and Mitchell gold bearing vein systems. The anomaly defined by this survey is open along strike and deepens at depth to the east.
Kestrels follow-up 2012 geophysical survey identified a large IP chargeability anomaly at depths to around 350 metres below the topography extending over a width of over 1 km to beyond the Orekon vein system to the east of the Dome. The anomaly is relatively shallow dipping and may represent the potential source of the metals that were ultimately emplaced in the NNW trending (D4) vein systems at higher structural levels at and around King Solomon Dome.
The geophysical and geochemical anomalies at KSD are open to depth and along strike.
The KSD property has had sporadic exploration work over the years but has never been diamond drilled. Several drill targets have been identified at KSD and a drill target has also been identified on the Gold Run Property some 20 km along strike from KSD. Rock sampled in trenches at Gold Run, have returned values of 2.24 g/t Au across 18 m in the vicinity of strong gold soil geochemical anomalies.
In addition to new gold soil anomalies found at KSD, soil anomalies on all properties require follow up work particularly the new ones Kestrel has discovered on the Gold Run and Dominion properties.
GEOLOGICAL MODEL
An orogenic gold geological model is proposed for the genesis of mineralization on the properties. Orogenic deposits are typically formed in fault and shear systems and may have a vertical extents of up to 2 km. Orogenic gold systems generally occur where regional hydrothermal fluids exploit crustal weaknesses in metamorphic rocks spatially associated with large-scale tectonic structures and syntectonic plutonism.
Exploration for the placer gold source is focusing on understanding the litho-tectonic setting of this source. Most large placer gold deposits in the North American Cordillera show a close spatial relationship to ophiolitic crustal rocks near terrane-collisional boundaries.
A favorable host lithology below a flat lying collisional suture zone is considered an important exploration target for the source of the coarse placer gold. The large relatively flat lying chargeability anomaly is thus particularly encouraging given the structural and mineralogical setting at KSD. The prime exploration target interpreted to give the chargeability anomaly detected in the surveys, is a relatively mafic (and thus more reactive to gold precipitation) litho-tectonic host with associated pyrite that has hydrothermally replaced magnetite.
AMOUNT OF GOLD IN CREEKS
No one truly knows the amount of gold that has been extracted out of the placer creeks in the last 116 years. Small to large placer operations continue today on creeks surrounding (and within) Kestrels properties. The Yukon government estimates that about 20 million ounces has been removed. The map below gives some estimates of the gold amounts coming out of the creeks immediately surrounding Kestrel’s properties mainly in the years up to the middle of the last century.
This large placer production was derived from a relatively small area (<1500 sq km), implying there has been an extremely efficient accumulation of placer gold with a spectacular inferred high concentration of orogenic gold existing somewhere in the Klondike area (likely present as well as past).
Unlike most large gold placer areas around the world, the ‘mother-lode’ source has never been found and only around 14,000 oz of gold has ever been hard-rock mined in the area.
Academic studies have shown that the coarse gold obtained from two of the major gold producing (Sulphur and Dominion) creeks draining out on either side of the King Solomon Dome is very similar in its chemistry (which is not the case throughout the Klondike Gold Fields). Significantly, this points to a locally derived common source of bedrock gold enrichment.
Also the elevation at which Kestrels recent geophysical survey under the Dome has given the largest IP chargeability response, is approximately the elevation of the upper placer mining limits on most of the surrounding creeks.
OWNERSHIP STATUS
Kestrel owns options to acquire 100% interest in the four properties.
For more details on the option arrangement, please refer to the news release dated December 2, 2010.
