Overview
The Zeballos Gold Property covers 2,514 contiguous acres (1,017 hectares) approximately three kilometers north of the village
of Zeballos on
the west coast of
Vancouver Island in southwestern British Columbia. The property encompasses five past-producing gold mines with high-grade
assays of gold mineralization. Three of these, the Golden Gate, Tagore, and Beano mines, are on open ground unencumbered by
crown grants, and one, Gold Field (a/k/a Spud Valley) is on reverted crown grants. These resources will be the primary focus
initially.
The Golden Gate mine () features a sulphide-rich vein system
that is known to be over
168 metres in length.
A 0.9 metre channel sample returned 25.4 grams (0.81 ounces) per tonne, and diamond drilling has encountered a 9.8 metre
intercept of 9.6 grams per tonne gold, including a 1.5 metre section assaying 135.7 grams (4.36 ounces) per tonne gold and
44.2 grams per tonne silver.
The Tagore mine () is situated approximately 1 kilometer
due west of the Golden Gate.
Limited mining in the
past is documented to have averaged 2.86 ounces per tonne gold and 4.64 ounces per tonne silver.
The Beano mine ()
is situated 1.5 kilometers southeast
of
the Golden Gate mine. Samples
of massive pyrrhotite
in the area have assayed up to 321.7 grams (10.34 ounces) per tonne gold and 6.8 grams per tonne silver over narrow widths.
The Gold Field Mine () is situated 2.5 kilometers due east of the Golden Gate mine. Production from the Gold Field's Spur vein totalling
24,130 tonnes averaging 9.6 grams per tonne gold. The Goldfield vein produced 63,500 tonnes grading 11.7 grams per tonne gold. Recent work
on the AT, Linton and Linton North veins returned values up to 109.3 grams per tonne gold over 0.24 metres (Sample G20), 24.8
grams per tonne gold over 0.31 metres (Sample G12) and 223.5 grams per tonne gold over 0.64 metres (Sample G18), respectively.
Drifting on the Linton North vein followed it for 61 metres. The average gold content over 59.0 metres was 12.07 grams per
tonne over an average width of 1.2 metres.
Historical reserves (non-43-101 compliant) in 4 veins (combined with the Roper deposit,
092L 013) are 220,429 tonnes grading 10.7 grams per tonne gold. In view of an unsuccessful 1989 mill test, the reserve figure
of 49,890 tonnes in old workings grading 4.6 grams per tonne gold reported in 1942 near the end of the mine life, may be more
credible.
A 2003 report by the British Columbia Ministry of Mining (MEMPR) entitled states that
“9.15 million grams Au were produced from 18 underground Au-quartz deposits in the Zeballos District on northwest
Vancouver
Island. Three deposits host resources totaling 395,000 tonnes @ 12.83 g/t Au containing 5 million grams Au. The district has
potential for very high grade (150 g/t ) Au-skarn deposits evidenced by production grades from Beano (092E002) & Tagore
(092L006).” As has been noted above, North Bay now holds a 100% ownership position in both the Beano and Tagore
deposits.
In 2004, a report published by the British Columbia Geological Survey states in its introduction that despite its
history as an
important gold producer in the 1930’s and 1940’s, the Zeballos mining camp remains “in all likelihood significantly
underexplored” (Source: ; Marshall, D., Close, S., Podstawskyj,
N. and Aichmeier, A.;
Gold Mineralization and Geology in the Zeballos Area, Nootka Sound, Southwestern British Columbia).
From 1998 to 2007, most of the Zeballos property was owned and explored by Newmex Minerals Inc., with the primary focus on the
areas surrounding the crown-granted Privateer mine. Despite the results of a that
recommended continued
work on the property, Newmex decided to shift its focus from precious metals to oil and gas production (Source: ). Newmex subsequently changed its name to BlackPearl Resources Inc. in 2006, and
in
2007 elected to let the Zeballos property lapse. It has since changed hands between several vendors, and a recent forfeiture
allowed North Bay to claim the majority of it.
