Sojourn takes a first look at BC portfolio

Sojourn Exploration Inc. Nov. 2 provided preliminary results of reconnaissance mapping, sampling and geophysical surveys on four of its porphyry copper-gold projects in British Columbia, including the Todd Creek and Oweegee Dome projects in the province's prolific Golden Triangle.

Sojourn acquired Todd Creek, Oweegee Dome and Willoughby, a third Golden Triangle exploration property, from Millrock Resources Inc.

"Sojourn's Todd Creek and Oweegee Dome projects are within striking distance of some of largest porphyry copper-gold deposits in North America," said Sojourn Exploration President Tyler Ruks. "Furthermore, our Willoughby project, host to numerous significant historical gold-silver surface and underground drill intercepts, is located just seven kilometers (4.3 miles) east of IDM's Red Mountain project, which recently received its environmental assessment certificate from the provincial government."

This deal also involved Seven Devils Exploration Ltd., a privately held exploration company that contributed four additional B.C. properties – Oxide Peak, Rip, Eagle and Teeta Creek – and its team of successful exploration geologists.

In addition to Ruks, the Seven Devil's team that has moved into Sojourn Exploration management positions include Nigel Luckman, serving as COO, former B.C. Geological Survey District Geologist Jeff Kyba as vice president of exploration and John Bradford as chief geologist.

This exploration team has a track record of discovery and a successful history as project generators, having recently explored with Freeport McMoRan, Robert Friedland, ITOCHU and Antofagasta.

With the deal closing in September, which included an associated C$2.8-million financing, the new Sojourn has been busy investigating its newly assembled portfolio.

Todd Creek

One of Sojourn's primary exploration targets this year was Todd Creek, a porphyry copper-gold property about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Seabridge Gold Inc.'s enormous KSM porphyry gold-copper project.

An initial time domain induced polarization survey carried out this year at Todd Creek indicates a significant chargeability anomaly underlies the Yellow Bowl zone, a roughly 3,000-meter-long corridor of strongly altered and variably copper-gold mineralized intermediate volcanic rocks, porphyritic intrusions and associated breccias.

Historical rock chip sampling of the Yellow Bowl zone returned assays with as much as 6.7 percent copper and 1.7 grams per metric ton gold. To confirm and expand upon this previous sampling, Sojourn collected 52 rock samples across the Yellow Bowl target area during a reconnaissance program focused on recently deglaciated exposures of chalcopyrite- (a copper mineral) bearing hydrothermal breccias, which are formed when hydrothermal fluid fractures a rock mass.

Local molybdenite veining has been observed in porphyritic intrusions, marking the first time that porphyry-style mineralization has been documented at Yellow Bowl.

"The results of our 2018 program indicate that interpreted Early Jurassic volcanic and porphyritic intrusive host rocks to Todd Creek's Yellow Bowl zone contain one of the largest untested copper-gold systems in the Golden Triangle," said Ruks.

Discovered in 2008, and despite its size and the presence of widespread copper-gold occurrences, the Yellow Bowl zone has yet to be drilled.

Rock sampling and reconnaissance geological mapping carried out roughly 5,000 meters southeast of Yellow Bowl has confirmed the presence of outcropping volcanogenic massive sulfide style mineralization. Previous sampling of this VMS zone returned grades as high as 0.62 g/t gold, 3.73 percent copper and 9.77 percent zinc. Assays for rock samples collected by Sojourn this year are pending.

Sojourn said the occurrence of widespread tuff breccias – a volcanogenic sedimentary rock consisting of angular rocks cemented together by fine volcanic ash – containing massive sulfide clasts suggests the footprint of VMS style mineralization in the zone is larger than previously thought.

In addition to revisiting previously identified targets, Sojourn said its 2018 work at Todd Creek has identified a new zone of rhyolite breccia in a recently exposed area dubbed the Smokin' zone on the eastern side of the Todd Creek valley. Assays are pending from 19 samples collected from this prospect.

Sojourn believes it will have a partner to fund drilling at Todd Creek and potentially other projects in 2019.

"The Yellow Bowl and VMS targets at Todd Creek have attracted considerable attention from several notable mining companies," said Ruks. "As such, we are confident that we will be successful in securing partners for drill testing one or a number of our BC projects in 2019."

In total, Sojourn collected 93 rock samples from Todd Creek this year.

Oweegee Dome

Sojourn also had a time domain IP survey carried out at Oweegee Dome, a copper-gold project bisected by Highway 37 and the Northwest Transmission Line about 45 kilometers (28 miles) east of KSM.

The primary porphyry copper-gold target at Oweegee Dome is Delta, a region with a large historical database from sampling and geophysics but has only seen limited drilling.

One hole drilled there in 2007 cut 138.7 meters averaging 0.189 g/t gold and 0.074 percent copper, including a 17.1-meter section that averaged 0.468 g/t gold and 0.11 percent copper.

A hole drilled at Delta in 1996 cut 70.4 meters of 0.263 g/t gold and 0.12 percent copper from 3.05 meters; and 22.8 meters of 0.276 g/t gold and 0.17 percent copper from 174.3 meters.

Reconnaissance prospecting, mapping and sampling during 2018 yielded the discovery of multiple new outcropping zones of porphyry copper-gold mineralization up to 1,700 meters from the known Delta porphyry copper-gold target, which indicates the footprint of porphyry copper-gold mineralization on the property is larger than previously recognized.

Future work on the project will include further geological mapping, geochemical sampling, and geophysical surveys with the aim of outlining the extent and prospectivity of these newly discovered zones.

Results for the IP survey and 75 rock samples from Oweegee Dome this year are pending.

Other BC exploration

Sojourn geologists carried out reconnaissance geological mapping and sampling at Willoughby, an intrusion related gold-silver project about seven kilometers east of IDM Mining's Red Mountain underground gold-silver mine project.

Historical drilling on the Willoughby project has cut up to 20.5 meters of 24.98 g/t gold and 184.21 g/t silver.

The last drill program at Willoughby, however, was in 1996. Since that time, there has only been limited geophysics and prospecting carried out at this gold-silver property near Stewart, B.C.

Assays for rock samples collected by Sojourn this year are pending.

Reconnaissance geological mapping and sampling was also carried out this year at Oxide Peak, an undrilled porphyry copper-gold project in north-central B.C.

Outcropping porphyry copper mineralization was recognized on the property at low elevations within Oxide Creek.

Exploration plans for Oxide Peak in 2019 include additional mapping; sampling; airborne magnetic and time domain IP geophysical surveys; and an initial phase of drilling.

Reconnaissance mapping and sampling was also conducted at Rip, a porphyry copper-gold project roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) northeast of Imperial Metals' past producing Huckleberry mine.

Sojourn said mapping at Rip has confirmed the presence of well-developed porphyry-style copper mineralization.

Exploration plans for Rip in 2019 include an airborne magnetic survey and time domain IP surveys, as well as an initial round of drilling.

Sojourn Exploration said discussions with potential funding partners with a view to drill multiple projects in 2019 are ongoing.

–SHANE LASLEY