Delta-1 Gold Project
The Delta-1 Gold Property, Ontario, Canada
| LOCATION | Located in the Shebandowan Greenstone Belt, covering over 17 kilometres of the Shebandowan Structural Zone. |
| OWNERSHIP | Delta owns a 100% interest in 299 contiguous unpatented claims (421 cells) and the exclusive right to own a 100% interest in an additional 97 unpatented claims (97 cells) and five (5) patents (surface and mining rights). The property covers 107 square kilometers. |
| HISTORY | Historically only 42 drill holes have tested this property aimed at copper- nickel targets. Dormant since 2003. |
| COMMODITIES | Gold |
| STATUS | Delta's drilling has defined a gold -mineralized zone 1.8 kilometres long and up to 250 metres vertical depth. The gold zone is still considered open in all directions. |
| MINERALIZATION | Drill intercepts of 5.92 g/t gold over 31.0 m, including 14.8 g/t Au over 11.9 m; 6.49 g/t gold over 10.0 m, 130.0 g/t over 1.0 m, and broad drill intercepts starting at surface exceeding 100 m and grading 0.40 g/t gold. |
Watch this latest video on the Thunder Bay, Delta-1 property where we intersected visible Gold
The Delta-1 Property is located 50 km west of the City of Thunder Bay, in the Thunder Bay Mining Division. The property is easily accessible as it straddles the Trans-Canada highway for 16 kilometres. The property can be further accessed by a series of forestry roads and haulage trails that cover much of the area.
The property covers 107 square kilometers comprising 299 contiguous unpatented claims, an additional 97 unpatented claims under option and five (5) patents held 100% by Delta.
Latest Update on Delta-1 Project
DELTA EXPLORATION HISTORY:
Since optioning the Delta-1 Property in 2019, Delta has carried out several limited exploration programs in the area adjacent to the Gravel Ridge property. A summary of the exploration work by Delta Resources is provided below:
Since optioning the Delta-1 Property in 2019, Delta has carried out several limited exploration programs in the area adjacent to the Gravel Ridge property. A summary of the exploration work by Delta Resources is provided below:
2019: A six-hole, 1009 m diamond drilling program which showed a very wide zone of low-grade gold mineralization intersected over a 200 meters strike length and extending vertically from the surface to a depth of up to 110 meters.
2020: A 134 sample glacial sediments sampling program which indicated a major in till gold anomaly at the Eureka zone, a second anomaly three kilometers SE of the Eureka gold Prospect, and a Cu-Ni-Co geochemical anomaly west of the Kasper Gold Occurrence.
2020: A geological mapping, prospecting & sampling program which defined the mineralized zone at Eureka as consisting of a broad envelope of low-grade gold, ranging from 0.2 g/t Au to 0.4 g/t Au. This gold halo was defined over a strike length of 1.2 km and a minimum width of 300 m, therefore significantly expanding the lithogeochemical gold halo that was previously defined during the 2019 drilling program.
2021: An eight-hole, 1370 m diamond drilling program which expanded the mineralized zone from the surface to a vertical depth of 150 meters.
2022: An eleven-hole, 3693 m diamond drilling program that has produced the best drill-hole interval so far at the Delta-1 project with hole D1-22-18 returning values of 5.92 g/t gold over 31.0 metres (Including 14.80 g/t Au over 11.9 meters and Including 72.95 g/t Au over 2.2 meters), hole D1-22-24 returning 6.49 g/t Au over 10.0 metres and hole D1-22-25 returning 130.0 g/t Au over 1.0 metre, 1.20 g/t Au over 20.0m and 1.66 g/t Au over 18.1 metres.
DELTA 2023 EXPLORATION:
In 2023, Delta completed sixty (60) drill holes (D1-23-26 to D1-23-86) for a total of 19,620 metres. To date, in 2023, Delta outlined a gold mineralized zone with a strike length exceeding 1.8 kilometres, extending from surface to over 250 metres vertical depth and with a true width of 10 to nearly 100 metres.
See the map showing the location of drill holes and a 3D model of the gold mineralized zone.
A table of all drill results is shown in the section: “Complete Drill Hole Data”.
Map of the Delta-1 Gold Zone, showing the location of all Delta drill holes so far. The map also shows the alteration corridor that is hosting the gold mineralization and the East Extension of the mineralized zone. This alteration corridor is defined over approximately five kilometres of strike length at Delta-1
Gold mineralization occurs within a broad corridor of highly altered (ankerite-calcite-sericite-silicification and albitization) rocks exhibiting highly anomalous gold values of up to 0.2 g/t gold. Higher-grade mineralization within this corridor is associated with a stockwork of quartz-ankerite-pyrite-gold veinlets, with increased density of these veinlets generally proportional to increased gold grade. The gold mineralized zones have so far been intersected for a strike of approximately 2.3 kilometres, with a higher-grade segment extending for nearly 950 metres. So far, the mineralization extends from surface to a vertical depth of approximately 250 metres. Mineralization strikes approximately 100 to 120 degrees azimuth, with a dip of 75-80 degrees north (shallower dips of 50N are observed in the western portion of the zone). Higher-grade, wide ore shoots are observed and appear to be plunging approximately 40 degrees towards the west, within this structural corridor. Similar ore shoots are often observed in structurally controlled gold deposits and often occur with a certain periodicity. The currently defined ore shoots are open at depth.
Regional and Property Geology
The Archean supracrustal rocks of the Shebandowan greenstone belt belong to one of two contrasting packages of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks: 1) an early suite of mafic to felsic metavolcanic rocks of the Burchell and Greenwater assemblages; and 2) a later suit defined as the Shebandowan assemblage, consisting of sedimentary and volcanic rocks that unconformably overlie, and locally straddle, the previous two assemblages (Williams et al., 1991).
The older Greenwater assemblage (ca. 2720 Ma) referred to as Keewatin-type, is dominated by mafic to felsic metavolcanic rock cycles consisting of tholeiitic to calc-alkalic andesite, dacite and rhyolite, along with some komatiitic rocks (Rogers and Mercier 1995). It comprises three generally south-younging, bimodal volcanic cycles (Williams et al. 1991).
The younger Shebandowan assemblage (∼2690 Ma) unconformably overlies the Greenwater assemblage and is dominated by clastic metasedimentary rocks, with subordinate calc-alkalic to alkalic intermediate metavolcanic rocks and intrusions (Williams et al. 1991). The clastic sedimentary rocks of the Shebandowan assemblage are often referred to as “Timiskaming-type” because of their similarity to the Timiskaming group rocks of the Abitibi greenstone belt (Cooke and Moorhouse 1969). The Sedimentary rocks of the Shebandowan assemblage are thought to have deposited in fault-bounded basins related to the Shebandowan Structural Zone during regional transpressive deformation at circa 2690 Ma.
In the Shebandowan Belt, the unconformity between the Greenwater and Shebandowan assemblages has a close spatial association with numerous gold occurrences (Stott and Schnieders 1983). The same spatial association is common throughout the Shebandowan, Wawa and Abitibi belts.
Structural Features:
The Shebandowan Structural Zone (ca 2700 Ma) is a deep-seeded structure that marks the boundary between the Quetico and Shebandowan greenstone belt. At least three deformation phases are thought to have taken place (Williams et al. 1991). The Shebandowan region is affected by major northeast and northwest-striking faults.
The Saganaga Structural Zone (ca 2690 Ma) is documented as a sinistral, continental-scale shear zone striking over 200 kilometers from Minnesota northeastward. Timiskaming-like pull apart basins also mark the length of this structural zone with early alkaline volcanics and related intrusions dominating northeast basins.
The Shebandowan region is also affected by late major northeast and northwest-striking faults. The Crayfish Creek and Postans faults are late-stage dextral sense structural zones that may have reactivated the Shebandowan Shear Zone. Later-stage vertical movement is recorded by near-vertical lineations on the fault system at the Wawa-Quetico subprovince boundary.
Regional Mineralization Models include Orogenic Gold Mineralization (Moss Lake, Pistol Lake and Bandore), VMS Mineralization (Coldstream) and Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE Mineralization (Shebandowan “Inco” Mine).
Property Geology
Near the property, the Greenwater assemblage rocks generally occur south of Highway 11. The rocks are generally mafic to intermediate metavolcanics (including massive and pillowed flows) with local ultramafic flows (locally with spinifex textures). These metavolcanic flows are intercalated with thin horizons of graphitic mudstone, sulphide-bearing chert, jasper-magnetite and chert-magnetite iron formation all of which translate into highly conductive zones. Numerous gabbro sills and dikes intrude the Greenwater assemblage supracrustal rocks throughout this area (Figure 4).
Shebandowan assemblage rocks are found in the area along and immediately to the north of Highway11. This assemblage is dominated by clastic metasedimentary rocks, including conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. The rocks are interlayered with distinctive trachyte and trachyandesite flows that commonly display a patchy red and green appearance and tend to be amphibole-phyric. They are intruded by feldspar-phyric felsic to intermediate dikes, gabbroic intrusions and lamprophyre dikes.
Foliation is moderately well developed and generally strikes east-southeast with near-vertical dip. The rocks have been deformed into tight isoclinal folds with east-southeast striking axial planes. Shear zones that parallel the regional foliation occur throughout the area and is especially well developed along trends that coincide with gold-mineralized zones.
Gold mineralization at Delta-1 occurs as two distinct types:
The Kasper, South, Creek and Mattawin gold occurrences are hosted by thin horizons of sulphidic and graphitic chert and chert breccia (perhaps sulphidic iron formations). At the Kasper gold occurrence, a banded iron formation is also observed. The rocks are ankeritized and silicified and characterized by an abundance of sulphide (dominantly pyrite with lesser arsenopyrite).
Kasper Gold occurrence. To the left, a sulphidic chert looking west (grab sample 8.72 g/t Au). To the right, the spatially associated banded iron formation at Kasper looking north (grab sample 0.08 g/t Au).
At the Eureka and Wedge Gold occurrences gold is associated with an organized stockwork of quartz-ankerite-pyrite veinlets ranging from 1mm to 10cm in width. Multiple generations of mineralized veinlets are observed. Occasionally, fine grained disseminated visible gold is observed within the veinlets. Although visible gold is dominantly associated with the pyrite at the walls of the veinlets specks of visible gold also occur in the central portions of the quartz veinlets.
In drill core, gold grade is directly proportional to the density of veinlets present. The presence of a single 1cm veinlet in the core can result in gold grades exceeding 1.0 g/t Au over a one metre interval.
Gold mineralization is late and the quartz-ankerite-pyrite gold veinlets crosscut every lithologies.
Host rock alteration consists dominantly of intense ankeritization, sericitization, albitization and silicification, with lesser sericitization combined with trace to 2% disseminated pyrite and trace arsenopyrite. At surface, rocks are weathered a dark rusty brown and rock textures are completely obliterated. In drill core and in fresh surface, textures of the sandstone, feldspar-amphibole-phyric intrusive and volcanics are locally recognized but typically also obliterated. The rock is massive, fine-grained, yellowish buff to pale grey with a common dusting of very fine-grained disseminated pyrite. Even without any veinlets present, the host rock typically contains highly anomalous gold. At Eureka, the extent of the alteration a mineralized halo containing 0.2 g/t Au to 0.4 g/t Au is defined over a minimum strike length of 1.5 kilometre and a true width of up to 187 metres.
Gold Mineralization. Left: Quartz-ankerite-pyrite veinlet in sandstone from drill hole D1-21-10 at 79.9m. This single veinlet is responsible for an assay of 0.78 g/t Au over a 1 metre interval from 79m to 80m. Right: Quartz-ankerite-pyrite veinlet with visible gold in volcanics from drill hole D1-21-18.
REFERENCES
BAJC, A.F. 1999. Results of regional humus and till sampling in the eastern part of the Shebandowan greenstone belt, northwestern Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 5993, 85p.
BROWN, G.H. 1995. Precambrian geology, Oliver and Ware townships; Ontario Geological Survey, Report 294, 48p.
COOKE, D.L. AND MOORHOUSE, W.W. 1969. Timiskaming volcanism in the Kirkland Lake area, Ontario, Canada; Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v.6, p. 117-132.
PARKER, D. 2020. Assessment work report on the Aurogen Project, Delta-1 Property. Mining District of Thunder Bay, Ontario, 40p.
ROGERS, M.C. AND BERGER, B.R. 1995. Precambrian Geology, Adrian, Marks, Sackville, Aldina and Duckworth townships; Ontario Geological Survey, Report 295, 66p.
STOTT, G.M. AND SCHNIEDERS, B.R. 1983. Gold Mineralization in the Shebandowan Belt and its Relation to Regional Deformation Patterns; in The Geology of Gold in Ontario, Ontario Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Paper 110, p.181-193.
GIRARD, R. AND BURDEN D. 2021. Report on an April 2021 Drilling Program at the Delta-1 Property, Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. Shabaqua Area, Shebandowan Belt. IOS Services Géoscientifiques, 205p.
ROYER, G. 2007. Goldie Township Property Diamond Drilling Report, 112p.
TESSIER, A.C. 2022. Report on a November 2019 Drilling Program at the Delta-1 Property, Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. Shabaqua Area, Shebandowan Belt. Delta Resources Ltd, 26p.
TESSIER, A.C. 2022. Report on an October 2020 Geological Mapping, Prospecting& Sampling Program at the Delta-1 Property, Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. Shabaqua Area, Shebandowan Belt. Delta Resources Ltd, 26p.
TESSIER, A.C. 2022. Report on an April 2021 Drilling Program at the Delta-1 Property, Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. Shabaqua Area, Shebandowan Belt., Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. Shabaqua Area, Shebandowan Belt. Delta Resources Ltd, 35p.
WILLIAMS, H.R. 1991. Quetico Subprovince; in Geology of Ontario, Ontario Geological Survey, Special Volume 4, pt.1, p.383-403.
WILLIAMS, H.R., STOTT, G.M., HEATHER, K.B., MUIR, T.L. AND SAGE, R.P. 1991. Wawa Subprovince; in Geology of Ontario, Ontario Geological Survey, Special Volume 4, pt.1, p.485-539.
EXPLORATION WORK
