Regional Geologic Context
The Fletcher Junction project area is located in a region of long-lived tectonic, volcanic and hydrothermal activity. The property is close to the Aurora mining district, a nearly 2 million ounce gold producer, and lies along the larger Borealis-Aurora-Bodie mineral trend, with combined historic and current resources of 6.5 million ounces of gold and 11 million ounces of silver. The Bodie Hills cover an area of 330 sq-mi and are underlain by a wide variety of volcanic rocks formed during the past 15 million years, and many volcanic features are well preserved. Most of the Bodie Hills are underlain by a large volcanic complex composed of at least 23 volcanic centers that formed during middle Miocene time (15 to 7 Ma). The variably preserved Miocene volcanoes are overlain in places by alluvium and a much younger series of volcanic rocks formed between about 3.5 Ma and 100,000 years ago. Three, multi-million ounce gold and silver deposits (Bodie, Aurora and Borealis) and eleven areas of hydrothermal alteration prospective for gold-silver mineralization formed as a direct result of the earlier period of volcanic activity.
The younger series of volcanic lavas that spilled out from the Aurora Crater and other vents in the region covered up much of the surrounding terrain, potentially hiding older, yet-to-be-discovered gold-silver deposits from view. The stages of volcanic activity, the associated gold-silver deposits, and the eleven areas of prospective hydrothermal alteration are located within the larger, Walker Lane geo-tectonic province, and all formed as a result of intense Miocene (~20Ma) to Recent volcanic activity that accompanied three complex deformation episodes that guided emplacement of both magmas and mineral deposits.
Several strike-slip bedrock structures project northward into the Fletcher Junction area of interest from the Aurora mining district. The N-S strike-slip faults are known to control the development of NE-SW trending ‘ladder veins’ within the Aurora mining district and could well control similar ore-controlling fault zones at the Fletcher Junction property. Regional air magnetic and gravity data are indicative of a down-dropped area of interest beneath Fletcher Junction where the upper parts of an Aurora-style hydrothermal system could well be preserved.
Detailed geologic mapping of the basalt flows covering the terrain up-dip from the Fletcher Junction spring show several hills forming a linear trend believed to reflect an alignment of underlying bedrock highs that diverted the overlying thin veneer of basalt flows. Bedrock highs elsewhere in the region are commonly associated with windows though the basalt that expose high-grade, gold-silver, quartz-adularia veins.
Adjacent Properties:
- 6 km (4 miles) north of the Aurora mining district owned by Great Basin Gold Limited (NYSE:GBG) (combined past production and resource: 2,000,000 oz Au, 2,400,000 oz Ag)
- 13 km (8 miles) south-southwest of the Borealis mining district being developed by Sage Gold, Inc.(TSX.V:SGX) and Golden Gryphon Corp (TSX:GGN) (past production 1,000,000 oz Au, 5,000,000 oz Ag)
- 13 km (8 miles) northeast of the historic Bodie mining district (historic production: 3,500,000 oz Au, 3,700,000 oz Ag)
