Figure 1: Property location map.

Figure 2: Regional geology map of prospecting permit 8183-85 area (top image) and a stratigraphic column of the Dubawnt Supergroup (DSG, lower image) (from Peterson, 2006).
 Figure 3: Regional geology map of prospecting permit 8186-87 area.
 Figure 4: Regional geology map of prospecting permit 8188 area.
 Figure 5: Summary of the 2011 exploration results on prospecting permits 8183-85.
 Figure 6: Photograph of field assistant on outcrop sampled from SE portion of PP8185 and an image of the rock texture (top right).
 Figure 7: Photograph of field assistant sampling outcrop that yielded highest REE concentrations from PP 8184, and an image of the rock texture (top right).
 Figure 8: Summary of the 2011 exploration results on prospecting permits 8186-87.
 Figure 9: Photographs of field crew exploring and sampling the radioactively anomalous outcrop of paralleling layers of quartzite located on PP 8187, and an image of the rock texture (bottom left).
 Figure 10: Summary of the 2011 exploration results on prospecting permit 8188.
|
Cache Exploration Inc. (Cache) was granted six prospecting permits in February 2011, which cover 208,784 acres in the southeast portion of Nunavut (See Fig. 1). The 6 prospecting permits are divided into three groups, specifically, 8183 to 8185, 8186 and 8187, and 8188. The permits cover areas that are known to host airborne radiometric anomalies and Th-U occurrences documented by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Each Th-U occurrence has the potential to host associated anomalous rare earth elements (REEs), based on analogies with other systems in the TransHudson Orogen.
Location and Access
Prospecting permits 8183-85 are located about 75 km east of the Baker Lake Community, covering an area of 90,648.42 acres (366.8 km2). These permits are accessible from the Baker Lake Community via boat or helicopter.Prospecting permits 8186-87 are located about 115 km N-NE of the Baker Lake Community, covering an area of 71,028.62 acres (287.4 km2). These permits are accessible from the Bake Lake Community via helicopter.Prospecting permit 8188 is located about 125 km W-SW of the Arviat community, covering an area of 47,107 acres (190.6 km2). This permit is accessible from Nueltin Lake Lodge via helicopter.
Geology
Prospecting permits(PP) 8183-85 consist ofArchean basement (gneisses, granites, and amphibolites) that is unconformably overlain by the Dubawnt Supergroup (DSG). The Dubawnt Supergroup is divided into the Lower DSG (Baker Lake Group), Middle DSG (Pitz Fm.), and Upper DSG (Barrensland Group). The Baker Lake Group directly overlies the Archean basement and consists of the South Channel Formation (Fm, conglomerate), the Kazan Fm (interbedded alluvial and Aeolian arkosic sandstone), Christopher Island Fm (volcaniclastic sediments and flows, mostly andesitic to trachytic composition), and Kunwak Fm (alluvial fan and fluvial deposits). The South Channel Fm is overlain by the Kazan Formation, which was marked by a period of N-S compression and erosion, depositing the Christopher Island Formation followed by the Kunwak Fm. The rhyolitic flows of the Pitz Fm (two porphyritic flows) overlie the Baker Lake Group, which is unconformably overlain by the Thelon Fm (Barrensland Group, sandstones and conglomerates of a fluvial valley-fill depositional nature). See Figure 2 for a geological map and stratigraphic column of PPs 8183-85 area. The uranium mineralization is believed to be associated with vertical fracturing and faulting, where they served as a channel for mineralizing solutions (hydrothermal activity) migrating along the basal conglomerates (below) and (or) within the Chistopher island Fm (above). These uraniferous solutions progressed outwards from the faults and fractures reacting preferentially within the Kazan sedimentary rocks.
Prospecting permits 8186-87 includes the ArcheanTehek Belt; a steep southeasterly dipping assemblage that plunges towards the southwest. It is made up of metavolcanic rocks, metasedimentary rocks, iron formations, and orthoquartzites with diorite, gabbro and associated ultramafics rocks intruding the belt. The orthoquartzite lithologies appear to be the core of the synclinorium, surrounded by iron formations and metavolcanic rocks. The Lower Proterozoic metasediments of the Amer Group unconformably overlie an Archean basement assemblage of felsic and mafic gneisses and lesser granitic, dioritic, gabbroic and amphibolitic rocks. The youngest unit is believed to be a Proterozoic, fluorite-bearing (or at least, in part) granite. See Figure 3 for a geological map of PPs 8186-87 area.During the 2011 exploration program conducted by Cache Exploration Inc, the radioactivity, hence U mineralization, appears to be stratabound, located between bands of white-grey impure quartzites and pink feldspathic quartzites. The feldspathic quartzite has been recrystallized and has a granitoid texture, believed to have originated as arkosic sediments.
Prospecting permit 8188 lies within the Churchill Province of the Precambrian Shield with rock ages ranging from Archean to Proterozoic; the rocks Proterozoic include metasediments, gneisses and granites with oldest (Archean) rocks consisting of metavolcanics, metasediments, and granitic rocks. The rock sequence is succeeded by lime-rich sediments of the Hurwitz Group. The Lower Proterozoic granite and quartz monzonite plutons intrude the Hurtwitz and older Archean units; these were emplaced during the Hudsonian Orogeny. See Figure 4 for a geological map of PP 8188 area. Due to the poor exposure, very few actual outcrops were directly observed during the 2011 exploration program conducted by Cache Exploration Inc.; however, large areas covered with glacial drift (or frost heaved) granite boulder were observed; they are generally pink to red in colour and varied from medium to coarse grained, consisting of subhedral to euhedral crystals of alkali feldspar, clear quartz, and biotite (estimated <5%).
Previous Work
Previous exploration on and surrounding the Nunavut properties were mainly in the early 1960’s to late 1980’s and focused on uranium prospects. In addition, the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) organised widely spaced (5-10 km in most areas) airborne surveys, regional geochemical sampling, and compiled maps in most areas.
Historically, prospecting permits 8183-85 have been geologically mapped, explored, drilled, and radiometrically evaluated by companies, such as Marwood Petroleum Ltd., New Continental Oil Company of Canada Ltd., Pan Ocean Oil Ltd., Comaplex Minerals Corp., Asamera Minerals, and Falconbridge Ltd. Their exploration programs in the area have returned values up to 1.08% U3O8, 1.44% MoS2, and 3.27 g/t Au.
Prospecting permits 8186-87 have been geologically mapped, explored, and radiometrically evaluated by companies, such as Urangesellschaft Canada Ltd. and Asamera Inc. Their results revealed U anomalies that were located in bands of Lower Proterozoic metasediments, and boulder trailings giving U3O8 values from 0.01% to 2.75%.
Prospecting permit 8188 has been geologically mapped, explored, drilled, and radiometrically evaluated by companies, such as G.A. Noel & Associates and Can-Lake Exploration Ltd. Their results have revealed U-anomalous lake sediments and boulders containing up to 0.017% and 0.357% U3O8, respectively. Can-Lake Exploration Ltd. Conducted a 10 hole diamond drilling program totalling 820.5m was conducted; the best results yielded values of 0.315% U3O8 over 0.17 m, 0.031% U3O8 over 1.1 m, and 0.025% U3O8 over 0.8 m.
2011 Exploration Work
The 2011 exploration program was conducted from July to August by two geologists with field assistants from Baker Lake in Nunavut and from Tadoule Lake and Lac Brochet communities in Manitoba. The main objective of the exploration program was to perform a preliminary assessment of the rare earth element (REE) potential on the properties as previous work in the area was focused on uranium and thorium.
Samples were submitted to Activation Laboratories Inc. for preparation (in Fredericton, New Brunswick) and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA; in Ancaster, Ontario). Appropriate certified reference materials were also run for accuracy purposes. Samples that returned with U concentrations > 500 ppm were re-analysed (assayed) by Actlabs by XRF because of the higher detection limits.
2011 Exploration Work on Permits 8183-85
A total of 38 samples were collected from Prospecting Permits (PP) 8183, 8184, and 8185; however, 18 were from Nunavut Land Claim Parcels and were collected under the appropriate permits to properly assess the potential of this area. Prospecting permit 8185 was found to contain mostly uranium mineralization located on, and to the south of Christopher Island. A sample from Christopher Island (not in PP) returned anomalous values of 0.333% U3O8. Two samples collected south of Christopher Island, within the prospecting permit, showed anomalous radioactivity up to 12,000 CPS and yielded 0.101% and 0.084% U3O8.
Within the PP 8183-8185, elevated concentrations of TREE were identified in a gneissic unit (mostly granulite). A sample from this unit yielded REE values up to 4823 ppm TREE (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb, and Lu analysed by INAA) of which only 3.8 ppm are HREE (Tb, Yb, and Lu). A granitic unit in PP 8184 displayed a radiometric average of 600 counts per second (CPS) with anomalous readings up to 2,300 CPS and revealed REE values by INAA up to 736 ppm TREE of which 25.3 ppm are HREE.
See Figure 5 for a summary of the 2011 exploration programs results and Figures 6 and 7 for select photographs of the exploration program.
2011 Exploration Work on Permits 8186-87
Significant uranium and rare earth element (REE) mineralization was identified in the PP 8186 and 8187 group (see Fig. 8).A total of 31 samples were collected and analysed. Within PP 8186, an angular granitic boulder (likely frost heaved) with up to 12,000 CPS yielded 0.200% U3O8 (U3O8 analyses completed by XRF), the anomalous radioactivity could be traced discontinuously over 100 m. The neighboring PP 8187 yielded several samples containing highly anomalous uranium concentrations. Approximately 2 km east of a GSC documented uranium occurrence, radiometric readings between 20,000 and 40,000 CPS were encountered in association with a strongly foliated, medium to dark grey, impure quartzite containing pyritic mineralization; a sample from this location returned with 1.95% U3O8 and 556 ppm total rare earth element (TREE: La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb, and Lu) concentrations. Approximately 500 m west of where the sample containing 1.95% U3O8 was taken, a large area of strongly layered gneiss has elevated radioactivity between 1,500 and 31,000 CPS in a set of paralleling layers of quartzite (0.5 to 0.8 m wide) can be traced between 25 to 35 m along strike (see Fig. 9). The best samples from this quartzite unit returned uranium concentrations of 0.172%, 0.307%, and 0.414% U3O8. A government-based airborne survey at 5 km spacing conducted in 1996 revealed that the highest individual line values are located on the prospecting permit and remain unexplored by Cache Exploration Inc.; this along with detailed mapping and further prospecting around the anomalous samples, will be targets for further exploration. Prospecting Permit 8187 also includes aweakly foliated, medium-grained granitic sample with the highest heavy rare earth elements (HREE: Gd to Lu) identified during the 2011 exploration program in Nunavut; it contained 17.4 ppm HREE within 702.6 ppm TREE (La to Lu)
In addition to uranium and REE mineralization, there were several samples that yielded anomalous iron and base-metal concentrations on PP 8186. One of many large (3 m by 3 m by 3m) erratic boulders that were strongly magnetic returned with 7.95% Fe, 900 ppm Ni, and 2550 ppm Cr and supracrustal rocks that showed heavy sulfide staining and pyritic mineralization yielded 24.7% Fe.
2011 Exploration Work on Permits 8188
A total of 10 samples were analysed from Prospecting Permit 8188. This prospecting permit contains a GSC-documented U-Th occurrence, but the exploration program was unable to locate it after two attempts. The outcrop exposure within this permit is less than 1% with the main exposures being granite boulder fields with a radioactivity averaging about 400 CPS, with anomalous boulders between 1,000 and 2,000 CPS. The two best samples returned 196 ppm and 212 ppm TREE (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb, and Lu).
See Figure 10 for a summary of the 2011 exploration programs results.
|