Report on the Detailed Mineral Assessment of the Proposed Kusawa Natural Environment Park Special Management Area, Yukon

Report on the Detailed Mineral Assessment of the Proposed Kusawa Natural Environment Park Special Management Area, Yukon The proposed Kusawa Special Management Area (SMA) consists of 3118.6 km2 in southwest Yukon. A map notation in 1972 denoting Kusawa Lake and the surrounding area as a possible park planning area is included in the proposed Kusawa Special Management Area (SMA). This has discouraged mineral exploration programs in the area since then. The area was selected as a SMA by the Carcross Tagish First Nation, with Kwanlin Dun and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations being co-signers, with the intention of making the proposed Kusawa SMA a Natural Environment Park. In 2001 the Yukon Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR) carried out a regional mineral assessment, which reviewed the geologic data for SW Yukon and ranked the tracts. Of the seven partial tracts lying within the proposed SMA, five are ranked highest, one moderate and one is ranked lowest relative regional mineral potential with respect to phase IV (SW Yukon) of the Yukon regional mineral potential map. Most of the proposed Kusawa SMA lies within the Nisling sub-terrane with eastern portions underlain by units of the Stikine terrane. Both terranes were affected by post accretion Cretaceous to Pliocene magmatism resulting in most of the area being underlain by unfoliated granitoids. Structurally the metamorphic rocks have a strong NW trending grain and are generally closely folded. Fieldwork entailed the collection of rock, soil and stream sediment samples, in conjunction with geological mapping and examination of the seven mineral occurrences within the area. The mineral occurrences are intrusive related and consist of an auriferous quartz vein, lead-zinc skarns, a copper porphyry and two unknown occurrences. The eastern side of the study area, including the NW trending belt of Nisling Assemblage metamorphic rocks ranked the highest mineral potential. An oval aeromagnetic anomaly partially underlain by hypabyssal felsic porphyry rocks with anomalous geochemistry, located on the west side of the proposed SMA ranked also ranked relatively highest. 2024-07-31 Government of Yukon geology@gov.yk.ca Form DescriptorsNature and EnvironmentScience and TechnologyYukon Geological SurveyYukon DataGovernment information Original metadata (https://open.yukon.ca)HTML https://open.yukon.ca/data/datasets/report-detailed-mineral-assessment-proposed-kusawa-natural-environment-park-special Report and mapsPDF https://ygsftp.gov.yk.ca/publications/openfile/2006/of2006_7.pdf

The proposed Kusawa Special Management Area (SMA) consists of 3118.6 km2 in southwest Yukon. A map notation in 1972 denoting Kusawa Lake and the surrounding area as a possible park planning area is included in the proposed Kusawa Special Management Area (SMA). This has discouraged mineral exploration programs in the area since then. The area was selected as a SMA by the Carcross Tagish First Nation, with Kwanlin Dun and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations being co-signers, with the intention of making the proposed Kusawa SMA a Natural Environment Park. In 2001 the Yukon Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR) carried out a regional mineral assessment, which reviewed the geologic data for SW Yukon and ranked the tracts. Of the seven partial tracts lying within the proposed SMA, five are ranked highest, one moderate and one is ranked lowest relative regional mineral potential with respect to phase IV (SW Yukon) of the Yukon regional mineral potential map. Most of the proposed Kusawa SMA lies within the Nisling sub-terrane with eastern portions underlain by units of the Stikine terrane. Both terranes were affected by post accretion Cretaceous to Pliocene magmatism resulting in most of the area being underlain by unfoliated granitoids. Structurally the metamorphic rocks have a strong NW trending grain and are generally closely folded. Fieldwork entailed the collection of rock, soil and stream sediment samples, in conjunction with geological mapping and examination of the seven mineral occurrences within the area. The mineral occurrences are intrusive related and consist of an auriferous quartz vein, lead-zinc skarns, a copper porphyry and two unknown occurrences. The eastern side of the study area, including the NW trending belt of Nisling Assemblage metamorphic rocks ranked the highest mineral potential. An oval aeromagnetic anomaly partially underlain by hypabyssal felsic porphyry rocks with anomalous geochemistry, located on the west side of the proposed SMA ranked also ranked relatively highest.

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