Epithermal Veins
Epithermal Veins
Polished thins section of epithermal vein from the True Fissure vein showing pyrite, sphalerite and tetrahedrite surrounding a quartz veinlet
What Do Epithermal Veins Look Like?
Epithermal veins are visually the most striking rock formation found at Thor. They consists largely of quartz, but also include a significant amount of carbonate that manifests itself as siderite or ankerite. Found intergrown with the quartz and carbonate are variable amounts of sphalerite, tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite and pyrite that are visual indications of valuable metals.
These mineralized zones form all of the hosts to valuable mineralization at Thor, and commonly form topographic 'highs' due to their resilience to weathering. They form ribbon-like bodies that have been emplaced along faults and structures in close proximity to the Silver Cup Anticline.
These mineralized zones form all of the hosts to valuable mineralization at Thor, and commonly form topographic 'highs' due to their resilience to weathering. They form ribbon-like bodies that have been emplaced along faults and structures in close proximity to the Silver Cup Anticline.
View of the True Fissure epithermal vein showing quartz and iron oxide alteration exposed in the high wall of the open pit
Drill core from the Blue Bell Mine showing quartz and massive sulfide characteristic of the epithermal deposit at Thor
What are the Epithermal Veins?
Quantifying Metal Content in Epithermal Veins
The epithermal veins at Thor form the upper, structurally focused expression of a large polymetallic Ag‑Au‑Pb‑Zn‑Cu system that sits on the southwest flank of the Silver Cup Anticline. They occupy a 4‑km‑long linear trend that hosts the historic Broadview, Great Northern, True Fissure, Blue Bell, and St. Elmo mines, all now unified within the Thor deposit.
The Thor veins are polymetallic epithermal veins classified as I05 polymetallic veins in BC’s MINFILE system. They typically contain:
The epithermal veins at Thor form a tabular, laterally continuous body extending for more than 2 km along strike, with drilling on 40‑m centers defining much of the NI 43‑101 resource. The system has only been drilled along half of its known structural trend, leaving significant untested strike length.
The Thor veins are polymetallic epithermal veins classified as I05 polymetallic veins in BC’s MINFILE system. They typically contain:
The epithermal veins at Thor form a tabular, laterally continuous body extending for more than 2 km along strike, with drilling on 40‑m centers defining much of the NI 43‑101 resource. The system has only been drilled along half of its known structural trend, leaving significant untested strike length.
The exploration procedure for identifying and sampling epithermal quartz veins is systematic and is dictated by the procedures for NI 43-101 reporting: