Otter Creek
Gold vein discoveries beneath productive placer
The Otter Creek Property has been optioned.
The Otter Creek lode gold prospect consists of 8,704 total hectares and is located 12 kms east of Atlin in northwest British Columbia. Atlin has been a rich placer gold mining district since the Klondike gold rush from the mid 1800s to the present day, rivalling Barkerville during the Cariboo gold rush.
The Atlin Gold Rush
On February 10, 1898, Fritz Miller and Kenneth McLaren reached Atlin Lake from Skagway, Alaska. Following the advice of George Miller, brother of Fritz, who had reached the district about 1896, they found gold on what is now Pine Creek. Returning in the summer of 1898 with six companions they continued their work. On July 3, Miller was appointed Free Miners recorder for the creek, and he and McLaren officially staked their claims on July 25. Despite the attempt of the discoverers to keep the strike secret, news of the find was known in Victoria, B.C. by August 13. With the rapid spread of the news many miners bound for the Klondike turned to Atlin instead, and before the end of 1898 over 3,000 persons had visited the booming camp (Aiken, 1958). In 1899 the population of the immediate district reached about 5,000 but has since decreased to ~400 today.
Only eight creeks – Spruce, Pine, Birch, Boulder, Ruby, Otter, Wright and McKee – have been important producers in the Atlin camp although gold has been produced along 21 other creeks including Dominion, Eldorado, Feather, Fox, Rose, Slate, Snake, and O'Donnel. Reported placer gold production between 1898 and 1946 from these creeks totaled 19,722 kg or 634,147 ounces (Holland, 1950). Spruce Creek, the richest creek in the camp, yielded more than 40 per cent of this gold including an 85-ounce gold nugget – BC’s largest. Although the total gold production from the area to date is not available, it probably exceeds 1 million ounces and could be significantly greater.
Otter Creek has been the recent focus of activity in the Atlin placer camp since 2009, with spectacular size gold nuggets reported ranging up to 58 and 62 ounces. The placer gold at Otter is not associated with magnetite, suggesting a different source than the magnetite rich ophiolitic rocks typically associated with mineralization and explored for within the Atlin camp. Additionally, the gold in the nuggets is intergrown with graphitic argillaceous sedimentary rock consistent with the surrounding bedrock.
Otter Creek Placer
Decoors staked placer claims over Otter Creek in 2012. Placer drilling from 2012 - 2014 established a highly productive channel running along the creek. This was mined from 2015 - 2022. Until recently, the source of Atlin’s coarse gold placers had remained elusive.
Otter Creek Placer Pit Operation
Otter Creek Lode Gold Discoveries
The first announcement of a new lode gold discovery on Decoors' Otter Creek property was made by British Columbia Geological Survey (BCGS) geologists in a 2017 published paper titled “A new lode gold discovery at Otter Creek: another source for the Atlin placers”. This discovery was made within hard rock at the bottom of the Godkin placer pit on Decoors’ Otter Creek Property. At the discovery site, native gold is intergrown with quartz-albite veins and occurs as open space fillings. Follow up exploration within the 2016 visible gold discovery area returned significant results (see Table).
2016 Otter Creek Hardrock Gold Discovery
In 2018, a second lode gold discovery was made 560 m south of the 2016 discovery. The visible gold bearing vein specimens were found to occur perpendicular to the foliation, at 070°/90°. It should be noted that the placer pits are transitory and are infilled as placer mining progresses. Consequently samples were not obtained from either visible gold discoveries.
2018 Otter Creek Hardrock Gold Discovery
The Otter Creek Fault - a large north-south trending fault, with a series of secondary faults - provides a key structural setting for lode gold deposition. This fault is the target of ongoing exploration programs.
Recent work includes an soil geochemical hydrocarbon (SGH) survey over the 2016 visible gold occurrence. Interpretation of the SGH results correctly identified the location of the gold. Future work will consist of additional SGH sampling and drilling to further test the Otter Creek Fault.
Otter Creek Gallery
