SOIL GEOCHEMICAL AND VLF-EM ANOMALIES AT THE GOLDEN HAND MINE, IDAHO COUNTY, IDAHO

Late Cretaceous precious metal mineralization present at existing workings on the Golden Hand property can be extended along a number of curvilinear trends using soil geochemistry and VLF-EM techniques. The soil-based geochemical anomalies are controlled by mesothermal mineralization in pre-existing structures. Structural elements from two fold orientations are preserved in Mesoproterozoic host rocks. Fracturing associated with a N-N15E trending fold axial plane may control younger brittle structures that host granitoid dikes associated with the Idaho Batholith, mesothermal mineralization, and hydrothermal alteration assemblages associated with mineralization. Gold and silver analyzed from the -80 mesh fraction of the “b” soil horizon outline anastimozing anomalies oriented N-N15 E across the Golden Hand property. Mobile Metal Ion (MMI) analyses, a partial extraction technique, reinforce the anomalous patterns generated by the standard analytical technique, and indicate areas where mineralization may be present at depth. Conductors, identified using VLF-EM, are present along and adjacent to the geochemical anomalies suggesting that either the dip of the mineralized structures may vary with depth or that some conductors are adjacent to the chemical anomalies.