Project History
Prospectors were attracted to the area following the discovery of gold in the Beardmore and Geraldton areas in the 1930s. Assessment reports from the 1970s and 1980s indicate high-grade gold samples were collected on the project area in the 1 ounce/ton range. Prospector reports discuss rusty quartz veins showing pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite mineralization. Past work on Riverside’s Pichette Project has included a VLF, Mag geophysics surveys in addition to two trenching and three drill campaigns.
Historical drilling (1952) by Tombill Mines focused on a series of parallel veins located near the boundary of the Beardmore Geraldton Greenstone Belt (Wabigoon) and Quetico terranes. The veins are generally associated with shears within the banded iron formation (BIF) units. The BIF units accommodate a significant amount of strain while the adjacent volcanics tend to fracture and are the host for the gold bearing quartz carbonate veins. The Tombill drilling was shallow and defined about 500m of strike. Drilling to the east was limited due to claim boundaries however these veins are considered open to the east and at depth.
Surface sampling by Riverside in 2023 was able to locate what it believes to be a portion of one of the veins. The sampling returned high grade gold up to 21 g/t suggesting the 1950s drill target extends to surface.