Barker Bay Gold Project
The Barker Bay Gold Project covers ~4,650 hectares in the Lower Manitou–Barker Bay area, approximately 55 km south of Dryden, Ontario. The property lies within the Eagle–Wabigoon–Manitou greenstone belt of the Wabigoon Subprovince, part of the Archean Superior Craton — a prolific metallogenic province hosting numerous high‑grade, orogenic gold deposits.
Barker Bay shares the same structural and lithological setting as nearby advanced projects such as Dryden Gold Corps Gold Rock Camp, Gaffney Extension (TSXV: DRY), and Seva Minings Cameron Lake deposit (TSXV: SEVA).
Ownership: 100 % Nortec Minerals Corp.
District: Kenora Mining District, Ontario
Area: ~4,650 ha
Deposit Type: Archean orogenic (lode‑gold)
Stage: Under‑explored / early‑stage exploration
Historical Mines: Barker Bros Mine (patented) and Petrie Mine, undocumented shaft east of Price Lake
Best Reported Grades: Barker Bros Mine first ore run averages 101.1 g/t Au (first 8 tons milled)
Located on the southwestern limb of the Manitou Anticline, a major regional folding structure cut by the Manitou Straits Fault.
Host rocks are mafic volcanic flows (massive to pillowed basalt) interlayered with felsic volcanics (dacite to rhyolite) and late intrusive porphyry dykes.
Gold mineralization is controlled by conjugate shear zones striking 330–350° and dipping 70–80° W. These zones can be traced over several hundred metres.
Shear zones comprise hornblende–plagioclase and chlorite–sericite schists with quartz veins, often at contacts with felsic units or porphyry dykes.
The Manitou–Dinorwic Deformation Zone, a recognized district‑scale gold‑bearing corridor, lies 3-5km to the southeast.
Gold is hosted in quartz veins and in wall rock of shear zones which are up to 10 meters wide. Feldspar porphyry intrusives have also been identified in close proximity to the historic gold mines and may be an integral part of the mineralizing system. A gold-in-soil anomaly was outlined during a 2022 field program which extends more than 700m along strike of the Barker Bros. Mine. This anomaly closely follows the historic trenching and projected extent of the structure hosting gold mineralization.
1898–1899: Shaft sinking & small‑scale gold mining at Barker Bros and Petrie mines. Historic records indicated the Barker Bros. Mine returned 23.6 oz in the first 8 tons of ore milled, an average grade of 101.1g/t Au (see Ontario Mineral Deposit Index MDI52F06SE00002)
1980s: Geophysical (mag, VLF EM), mapping, prospecting by Black Cliff Mines. Historic prospecting has returned grab samples ranging from 1.4 to 24.5 g/t Au at the Barker Bros Mine ((see Ontario Assessment Report: 52F06NE0003) 3.3 to 11.3 g/t Au at the Petrie Mine Mineral Deposit Inventory MDI52F06SE00003)).
2021-2022: soil sampling by Panther Metals PLC (Ontario Assessment Record: 20000021209) returns 700m long gold-in-soil anomaly along Barker Bros Mine trend.
No record of diamond drilling has ever been reported on the property.
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At least three gold bearing structures targeted by small scale historic gold miners. Barker Bros mine trend, Petrie Mine trend, Mystery shaft trend.
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No systematic exploration of the historic mining trends.
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Previous work confirmed these three historic areas contain gold mineralization; however there has been no follow up exploration of the historic mining trends.
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There are geologic similarities to the Kenwest Deposit (25 kilometers to the east). Operated by Dryden Gold Corp. (TSXV: DRY) where a gold intercept of 3,497 g/t over 8.5 m including 53,700 g/t gold over 0.55 meters in hole KW-11-26 underscores the potential for ultra-high grade gold mineralization (see Ontario Mineral Deposit Inventory MDI52F07NE00002).
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Opportunity for first‑pass drilling on all targets.
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Confirm & map shear zones via ground mapping, bedrock trenching and detailed drone magnetics.
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Channel & soil sampling along the Barker trend.
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Trenching & prospecting over geophysical targets.
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Phase 1 drilling to test high‑priority shear zones identified near historic shafts.
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Year‑round road access via Hwy 502 → Cedar Narrows Road (maintained logging road network).
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Power corridors, railway, pipeline, and Trans‑Canada Highway 50km north.
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Two secondary roads provide direct access to the Barker Bros Mine and Petrie Mine areas.
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Proximity to the mining‑service hubs of Dryden (55km), Fort Frances (80km), and Kenora (110 km), and larger population centres Thunder Bay (330km) and Winnipeg (350km)