Toodoggone Mining District Heats Up as Juniors and Majors Race to Unlock B.C.’s Next Big Gold-Copper Camp

By Peter Kennedy

The Toodoggone mineral district in north central British Columbia has emerged as an exploration hot spot, attracting both junior companies and major players in the mining industry. The Toodoggone District has a proven production history from both epithermal and porphyry systems. Early exploration was gold-focused, while later efforts shifted toward deeper Cu-Au porphyries. The area is now undergoing a renaissance driven by modern exploration and consolidated land packages. Focus is now on expanding known resources, discovering new high-grade epithermal and porphyry targets and establishing district-scale operations. The area benefits from existing infrastructure from the Kemess South Mine and improving access.

The region’s exploration potential was highlighted by Amarc Resources Ltd.’s [AHR-TSXV, AXREF-OTCQB] recent discovery of the new high-grade, gold-rich porphyry copper-gold-silver AuRORA deposit on its 100% owned JOY Copper-Gold District. The AuRora Deposit Discovery is located within an area of the 495-square kilometre JOY District that had not been previously drill tested.

The current program is fully-funded by Freeport McMoran Mineral Properties Canada Inc., a unit of U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoran Inc. [FCX-NYSE], which can earn a 70% project interest by making up to $110 million in staged payments.

The Toodogone region’s potential is also underscored by Thesis Gold Inc. [TAU-TSXV]. which recently launched a pre-feasibility study (PFS) at its Lawyers-Ranch project, which is located about 450 kilometres northeast of Prince George.

The company has said the PFS will build upon the strong project economics outlined in the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which was filed in September 2024. The updated PEA envisages average annual production of 215,000 gold equivalent ounces (AuEq), including an annual average of 273,000 ounces during the first three years, and life-of-mine production of 3.0 million ounces over a mine lifespan of 14 years.

Lawyers-Ranch is estimated to host a total measured and indicated resource of 4.0 million ounces of AuEq, grading 1.51 g/t and an inferred resource of 727,000 ounces of AuEq at 1.82 g/t.

The Toodoggone Mining District, located in north-central British Columbia, Canada, is situated within a complex and geologically significant tectonic setting that has made it favorable for mineralization, particularly epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits. The Toodoggone District lies within the Stikine Terrane, a volcanic arc terrane that accreted to the western margin of North America during the Mesozoic.

This terrane is part of the larger Intermontane Belt, a collage of accreted terranes formed along the margin of the North American Plate. The region experienced extensive volcanism and plutonism during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, forming the Toodoggone Formation, which hosts many of the mineral deposits.

The Toodoggone district contains several mineralization types including epithermal gold-silver, porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum and skarn. Exploration dates back to early 1920’s with the discovery of placer gold in several creeks which attracted exploration activity to the region. During the 1960s, regional government mapping and airborne geophysical surveys identified anomalous mineralization in the area which led to an initial wave of exploration and prospecting. Major companies like DuPont of Canada and Serem Ltd. began systematic exploration in the early 1970s which eventually led to the discovery of gold mineralization at Lawyers and Chappelle (now Baker) and Shasta. Later in the 1980’s copper mineralization identified at Kemess Creek led to the development of the large open-pit Kemess South copper-gold mine which operated from 1998 to 2011 and produced over 3 million oz of gold and over 700 million lbs of copper. Gold has been the focus of exploration in the central parts of the Toodoggone district with main prospects including Finn (JD), Silver Pond, Lawyers, Baker, and Alunite Ridge.

The region is host to many characteristics of a major epithermal-porphyry camp, including early Jurassic age intermediate volcanic host rocks, widespread epithermal-style gold and silver veining, large scale alteration footprints, and evidence of deeper porphyry and related hydrothermal activity.

Industry officials say the Toodoggone is a re-emerging district with a similar geological history and potential mineral endowment to the prolific Golden Triangle region to the west.

The potential to discover high-grade copper, gold, and silver deposits with characteristics sought by majors is attracting a growing number of junior exploration and development companies. That includes Skeena Resources Ltd.’s [SKE-TSXV, SKREF-OTCQX, RXFB-FRA], which recently acquired a 13% stake in TDG Gold Corp. [TDG-TSXV], a mineral exploration company with over 32,000 hectares of highly prospective ground in the Toodoggone Mining District.

Industry officials say interest in the region is driven in part by the fact that Toodoggone is located in British Columbia, a safe and historically pro-mining jurisdiction that has indicated it will speed up the mine permitting process in a bid to offset the economic impact of a trade war with the United States. The near record high gold price is also attracting investor interest.

Sun Summit Minerals [SMN-TSXV, SMREF-OTCQB] is focused on discovery and advancement of district-scale gold and copper assets in B.C. The company’s diverse portfolio includes the JD and Theory projects in the Toodoggone region and the Buck project in central B.C.

In a February 26, 2025, news release, the company announced an inaugural mineral resource estimate for the Buck Project. Including 19,100 gold equivalent ounces in the indicated category, and 820,400 AuEq in the inferred category. Sun Summit CEO Niel Marotta described the announcement as a major milestone for the company and a strong foundation for further exploration.

Marotta is former fund management with Fidelity. He was also vice-president at Orezone Resources, a company that was swallowed by Iamgold Corp [IMG-TSX, IAG-NYSE] in 2009 in a $350 million deal. He is currently an advisor to Cascade Copper Corp. [CASC-CSE].

However, in an interview with Resource World, Marotta said the company plans to focus its exploration efforts this year on the JD project, which covers an area of over 15,000 hectares and lies close to active exploration and development projects, including Thesis Gold’s Lawyers-Ranch project, as well as HDI Amarc’s JOY District.

In January, 2024, Sun Summit entered into a definitive option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the JD project, which was known to contain numerous under-explored epithermal related gold and silver targets as well as porphyry-related copper-gold targets in an emerging mining district.

That move paid off in October 2024, when Sun Summit announced drill results from the fourth hole of its inaugural exploration program at the JD Project. It said hole CZ-24-004 returned one of the highest-grade intervals drilled to date at JD’s Creek Zone target. It intersected a broad zone of near surface, continuous gold mineralization punctuated with high-grade veins, including 122.53 metres of 2.11 g/t gold, including 20 metres of 10.01 g/t gold. Exploration results drove the share price up to 32 cents on October 11, 2024, from around 15 cents on October 1, 2024.

The company said results from the inaugural exploration program further confirms the potential for both high grade and bulk tonnage style gold mineralization, supporting the company’s initial thesis that selective sampling by previous operators missed the bulk tonnage gold potential.

The first five holes of the 2024 exploration program were drilled on the western extent of the 4.5 kilometre long, target rich Finn to Creek Corridor. Results from the first three holes were released back in September, 2024.

More recently, Sun Summit said it has defined a 12-kilometre trend of porphyry related copper gold targets at the JD Project. The company said it has started planning a significant exploration program that is expected to commence in early summer, 2025. It said the program will focus on evaluating the strongest porphyry targets as well as further investigating the high-grade and bulk tonnage gold potential along the Finn to Creek corridor.

“The northern extent of the Toodoggone district has long been known for its strong epithermal gold prospectivity, however, the recent discovery by Amarc and Freeport 14 kilometres south of our land position at JD confirmed our long-standing view that the northern parts of the district have exceptional porphyry potential,’’ the company has said.

Meanwhile, March 17, 2025, Sun Summit said it had expanded its land position in the Toodoggone area by entering into an option agreement with Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. [EPL-TSXV] to earn up to a 100% interest in the 10,000 hectares of mineral claims in the Toodoggone District, known as the Theory Project.

The company said the acquisition of the Theory Project will increase Sun Summit’s Toodoggone footprint by 10,000 hectares, creating a combined district-scale project of 25,000 hectares. Theory is located 10 kilometres from Sun Summit’s JD Project.

Marotta said the company currently has between $1.0 and $2.0 million in its treasury but hopes to spend $3.0 to $5.0 million on exploration in the Toodoggone region this year. He said the aim is to attract either a joint venture partner or a major mining company that is looking to gain a foothold in the Toodoggone area.