Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI31E09SE00004

Record: MDI31E09SE00004

General

Mineral Record Identification
Record Name(s) Comet Quartz Mine - 1976, J.G. Gole Mine - 1938
Related Record Type Simple
Related Record(s)
Record Status Prospect
Date Created 1985-Dec-08
Date Last Modified 2022-Mar-04
Created By
Revised By

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Feldspar (Nonmetals), Silica, Mineral Specimen

Secondary Commodities: Niobium, Rare Earth Elements, Cesium, Zircon



Location

Township or Area: Murchison

Latitude: 45° 31' 28.64"    Longitude: -78° 0' 38.93"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 733431.998   Northing: 5045578.995    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Southern Ontario

NTS Grid: 31E09SE

Point Location Description: quarry

Location Method: AMIS Site Visit

Access Description: The quarry is reached by a short road that extends westward from the Victoria Lake Access Road, 4 km north of Madawaska.



Exploration History

1938: Deposit discovered by W.B. Cameron. 1941: First quarried by J.G. Gole but production was not recorded. 1943-1944: C.L. Ross - in operation. 1976: Quarry reopened by The Comet Quartz Company - DD. Minor unrecorded production. 1984-1988: Algonquin Mining Corporation - 16 cubic yards of quartz removed. 1992: A. Reed - small bulk sample for horticultural and related uses. 1993-1999: MDX Geoservices Ltd. and A. Reed - prospecting, sampling, ground geophysics, stripping, trenching


Assessment Work on File

Assessment Work on File
Office File Number Online Assessment File Identifier Online Assessment File Directory
31E09SE9800 31E09SE9800 31E09SE9800
31E09SE2001 31E09SE2001 31E09SE2001
31E09SE2002 31E09SE2002 31E09SE2002
31E09SE2003 31E09SE2003 31E09SE2003

Geology

Province: Grenville

Subprovince: Central Gneiss Belt

Terrane: Algonquin

Domain: Opeongo

Geological Age: Mesoproterozoic  



Lithology

Lithology Data
Rock Type Rank Composition Texture Relationship
Pegmatite 1 Host
Gneiss-Unsubdivided 2 Contains

Lithology Comments

Feb 22, 2012 (A Wilson) - The pegmatite is zoned quartz monzonite. There is a fine-grained border phase that grades into a quartz-plagioclase-microcline wall zone within 1 m or less. The pegmatite strikes N30E. The core of the pegmatite consists of quartz with isolated, very coarse microcline crystals. The pegmatite has sharp contacts with the surrounding hornblende-biotite gneiss; however, the northeast portion of the small northern open cut is in diffuse or gradational contact with biotite granite.




Mineralization

Mineralization and Alteration
Rank Mineral Name Class Economic Mineral Type Alteration Mineral Type Alteration Ranking Alteration Intensity Alteration Style
1OligoclaseEconomicOre
2AllaniteEconomicOre
3BiotiteEconomicOre
5FergusoniteEconomicOre
7MicroclineEconomicOre
8ZirconEconomicOre
4AlbiteEconomicGangue
6QuartzEconomicGangue

Mineralization Comments

Feb 22, 2012 (A Wilson) - Crystals of fergusonite up to two inches in length are found in biotite in the pegmatite. Ellsworth (GSC) estimated that roughly 750 pounds of fergusonite may have been contained in the mined out part of the dike. The Gole pegmatite is noted for its crystals of yttrium-rich allanite up to 60 cm across, and fergusonite up to 8 cm across. Three samples collected by the OGS in the 1990's resulted in an average normalized SiO2 value of 99.925 determined by XRF analysis. The quartz mined in the 1980's was reportedly used for piezoelectric and optoelectronic use.


Dec 07, 2005 (D Laidlaw) - Sunstone.



Mineral Record Details

Classification
RankClassification            
1 Pegmatite

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

Zone Name: Detour Lake - Rank 1
Shape Length Thickness Depth Strike Dip Plunge Trend Age Reference
Tabular 260 18
Production Data
Year Tonnes Commodities Reference Comment
1944 1386 OFR5978 P. 386 total production 1943-44, feldspar; 1525 tons
1943 7792 OFR5978 P. 386 total production 1943-44, quartz; 8589 tons

References

Publication - Canadian deposits of uranium and thorium; Geological Survey of Canada, Economic Geology Series 16

Publication Number: GSC EconGeol 16 Scale:     Date: 1952

Author: Lang, A.H.

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/102450


Part - Mines of Ontario in 1941

Publication Number: ARV51-01.003 Scale:     Date: 1997

Author: Tower W.O., Smith R.L., Cave A.E., Cooper D.F., Taylor J.B., Bawden W.E., Little E.S., Weir E.B., Douglass D.P.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Mono - An Evaluation of Potential High-Purity Silica Sources: Preliminary Site Investigation, Volumes 1 and 2

Publication Number: OFR5948 Scale:     Date: 1996

Author: McAuley J.B.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


MonoMap - Industrial minerals of the Pembroke-Renfrew area, part 2

Publication Number: MDC022 Scale:     Date: 1981

Author: Storey C.C., Vos M.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


MonoMap - Industrial minerals of the Algonquin region

Publication Number: OFR5425 Scale:     Date: 1983

Author: Martin W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Mono - Geology and scenery, Peterborough, Bancroft and Madoc area

Publication Number: GB03 Scale:     Date: 1997

Author: Hewitt D.F.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Publication - Rocks and Minerals for the Collector, Ottawa to North Bay, Ontario; Hull to Waltham, Quebec; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper no. 70-50

Publication Number: Paper 70-50 Scale:     Date: 1971

Author: Sabina, A.P.

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/102463


Part - Mineral occurrences in the Renfrew area

Publication Number: ARV53-03 Scale:     Date: 1998

Author: Satterly J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


MonoMap - Columbium (niobium) deposits of Ontario

Publication Number: MDC014 Scale:     Date: 1971

Author: Ferguson S.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines and Northern Affairs

Location:


Article - 1976 report of the Algonquin Regional Geologist

Publication Number: MP071.009 Scale:     Date: 1997

Author: Trusler J.R., Wallace K.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Mono - Uranium and thorium deposits of southern Ontario

Publication Number: OFR5311 Scale:     Date: 1981

Author: Gordon J.B., Rybak U.C., Robertson J.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


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For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Southern Ontario Resident Geologist District Office