Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI42D14NW00004

Record: MDI42D14NW00004

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Copper, Zinc

Secondary Commodities: Gold, Silver, Cadmium

Location

Township or Area: Pays Plat Lake Area

Latitude: 48° 58' 40.92"    Longitude: -87° 21' 52.96"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 473312.5   Northing: 5425078    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South

NTS Grid: 42D14NW

Point Location Description: Shaft

Location Method: Other

Access Description: The property is located about 21 km north-northwest of Schreiber, Ontario. The deposits are located between Kenabic Lake, Selim Creek, Winston Lake and Pick Lake (claim map G-606). The Winston Lake Mine road leads north from Highway 17, 8 km west of Schreiber, Ontario. The mine site lies at the end of this road, approximately 29 km from Highway 11.

Exploration History

1879: McKellar brothers originally staked property. 1884: T. Keefer optioned the property and sank a shaft for 10 feet. 1891-1899: A total of 1065 tons of ore averaging about 45% zinc was shipped to a smelter. 1898: H.J. Beemer acquired the property from the McKellar brothers. 1899: Beemer sold the property to Grand Calumet Mining Company. 1899-1901: 2700 tons of sphalerite was mined and concentrated by Grand Calumet Mining Company Limited. 1928: Further exploration to try to find extensive ore bodies. 1952-1953: Diamond drilling of 109 holes by Zenmac Metal Mines, including the Cleaver Lake copper deposit. 1964-1968: Underground development, surface plant and mining, production began in 1966. 1970: Production ceased due to exhaustion of the ore body. 180,000 tons of 16.5% zinc was mined out. 1972: A geophysical survey was performed. 1978: Falconbridge Copper completed reconnaissance mapping and lithogeochemical surveys. 1979: Winston Lake area was staked by Corporation Falconbridge Copper. 1980: Zenith Mine property optioned to Corporation Falconbridge Copper. 1982: Discovery of the Winston Lake Deposit. 1987: Official opening of the Winston Lake Division Mine. 1994: Inmet Mining Corporation drilled 21 DDH totalling 3899 m. 1998: Winston Lake Mine closes.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wawa

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Schreiber-Hemlo

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - The two Zenith deposits occur within massive gabbro. No. 1 Deposit: Has been traced along the north shore of Kenabic Lake for about 183 m. It has been opened up by two shafts and an adit. Despite the variations in thickness from a few inches to many feet that occur in short distances, the deposit has an overall lenticular shape. In one drill hole (5D) it was found to have a thickness of about 33.5 m. It dips 35-45 degrees NE. There are 3 types of mineralization: 1). irregularly shaped bodies and lenses; 2). small dykelets and tongues of sp along fragments in the host rock and in places cementing breccia fragments; 3). sparse disseminations of sp and other sulphides in the host rock adjacent to the massive sulphide occurrences. In certain places, the irregularly shaped bodies and lenses are enclosed by diorite or gabbro containing sparsely disseminated sp, and there are no sharply defined boundaries between them and the surrounding rock. Tanton (1930) concluded the Zenith deposit may have formed as a result of some process of magmatic segregation. No. 2 Deposit: occurs about 152.4 m NW of the No. 1. It dips 60 degrees NE and occurs along a sheared zone that has been traced in a direction of N70 degrees N, for approximately 106.7 m. Mineralization consists of irregular masses and lenses of sphalerite, together with disseminations of sp, in massive, fine-to-medium-grained diorite or gabbro. The Zenith Deposit was demonstrated by Corporation Falconbridge Copper to represent a rafted or dislodged portion of the Winston Lake Deposit approximately 1 km to the west. The massive sulphide and associated host rock xenoliths were dislodged and transported by a multi-phase intrusive gabbro.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - In the vicinity of the workings, the host rock varies in appearance. The typical rock is medium-grained to coarse-grained in texture, and consists of about equal parts of amphibole and feldspar. Other varieties have been observed. Some are relatively rich in feldspar and are amphibolitic. A tabular body of amphibolite has been found as a distinct petrographic unit about 150 feet below the No. 1 deposit. One of the striking features of the gabbro above the amphibolitic units is its completely massive quality where the mineralization is most pronounced.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - Sphalerite, dark brown to black in color, is the host mineral for the zinc mineralization. It occurs as a massive mass, with some sp disseminated marginally in the host gabbro. The irregularly shaped bodies and lenses that make up some of the No. 1 deposit are composed largely of coarsely crystalline sp with a little po, py and cp, and containing zinc in amounts ranging between 18 and 57%. Shaft No. 2 (No. 2 Deposit) was sunk in a mass of black, crystalline sp bearing a small amount of disseminated cp. This sulphide mineral forms approximately one-third of a sp-rich segregation in the diorite. The surrounding diorite is coarse-to-medium-grained massive and with no indication of shearing or foliation of any kind. The solid sulphide ore may be traced through a series of gradational changes into diorite in which sp crystals are disseminated in the same manner as the hornblende crystals. Very small amounts of py, cp, and po are disseminated irregularly through the zinc-bearing diorite and the surrounding rock, but the limits of the richly mineralized lens can be identified within a few feet or occassionally inches, by the more or less abrupt, though gradational, change in the sp content.

Alteration Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - Tanton (1930) concluded that the Zenith deposit may have formed as a result of some process of magmatic segregation. In support of this concept, it may be pointed out that typical alteration minerals, such as chorite, sericite, carbonate, epidote and tourmaline are absent.

Assay Samples

Mineral Record Details

Site Visit Information

Date: Feb 10, 1997

Geologist: B Nelson

Notes: Resident Geologist staff visited the site June 21, 1983; May of 1988; June of 1990; and August of 1991.

References

Journal - Northern Miner 83-03-10 Zenmac p. 1

Publication Number: NMINER Date: 1983

Author:

Publisher Name: Northern Miner

Location:

Map - Big Duck-Aguasabon lakes area, District of Thunder Bay, Ontario

Publication Number: ARM49K Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1997

Author: Bartley M.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Mineral deposits of the Big Duck Lake area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: R027 Page: 39-43  Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Publication - Zenith Zinc Mine, Rossport; in Zinc and lead deposits of Canada; Geological Survey of Canada, Economic Geology Series 8

Publication Number: GSC EGS 8 Page: 190-194  Date: 1930

Author: Tanton, TL

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/102442

Map - Big Duck Lake area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: M2023 Scale: 1:15,840    Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Copper, nickel, lead and zinc deposits of Ontario

Publication Number: MDC012 Page: 322  Date: 1969

Author: Shklanka R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Article - 1982 report of the Thunder Bay Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP107.004 Page: 61-62  Date: 1997

Author: Patterson G.C., Mason J.K., Schnieders B.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Mineral Occurrences in the Nipigon-Marathon Area, Volumes 1 and 2.

Publication Number: OFR5951 Date: 1996

Author: Schnieders B.R., Smyk M.C., Speed A.A., McKay D.B.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Part - Geology of the Big Duck-Aguasabon lakes area

Publication Number: ARV49-07.001 Page: 1-11  Date: 1998

Author: Bartley M.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Report an Error

We are continuously updating our assessment file / technical report information. If you notice errors in the data, please contact us.

Terms of Use

Please review our Terms of Use agreement for this data product.

Ministry Contact Information

For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Thunder Bay South Resident Geologist District Office