Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52H08NE00012

Record: MDI52H08NE00012

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Lithium

Location

Township or Area: Lake Jean Area

Latitude: 49° 26' 30.19"    Longitude: -88° 1' 31.77"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 425659   Northing: 5477067    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay North

NTS Grid: 52H08NE

Point Location Description: Map in 2012 NI 43-101 report

Location Method: Conversion from MDI

Access Description: The Nama Creek property can be accessed by driving 60 km north of the town of Nipigon on Highway 11, then driving approximately 5 km east on a dirt road to reach the eastern boundary of claim 4253781.

Exploration History

1955-56: occurrence was staked. New Highridge Mining Company Ltd., New Harricana Mines Ltd. and Nama Creek Mines Ltd. jointly conducted trenching and sampling and drilled 19 DDH totalling 2693.5 m. 2010-11: Rock Tech Lithium Inc. drilled 6 DDH totalling 966.3 m and channel sampling (11 channels on Harricana and West dykes). 2021-22: Rock Tech drilled 16 DDH totalling 3437 m.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Quetico

Geological Age: Archean  

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Apr 20, 2016 (Therese Pettigrew) - The Harricana dyke has been traced in diamond drill holes for 1850 ft (564 m). Throughout most of this length, the dyke strikes N30E. To the NE, however, it curves and assumes a strike of N45E, roughly parallel to the metasediments. It dips 70-80 degrees NW and is 10-45 ft thick, the thicker portions occurring where, over a length of 1300 ft, the strike is N30E. The dyke is crudely tabular in shape and does not appear to split and branch (Pye, 1965). Three pegmatite zones were identified in West/Harricana pegmatite dykes: a) border zone, b) spodumene zone and c) aplite layer. The West and Harricana dykes are similar in geology and in such close proximity that they are grouped together for this geology description. The metasedimentary host rock is rarely metasomatized when it is in contact with spodumene pegmatite dykes. Xenoliths with enlarged biotite crystals were intersected in drill holes HW-11-02 and 05. A cherty appearance along the contacts was intersected in drill holes HW-11-02 and 03. The border zone is 1 to 3 cm thick and consists of fine-grained pegmatite. It consists mostly of grey quartz, white feldspar and silvery-white to yellow-green muscovite and accessory garnet and pyrite. The spodumene zone and alternating aplite and spodumene pegmatite layers extends throughout almost the entire width of the pegmatite dyke. The aplite bands are 4 to 20 cm thick and the spodumene pegmatite bands are 20 cm to 1.2 m thick in drill core. The aplite bands have a sugary texture and consist of grey quartz, white feldspar and pale yellow-green muscovite. The spodumene pegmatite bands are coarse-grained and consist of grey-brown quartz, white feldspar, pale yellow-green muscovite and spodumene. The spodumene ranges in colour from grey-white to very pale green to altered dark green/black. The spodumene crystals are mostly aligned parallel to each other and perpendicular to the aplite bands, except for drill hole HW-11-01 where the spodumene crystals are randomly oriented. The feldspar is a mixture of albite and K-feldspar, but assays indicate that albite is more abundant than K-feldspar. The albite shows cleavelandite texture and the K-feldspar shows perthitic texture. The accessory minerals in the spodumene pegmatite layers include fine- to medium-grained pink to pink-brown garnets, blue-grey to blue-green apatite and trace pyrite associated with altered spodumene and trace beryl. The spodumene is partially altered to yellow-green muscovite at the top and bottom of the spodumene zone. The spodumene is altered to muscovite or is dark olive green in colour and is associated with dark grey feldspar and pyrite (Selway et al., 2012).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Apr 20, 2016 (Therese Pettigrew) - Harricana contains two sub-parallel dikes, Harricana Main and Harricana West. Harricana Main strikes at 220 and dips 60 degrees to the northwest. Harricana West strikes at 220 and dips 60 degree to the northwest in the southern half of the dike; however, the orientation of the dike changes to strike of 140, dipping 60 degrees to the southwest, in the north (Rock Tech news release June 30, 2022). The principal constituents of the Harricana dyke are feldspar, spodumene, quartz, plagioclase, and muscovite. The feldspar forms elongate individuals up to 8 inches in length; the spodumene is found as prismatic crystals up to 4 inches, in most places 1-2 inches, in length. They occur in a relatively fine-grained matrix of pegmatite minerals, and are arranged in subparallel alignment, roughly perpendicular to the walls of the dyke. In a few places the spodumene is pale greenish and unaltered. Much of it, however, has been replaced by granular-textured muscovite, and considerable black spodumene, changed largely to sericite, is evident. In a few places the altered spodumene appears to be more abundant closer to the walls of the pegmatite than in the interior portions, but in general its distribution is irregular throughout the full length of the deposit. The dyke is interrupted in places by conformable vein aplites up to 12 inches thick. However, these are not numerous and would not reduce significantly any value the deposit might have. The average grade of the Harricana dyke is less than 0.5 percent Li2O. The best intersection was obtained in DDH HM-14. This hole, drilled S40E at 55 degrees to intersect the dyke near its south end, cut 39.5 feet of pegmatite. One 10.0-foot section, 9.0 feet from the hanging wall, was found on analysis to average 0.97 percent Li2O (Pye, 1965). All of the holes in Rock Teck’s 2010-2011 drill program intersected spodumene pegmatite. HW-11-02 intersected a 10.22 m thick spodumene pegmatite from 58.32 to 68.54 m and a second, 3.45 m thick, spodumene pegmatite from 102.50 to 105.95 m down hole. The first dyke returned 0.99% Li2O over 10.22 m, including 1.39% Li2O over 5.0 m from 61.32 to 66.32 m. The second pegmatite contains 0.23% Li2O over 3.45 m, including 0.38% Li2O over 2.0 m from 102.5 to 104.5 m. HW-11-04 intersected one, 8.74 m thick, spodumene pegmatite dyke from 100.91 to 109.65 m down hole. This pegmatite returned 0.89% Li2O, including 1.01% Li2O over 6.0 m from 102.91 to 108.91 m downhole. Drilling at Harricana West pegmatite indicates that spodumene pegmatite extends for approximately 350 m on a general north-south direction and varies in thickness from 4.83 to 10.18 m down hole. Harricana dyke was modeled to a maximum vertical depth of 170 m below surface. This pegmatite remains open at all directions (Selway et al., 2012).

Mineral Record Details

References

Publication - Independent Technical Report and Updated Resource for Nama Creek Main Zone North Pegmatite, Georgia Lake Lithium Property, Beardmore, Ontario, Canada

Publication Number: 2012 NI 43-101 Date: 2012

Author: Selway, J., Baker, J., Magyarosi, Z., Dixon, A., Sanders, R.

Publisher Name: CCIC for Rock Tech Lithium Inc.

Location: SEDAR

MonoMap - Geology and lithium deposits of Georgia Lake area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: R031 Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Georgia Lake area, Thunder Bay District

Publication Number: M2056 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Folio - Pijitawabik Bay area (Kilkenny Township), District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: GDIF188 Date: 1997

Author: Thunder Bay RGO

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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