Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52O09SE00027

Record: MDI52O09SE00027

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Gold

Secondary Commodities: Graphite

Location

Township or Area: Connell

Latitude: 51° 31' 28.19"    Longitude: -90° 6' 53.45"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 700140   Northing: 5712100    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay North

NTS Grid: 52O09SE

Point Location Description: Location obtained from assessment file map in AFRO# 2.32421.

Location Method: Data Compilation

Exploration History

1935: Picador Mines Ltd. discovered the showing and carried out prospecting and trenching. 1946: property was staked by prospectors L.M. Mitchell and E. Wilson. 1948: Central Patricia Gold Mines Ltd. optioned the property and drilled 5 holes totalling 96 m. 1983-84: Van Horne Gold Exploration Inc. staked the property and carried out line cutting, ground magnetometer and VLF-EM surveys, mapping, trenching, and sampling. 1984-85: Billiton Canada Ltd. optioned the property and carried out linecutting, ground vertical gradient magnetometer and VLF-EM surveys, mapping, trenching, sampling, and relogging historical drill core. 1985: Esso Minerals Canada bought Billiton's interest in the property. 1986: Esso completed infill linecutting, total field and vertical gradient ground magnetometer surveys, geological mapping, soil and humus soil geochemistry surveys, limited stripping and channel sampling. 1989: Homestake Mining (Canada) Ltd. acquired the property from Esso. 2013: Metalcorp drilled 3 DDH totaling 709 m.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Uchi

Terrane: North Caribou

Domain: Uchi

Belt: Pickle Lake

Geological Age: Mesoarchean  

Geology Comments

Dec 19, 2006 (Mark Puumala) - The Tarp Lake area gold prospects and occurrences are located in the northern portion of the Pickle Lake Greenstone Belt. These occurrences are found within a mafic metavolcanic rock dominated supracrustal sequence identified by Young (2003) as being part of the > 2860 Ma Pickle Crow Assemblage. According to Young (2003), the Pickle Crow assemblage is dominated by massive and pillowed mafic metavolcanic flows with subordinate (likely synvolcanic) gabbroic sills. MacTavish (2006) describes the mafic metavolcanic flows as being commonly well-foliated to schistose, amphibolitized, and often finely-amygdaloidal. In addition, MacTavish (2006) indicates that the mafic metavolcanics include units of pillow and hyaloclastite breccia. The gabbroic sills are described by MacTavish (2006) as fine- to coarse-grained gabbro, melagabro and ferrogabbro sills up to 200 m thick. The mafic metavolcanics are intercalated with thin, laterally continuous banded iron formation and small, discontinuous lenses of intermediate to felsic metavolcanics. A significant 90 to 125 m thick northeast-trending unit of felsic to intermediate tuff breccia to pyroclastic breccia has been reported in this area by MacTavish. Relatively thin units (up to 70 m thick) of clastic metasedimentary rocks have also been reported by MacTavish (2006). All lithologies are intruded by semi-concordant feldspar porphyry dikes. These dikes are reported by MacTavish (2006) to vary widely in thickness and lateral continuity. MacTavish (2006) also indicates that all lithologies are crosscut by late biotite lamprophyre dikes that are up to 5 m in thickness. One of these dikes is reported to contain ultramafic and country rock xenoliths, red garnets and greenish diopside. Stratigraphy in the Tarp Lake area generally faces toward the northwest, except where asymmetric folding (mainly further to the southeast in the Pickle Crow mine area) has caused reversals in the younging direction (Young 2003). The dominant geological structure in the Tarp Lake area is the Tarp Lake Shear Zone. This structure strikes northeast and forms a wide, diffuse and anastamosing deformation zone that is poorly exposed and characterized (MacTavish 2006). The mafic metavolcanic rocks affected by this shear zone are characterized by moderate to intense carbonatization, sericitization and local silicification (MacTavish 2006). This alteration zone hosts the numerous gold occurrences throughout the area. Many of the more significant gold prospects appear to be located where the Tarp Lake Shear Zone is intersected by splays and/or later fault/shear zones, or relatively competent lithological units such as porphyry intrusions, gabbro and iron formation. The cross-cutting deformation zones are most commonly reported to strike approximately northwest, east-west and north-northeast. Similar complex faulting/shearing patterns have been noted nearby by MacQueen (1987) in the vicinity of the Pickle Crow gold mine, and by McAuley and Winter (1990) in the vicinity of a number of gold occurrences in the July Falls area.

Lithology

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 19, 2006 (Mark Puumala) - The Mitchell Zone is described by MacTavish (2006) as being located within a fractured, silicified, sericitic quartz porphyry sill hosted within foliated intermediate tuff. The tuff unit is silicified and carbonatized adjacent to the sill contact. MacTavish (2006) indicates that gold occurs within or closely associated with quartz veins (up to 30 cm thick) or quartz stringer zones that fill fractures and distortions within the porphyry intrusion. Younger mafic and lamprophyre dikes are reported by Goodwin (1986) to post-date and cross-cut the porphyry intrusions. Goodwin (1986) has identified three sets of faults/shears at this location that post-date foliation-parallel shearing. Foliation strikes approximately 080, while the later faults/shears are reported to strike 180, 135 and 140 (However, it should be noted that the trench map actually illustrates shears that appear to strike 035 to 040). The largest quartz vein (Mitchell Vein) is reported by Goodwin (1986) to be hosted in the 180-striking fault, while a second, narrow quartz-carbonate vein occurs within the 135 (035?)-striking fault. The 140 (040?)-striking faults are interpreted to be the youngest, and are reported to offset stratigraphy by up to 10 m. Goodwin also notes that quartz veins and stockworks are strongly-developed within the porphyry and generally strike 135 and 020. Stockwork veins are also reported to occur in the mafic dikes, while veining is less well-developed in the volcanics, and where present, follows the trend of foliation. Significant assays obtained from the Mitchell Zone are reported by MacTavish (2006) to include: 10.97g/t Au over 1.22 m and 8.23 g/t over 3.6 m from diamond drill holes advanced at this location in 1947; assays of 6.65 g/t Au over 2.2 m and 13.89 g/t Au over 1 m from channel samples collected by Billiton in 1985.

Jan 19, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - During 1947, diamond drilling returned assay results of 0.32 opt (10.97 gpt) Au/4.0 ft (1.22 m) and 0.24 opt (8.23 gpt) Au/12.0 ft (3.60 m) (Assessment report 20000001524). Graphitic carbon content of samples collected from the 2013 drill program varied between 0.15-1.78%. DDH PLC-13-49 retuned 0.64 g/t Au over 0.45 m (Assessment report 20000009101).

Mineral Record Details

References

Mono - Geology of the Crow River area, District of Kenora (Patricia Portion)

Publication Number: OFR5152 Page: 255-257  Date: 1976

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of the Cat Lake-Pickle Lake area, districts of Kenora and Thunder Bay

Publication Number: R207 Page: 206  Date: 1982

Author: Sage R.P., Breaks F.W.

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