Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI000000000147

Record: MDI000000000147

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Tantalum, Cesium, Lithium, Rubidium

Location

Township or Area: Opikeigan Lake Area

Latitude: 51° 38' 52.35"    Longitude: -88° 14' 29.65"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 414100   Northing: 5722605    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay North

NTS Grid: 52P09NE

Point Location Description: Location obtained from Assessment file map

Location Method: Data Compilation

Exploration History

1940-41: 3 pegmatic dykes identified by V.K. Prest while mapping. 1956: Standard Lithium Corporation Ltd. - staked claims, drilled 12 ddh totalling 968 m, trenching and channel sampling undertaken. 1962: Robert Campbell acquired the property and drilled 4 ddh totalling 141 m. 1979-82: The Tantalum Mining Corp. of Canada Ltd. (Tanco) – performed lithogeochemistry, e.m., mag., and 52 ddh totalling 5367 m. At least 11 separate anomalies were outlined, with subsequent detailed mapping of several of these. Tanco let the claims lapse in 1985. 1986: Gold Fields Canadian Mining Ltd. – staked the claims and undertook prospecting, channel sampling, mapping, biogeochemcal sampling which assayed for arsenic, assay previously drilled core (1545 samples from 27 drill holes). Airborne magnetic and EM surveys were flown over the west half of the property. No new DDH were drilled by Gold Fields. 1988: All leased claims were cancelled. 1994: Placer Dome Canada Ltd. staked a large series of contiguous claim blocks over the area. 1999 - 2001: Avalon Ventures carried out an exploration program consisting of geophysical surveys (gravity and magnetic), prospecting, geological mapping, a bedrock lithogeochemical survey, diamond drilling and assaying. 3 DDH were drilled on the Rubellite Dyke, totalling 296 m in the 2000 drilling program and 4 DDH totalling 834 m in the 2001 drilling program. A 235 kg mini-bulk sample was extracted from the Rubellite Dyke for metallurgical and tantalum extraction testing. 2000-2001: Joint venture between Avalon and Global Canada. JV terminated following the 2001 program. The project has been inactive since 2001 awaiting a recovery in tantalum prices or new demand for cesium minerals. 2009: Avalon Ventures changed name to Avalon Rare Metals.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Uchi

Terrane: North Caribou

Domain: Uchi

Belt: Miminiska-Fort Hope

Geological Age: Neoarchean  

Geology Comments

Sep 29, 2006 (Mark Puumala) - The Lilypad Lakes occurrences are hosted within numerous pegmatite dikes ranging from several centimeters to tens of metres wide (Taylor et al., 2005). The majority of the dikes are reported to strike in an approximately east-west direction (i.e., 240 to 270). However, numerous dikes oriented in an approximately north-south direction are also present. Diamond drilling information indicates that the dikes are also typically continuous to a depth of at least 100m. A number of types of pegmatite dikes were identified by Breaks and Tindle (2004). These deposits belong to the rare-element class of the LCT (lithium-cesium-tantalum) geochemical family, and include albite-type, albite-spodumene type, and complex-type (spodumene and elbaite-subtypes) pegmatites. Details regarding the specific characteristics of the six occurrences/deposits listed above are provided below. Taylor et al. (2005) recognize evidence of two principal regional deformation events in the vicinity of these deposits. Both events have affected the pegmatite dikes and host rocks. The earliest deformation event is characterized by a strong to intense penetrative to locally-spaced cleavage in the metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. This fabric approximately parallels stratigraphy in the supracrustal rocks. This fabric is also weakly developed in the more competent pegmatite dikes, and has been noted in the northern portions of the Kawitos Lake batholith. This fabric is likely to have been related to a regional N-S compressional event, and is axial planar to isoclinal folds. A second later strain event is represented by crenulation folds that overprint the earlier fabric. With the esceprion of the Spodumene dike, most pegmatites show little evidence of having been impacted by the second deformation event. These deposits are likely to be genetically related to the Kawitos Lake batholith, which has been identified by Breaks and Tindle (2004) as a potential fertile S-type granite pluton similar to others that are located near the Uchi-English River Subprovince boundary.

Aug 05, 2014 (Therese Pettigrew) - The Rubellite Dyke has an approximately north-south trend with a steep dip, cross-cutting the host stratigraphy at high angles.

Lithology

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Sep 29, 2006 (Mark Puumala) - The rubellite dike deposit is described by Taylor et al. (2005) as being hosted within a 1 to 24 m thick dike having a strike length of at least 115 m in the form of a modified M-fold. The intrusion is reported by Rees (2001) to be hosted within mafic metavolcanic rocks. Breaks and Tindle (2004) have classified this deposit as consisting of complex spodumene and elbaite-subtype intrusive phases, with the elbaite-subtype intrusion being only the second of its kind found in Canada. Taylor et al. (2005) indicate that the Rubellite Dike is comprised predominantly of large crystals of pink rubellite and purple lepidolite set in a medium-grained groundmass of blue albite and grey quartz. Other common mineral include white and pink potassium feldspar, with Rb-rick potassium feldspar in late cross-cutting fractures. Accessory minerals include spodumene, fluorite, bavenite, muscovite, pollucite and fine-grained tantalum oxides. The intrusion has a heterogeneous texture, with hydrothermal alteration and fracturing throughout. Diamond drilling carried out on the Pollucite Dike by Avalon Ventures is reported by Rees (2001) to have delineated a minimum resource of approximately 800,000 tonnes grading 0.032% Ta2O5 over a strike length of 80 m and to a depth of 250 m. Surface channel samples from this dyke are also reported by Taylor et al. (2005) to contain up to 0.689% Cs2O, 0.873% LiO2 and 0.585% Rb2O.

Aug 05, 2014 (Therese Pettigrew) - Tantalum mineralization has been identified as predominantly microlite with lesser amounts of mangano-tantalite. LRD00-01:22.80-52.70 m: 0.036% TA2O5, 0.065% Cs2O, and 0.593% Rb2O over 29.9 m. LRD00-02: 38.50-72.70 m: 0.036% TA2O5, 0.069% CS2O, and 0.560% Rb2O over 34.20 m and 0.036% Ta2O5, 0.059% Cs2O and 0.477% Rb2O over 11.2 m (75.60-86.80 m). Rubidium values are highly elevated and reflect unusually high enrichment in K-feldspar and likely also occurring in lesser amounts in lepidolite where it is present (Pedersen, 2000 AFRI 52P09NE2002). Thirteen samples taken during the 1999-2000 surface program averaged 0.064% Ta2O5, 0.654% Cs2O, 0.460% Rb2O and 0.378% LI2O (Morgan and Pedersen, 2000 AFRI 52P09NE2004). The Rubellite Dyke belongs to the “Northern Group” of dykes, which includes the Pollucite Dyke, Rubellite Dyke, North anomaly and F anomaly. They are located along an east-west corridor on the northern half of the property. They are typically folded and the tantalum mineralogy consists of microlite, wodginite and mangano-tantalite (Rees, 2001 AFRI 52P09NE2005). 2001 Drilling results: LRD01-18: 179.30-205.60 m (26.3 m): 0.028% Ta2O5, 0.158% Cs2O5 LRD01-19: 135.20-167.40 m (32.20 m): 0.038% Ta2O5, 0.833% Cs2O5 LRD01-20: 163.60-177.90 m (14.30 m): 0.040% Ta2O5, 0.006% Cs2O5 LRD01-21: 38.10-40.00 m (1.90 m): 0.038% Ta2O5, 0.065% Cs2O5 (Rees, 2001 AFRI 52P09NE2005)

Mineral Record Details

References

Map - Opikeigan Lake, Kenora District

Publication Number: M2379 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1977

Author: Wallace H.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of the Opikeigan Lake area, District of Kenora (Patricia Portion)

Publication Number: R185 Date: 1978

Author: Wallace H.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Precambrian Geology, Opikeigen Lake Area

Publication Number: P3269 Scale: 1:20,000    Date: 2005

Author: Hall L.A.F.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Mineral Occurrences and Prospects in the Fort Hope-Winisk Area

Publication Number: OFR5926 Date: 1995

Author: Mason J.K., White G.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - Rare-Element Granitic Pegmatites of the Fort Hope Field, North-Central Ontario

Publication Number: OFR6145.011 Date: 2004

Author: Breaks F.W., Tindle A.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - Precambrian Geology and Mineral Potential of the Opikeigen Lake Area

Publication Number: OFR6145.008 Date: 2004

Author: Hall L.A.F.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - The Nature and Distribution of Tanatalum Mineralization in Pegmatite Dikes, Lilypad Lakes Property, Fort Hope, Northwestern Ontario

Publication Number: Date: 2005

Author: Taylor, R.P, et al.

Publisher Name: Exploration and Mining Geology

Location: Vol. 14, Nos. 1-4, p. 31-44.

Map - Wottam Lake, Kenora and Thunder Bay districts

Publication Number: M2417 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1979

Author: Wallace H.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Precambrian Geology of the Miminiska Lake Area, Fort Hope Greenstone Belt

Publication Number: P3764 Scale: 1:50,000    Date: 2012

Author: Buse S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Geological series, Miminiska Lake area, District of Kenora (Patricia Portion)

Publication Number: P0992 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1976

Author: Wallace H.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Map - Geological Compilation of the Miminiska-Fort Hope Area, Eastern Uchi Domain

Publication Number: P3611 Scale: 1:250,000    Date: 2009

Author: Madon Z.B., McIlraith S.J., Stott G.M.

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