Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI000000001717

Record: MDI000000001717

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Gold

Location

Township or Area: Saganagons Lake Area

Latitude: 48° 17' 3.52"    Longitude: -90° 52' 36.52"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 657504   Northing: 5350080    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South

NTS Grid: 52B07SW

Point Location Description: stripped outcrop area

Location Method: Field Visit with GPS

Access Description: The property is accessed via a well maintained logging road (Hwy 802 South) off of Highway 11 just past Kashabowie, Ontario.

Exploration History

1971: Dome flew an airborne geophysical survey. 1991: Wye Resources discovered the Starr Zone. 1991-1995: Geological mapping, stripping, trenching, sampling and diamond drilling (9 ddh totalling 277 m) by Wye Resources. 1997: Ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys, and drilling (1067 m) by International Capri Resources. 2005: Benton Resources optioned the property from Wing Resources. Ground magnetic and induced polarization surveys, geological mapping, trenching, channel sampling, humus sampling survey by Benton Resources. 2006-08: Geological mapping, geochemical sampling, diamond drilling (11 ddh for 2003 m) by Teck-Cominco. 2009-2012: Soil sampling, ground magnetic survey, prospecting, geological mapping, sampling, and diamond drilling (20 ddh) by Benton Resources. 2020-22: Metallica Metals optioned the property from Benton Resources and conducted airborne magnetometer and electromagnetic geophysical surveys, prospecting, sampling, and drilled 30 DDH totalling 4426 m including 7 DDH totalling 878 m on the Starr showing.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wawa

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Shebandowan

Geological Age: Archean  

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Aug 28, 2015 (Therese Pettigrew) - The property is composed primarily of fine to medium grained mafic metavolcanics. The metavolcanics are intruded by gabbroic bodies which tend to be fine- to medium-grained massive bodies which are locally moderate to strongly magnetic (magnetite). Alteration is generally moderate with albitization, epidote and chlorite being most dominant with localized sections of carbonate and silification throughout. Sulphide mineralization is localized with sections of blebby coarse grained pyrite up to 20% of the rock over small intersections. This area is also regularly cross cut with quartz-feldspar-porphyry dykes that roughly trend east-west. In the central part of the area, a lithological package that contains (from west to east) an ultramafic unit, cherty sediments that are interlayered with fine-grained volcanics and a quartz-bearing porphyritic unit. It is proposed that this north-south trending sequence generally dips 45 degrees to the east. Silicification is commonly observed in the central part of the property which commonly is observed as quartz veins that vary in thickness from less than one millimeter to meter scale. The Powell zone is the most observable and the Starr showings (North and South) to a lesser extent. In these areas, the quartz veins form irregularly oriented sheet-like veins with variable amounts of localized sulphide mineralization. Typically, the host rocks proximal to these veins have undergone varying degrees of hydrothermal alteration (AFRO 2.54073).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Jun 11, 2014 (Mark Puumala) - Diamond drilling programs targeting the Starr Zone have returned values of up to 5.69 g/t Au over 20 m (AFRO 2.54073).

Aug 28, 2015 (Therese Pettigrew) - In December 1991, Wye Resources carried out a diamond-drill program on the property. Three holes were drilled on the North showing. Hole 91-4 intersected 16.86 m grading 0.085 ounces Au per ton. This included the following intersections: 3.76 m grading 0.20 ounces Au per ton, 2.87 m grading 0.14 ounces Au per ton, and 1.7 m grading 0.11 ounces Au per ton. The 1992 drill program consisted of three 20.5 m holes on the North showing, which is also referred to as the "Starr Zone" by Wye Resources. Hole 92-1 intersected 13.23 m grading 0.054 ounces Au per ton, hole 92-2 intersected 16.31 m grading 0.081 ounces Au per ton, and hole 92-3 intersected 16.76 m grading 0.043 ounces Au per ton (Lavigne et al., 1993). Highlights of the 1995 sampling program include 2.6 g/t Au over 13.7 m in the northern part, 5.44 g/t Au over 36.6 m in the middle section and 4.18 g/t Au in the southern section. The host rocks at the Starr showing (distinguished by their presence or absence of quartz eyes) show variations in their alteration assemblages; the quartz-eye bearing unit is strongly albitized, silicified, and pyritized, while the non-quartz eye bearing unit is typically silicified, chloritized, and pyritized. There also appears to be a correlation here between mineralization and iron-oxide content (magnetite). The albite zone contains the highest gold concentrations and contains up to 40-55% clotted disseminated hydrothermal pyrite (AFRO 2.54073). Hole DDH 91-5 gave assay values of 2.0 g/t Au over 30 m, 13.4 g/t Au over 1 m and 9.67 g/t Au over 0.9 m (AFRO 2.36864). Byrnes (2010, AFRO 2.44387) reports the gold-bearing unit is a fine- to medium-grained gabbro unit. Sulphide mineralization is coarse-grained pyrite up to 15% locally and often clotted in nature. The unit is moderately magnetic, and alteration minerals include blebby chlorite and epidote, and localized albitization throughout. Quartz veining up to 10cm in thick are located periodically throughout and are often found to have a halo of fine-grained pyrite at the contact with the gabbro unit. The gabbro contacts with a mafic volcanic unit which only has trace amounts of sulphide mineralization. Both hole SAG09-13 and SAG09-14 ended in a strongly altered (talc+ serpentine+ magnetite) ultramafic volcanic unit. Assay results for these two holes ran 3.0 gpt Au over 20 m which included 10.1 gpt Au over 1.5 m which covered the areas of intense sulphide mineralization. The second step back hole (SAG09-14) had lower grades which ran 0.7 gpt Au over 15 m including 75 cm of 5.7 gpt Au with a second zone running 1.9 gpt Au over 4.5 m. These zones also coincided with areas of increased pyrite mineralization. DDH STR21-004 returned up to 4.1 g/t Au over 14.2 m including 25.15 g/t Au over 1.85 m (Pettigrew, 2022).

Mineral Record Details

Site Visit Information

Date: Jun 13, 2013

Geologist: Mark Puumala

Notes: The Starr showing is hosted in gabbro that displays strong silicification, quartz veining, iron carbonate alteration and sulphide (pyrite) mineralization. The stripped outcrop area is cross-cut by numerous shears and fractures. Foliation and quartz veinlets in the northwestern part of the stripped area strike approximately 120. A prominent, approximately 1 m wide shear zone is exposed near the northwest end of the stripped area and strikes 290, with a steep dip of approximately 80o toward the north. This shear is cross-cut by a later brittle fracture that displays minor (i.e., cm- to dm-scale) left-lateral displacement. A grab sample of chloritic, sericitic and carbonate-altered material from the shear (MP-SL-13-01) was collected for assay and returned a value of 8 ppb Au (Resident Geologist’s Files, Thunder Bay South). Numerous near-horizontal to 45o dipping quartz veins (up to 10 cm wide) occur along a steep rock face near the southeast end of the stripped area, where the host rocks are strongly silicified, chloritized and mineralized with pyrite. A grab sample of pyrite mineralized material was collected for assay, returning a value of 4468 ppb Au (Resident Geologist’s Files, Thunder Bay South).

References

Compend - Report of Activities 1992, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP161 Page: 97-98  Date: 1993

Author: Fenwick K.G., Pitts A.E., Newsome J.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Technical Report, Saganaga Property

Publication Number: 2010 43-101 Date: 2010

Author: Clark, J.G.

Publisher Name: Benton Resources Corp.

Location: SEDAR

MonoMap - Geology of the Saganagons Lake area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: R066 Date: 1968

Author: Harris F.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Publication - NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Starr Property

Publication Number: 2022 NI 43-101 Date: 2022

Author: Pettigrew, N.

Publisher Name: Metallica Metals Corp

Location: SEDAR

Map - Saganagons Lake area, Thunder Bay District

Publication Number: M2149 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1968

Author: Harris F.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

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