Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI000000001720

Record: MDI000000001720

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Platinum Metals, Copper, Nickel

Location

Township or Area: Jacques, Onion Lake Area

Latitude: 48° 41' 34.76"    Longitude: -89° 14' 59.3"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 334440   Northing: 5395770    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South

NTS Grid: 52A11NE, 52A11NW

Point Location Description: ddh SL-13-002

Location Method: Based on Assessment

Access Description: The Sunday Lake property is located approximately 25 km north of Thunder Bay. Access is obtained by travelling 20.7 km north along Dog Lake Road (Highway 589) to Howcum Lake Road, then travelling another 5.4 km to Sunday Lake Road. Access to the property is obtained via a trail located at the end of the Sunday Lake Road.

Exploration History

2006-07: Airborne magnetic survey and diamond drilling (2 ddh for 484 m) by Canstar Resources Inc. 2008-12: Airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys, ground gravity survey, geology, diamond drilling by Kennecott and Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. 2013: Ground magnetic, electromagnetic and gravity surveys, geological mapping, diamond drilling (6 ddh for 2546 m in 2013) by Transition Metals Corp. and Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. 2014: A 5 hole 2,550m diamond drilling program was completed. From November 2014 to January 2015, an additional 3 DDH totalling 2074 were drilled by Transition Metals. 2015: Transition Metals drilled 6 DDH totalling 4843 m. 2017-18: Transition Metals and Impala Platinum signed an option agreement with North American Palladium where NAP can earn up to 75% interest in the Sunday Lake project. NAP drilled 10 holes totalling 8500 m.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Southern

Geological Age: Mesoproterozoic  

Geology Comments

Oct 17, 2016 (Andrew Tims) - Mineralization is hosted within irregularly shaped, primitive, ultramafic to mafic intrusions associated with the earliest stages of rift development. As such it was recognized that these ‘early-rift’ type intrusions were highly prospective for magmatic PGM-Cu-Ni mineralization.

Jun 11, 2014 (Mark Puumala) - The Sunday Lake property covers three-quarters of a circular magnetic anomaly measuring 3.5 km in diameter. A fall 2013 Transition Metals/Impala Platinum drilling program intersected a < 20 m thick mineralized zone(s), containing >1 g/t PGE, over a strike length of 800 m and at depths ranging from 150 to 500 m. The most significant intersection was 20.2 m grading 2.11 g/t Pt, 0.95 g/t Pd, 0.26% Cu and 0.11 g/t Ni in ddh SL-13-002, while the highest grade intersection was 0.4 m grading 3.94 g/t Pt, 3.82 g/t Pd, 1.98% Cu and 1.10% Ni in ddh SL-13-006. Mineralization is associated with a Mesoproterozoic mafic to ultramafic intrusive complex and occurs in gabbroic and ultramafic phases, as well as at the footwall contact with thermally altered Neoarchean Quetico metasedimentary rocks (Transition Metals Corp., news release, January 27, 2014).

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Jun 27, 2019 (Therese Pettigrew) - The stratigraphy of the Sunday Lake Intrusion can be broken down into three main units: Upper Gabbro Series (UGS), Lower Gabbroic Series (LGS) and Ultramafic Series. The UGS is an evolved, coarse-grained plagioclase cumulate gabbro to monzogabbro which can be up to 348 m thick. Rocks of the UGS are strongly hematite, epidote, chlorite and potassic altered. Thick sequences of gabbroic breccias are intermittently encountered at the upper contact of the intrusion and contain 10-50% angular quartz xenoliths within a strongly hemaitized gabbroic matrix. Upper Series rocks contain 1-5% disseminated pyrite but do not contain PGM mineralization. The LGS is in sharp contact with the UGS and is more mafic in character, comprised of gabbro to olivine melagabbronorite. The unit is distinct from the UGS, separated by a sharp contact, and is markedly finer grained. The LGS grades from and an upper gabbroic unit to a central melagabbo-peridotite before becoming more gabbroic again as the lower contact with the Ultramafic Series is approached. Minor PGM mineralization occurs at the interface between the UGS and LGS, with values not exceeding 1 g/t PGM. The Ultramafic Series is the basal unit in the southern most drill holes and is comprised of olivine melagabbro, peridotite and minor pyroxenite. It is located beneath the LGS, separated by a sharp, variable textured contact possibly representing auto-brecciation of the overlying LGS. Its thickness ranges from approximately 10 m in some drill holes near the north contact of the intrusion to 140 m near the centre of the SLI. The Ultramafic Series is coarser grained and more strongly serpentinized than the LGS (Assessment file 20000014643).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Jun 27, 2019 (Therese Pettigrew) - Mineralization in the ultramafic series occurs within an olivine melagabbro unit with 2-10% disseminated, fine-grained chalcopyrite-pyrite-pyrrhotite. Rare sulphide veins and semi-massive sulphide are also observed. Intersections of 20.2 m @ 3.22 g/t PGM, 0.26% Cu and 0.11% Ni in SL-13-002 and 15m @ 2.84 g/t PGM, 0.22% Cu and 0.09% Ni in SL-14-003 are representative of the mineralization encountered in the Ultramafic Series. The size and shape of the intrusion is inferred from the available magnetic and gravity data and diamond drilling, indicates an elliptical body in plan view, elongated in along a NE-SW direction. The dimensions of the intrusion are inferred to be 1.3 km wide and 2.9 km long. Diamond drilling has shown that the upper contact of the Sunday Lake Intrusion is located between 61 m in the north and 424 m in the south (average 350 m). The lower contact of the intrusion ranges from 144 m in the north to 1,153 m in the south. The morphology of the SLI is inferred to be an elongated lopolith, with an axis that trends NE-SW deepening to the SW as indicated by drilling and gravity data. In the northern portion of the intrusion, a change in the lithology of the country rocks from metasedimentary to granodiorite correlates with a change in the morphology of the intrusion from a bowl-shaped body to an irregular dyke-sill or possibly a chonolith. DDH SL-14-008 returned 17.8 m of 1.17 gpt Pt, 0.7 gpt Pd, 0.08 gpt Au, 0.27% Cu, and 0.11% Ni (Assessment file 20000014643). DDH SL-19-026 returned 41.20 m of 5.51 g/t PGE (3.22 g/t Pt, 2.08 g/t Pd, 0.21 g/t Au) and 0.57% Cu, including a high-grade section of 15.80 m @ 9.11 g/t PGE (5.42 g/t Pt, 3.35 g/t Pd, 0.34 g/t Au) and 0.88% Cu. Hole SL-19-29 intersected 61.00 m @ 2.20 g/t PGE (1.20 g/t Pt, 0.80 g/t Pd, 0.15 g/t Au) including 8.17m @ 5.44 g/t PGM (3.20 g/t Pt, 2.00 g/t Pd, 0.33 g/t Au) (Transition Metals April 29, 2019 press release).

Mineral Record Details

References

Mono - Report of Activities 2013, Resident Geologist Program, Thunder Bay South Regional Resident Geologist Report: Thunder Bay South District

Publication Number: OFR6293 Scale:     Date: 2014

Author: Puumala M.A., Campbell D.A., Tuomi R.D., Debicki R.L., Wilson A.C., Moses P., Brunelle M.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Data - Ontario Airborne Geophysical Surveys, Magnetic and Electromagnetic Data, Shebandowan Area

Publication Number: GDS1021 Scale:     Date: 2003

Author: Ontario Geological Survey

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Gorham Township and vicinity, District of Thunder Bay, Ontario

Publication Number: ARM48C Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1997

Author: Macdonald R.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Part - Geology of Gorham Township and vicinity

Publication Number: ARV48-03 Scale:     Date: 1998

Author: Macdonald R.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Quaternary geology of the Onion Lake and Sunshine area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: MP094 Scale:     Date: 1981

Author: Burwasser G.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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