Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI000000003178

Record: MDI000000003178

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Nickel

Location

Township or Area: Bannockburn

Latitude: 47° 58' 36.62"    Longitude: -80° 54' 32.7"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 506785   Northing: 5313730    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Kirkland Lake

NTS Grid: 41P15NW

Point Location Description: DDH GBN21-01 collar location from Canada Nickel news release Sept 28, 2022

Location Method: Data Compilation

Exploration History

1996-1998: Outokumpu Mines Ltd conducted magnetometer and EM surveys, geological mapping, soil surveys, sampling and drilled 28 DDH totalling 8517 m on the property and discovered the zone in DDH BN19-98. 2003-04: Mustang Minerals Corp (later became Grid Metals) carried out airborne magnetometer and EM surveys, and drilled 10 DDH totalling 2794 m. 2021: Grid Metals drilled 8 DDH totalling 2784.9 m on the B zone. 2022: property acquired by Canada Nickel Company.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Abitibi

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Abitibi

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Oct 05, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - The Property is situated in the southwest portion of the Archean-age Abitibi Greenstone Belt on the northeastern side of the Halliday Dome structural feature. The Halliday Dome consists mainly of calc-alkaline felsic and intermediate volcanic rocks with minor quantities of iron formation and basaltic rocks of the Tisdale Assemblage, unconformably overlain by younger Kinojevis Assemblage rocks, which are in turn unconformably overlain by sedimentary rocks of the Porcupine Assemblage. The Property is underlain by a complex sequence of Neoarchean-age calc-alkaline intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks, mafic volcanic rocks, komatiitic basalt to dunite, silicate to sulphide iron formation, gabbro intrusions, and a series of sedimentary rocks including diamictite, arkose, and conglomerate (Préfontaine and Berger, 2005). Proterozoic-age (Huronian Supergroup) sediments (Cobalt Group - Gowganda Formation), composed mainly of clastic metasedimentary rocks such as conglomerate, sandstone, wackes and argillite, unconformably overlie the Archean supracrustal assemblages (Jobin-Bevans and Davis, 2021).

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Oct 05, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - The Property is underlain by a complex sequence of Neoarchean-age calc-alkaline intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks, mafic volcanic rocks, komatiitic basalt to dunite, silicate to sulphide iron formation, gabbro intrusions, and a series of sedimentary diamictite, arkose, and conglomerate. The intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks range in composition from rhyodacite to dacitic andesites. The units display textures ranging from hyaloclastic-fragmental flows to pillowed flows, and massive flows. Chlorite- and quartz-filled amygdules are found throughout the units in varying proportions. Weak chlorite alteration is pervasive with lesser amounts of epidote and hematite alteration. The pillow selvages and flow contacts tend to display stronger chlorite alteration. Pyrrhotite and pyrite mineralization occurs throughout the sequence, but tends to be concentrated, up to 10%, within the hyaloclastic and fragmental zones. Mafic volcanic rocks, with a calc-alkaline affinity, tend to be confined to localized areas within the felsic to intermediate sequence and do not appear to be laterally extensive. The extrusive komatiitic rocks exhibit flow top rubble zones and spinifex-textured zones which indicate tops are to the east. The intrusive komatiitic rocks range in composition from pyroxenitic cumulates (chlorite-tremolite rocks) to olivine adcumulates (serpentinite rocks). The komatiitic rocks are the most important facies with respect to the exploration and economic potential of the property. A preponderance of the komatiitic rocks are olivine orthocumulates to mesocumulates laterally away from olivine adcumulate cores. The komatiitic sequence is only exposed in a few areas and determinations of its composition and laterally continuity are difficult to interpret. The komatiitic rocks strike north-northwest for approximately 20 km as discrete lenses and/or horizons. Based on the ground magnetic surveys there appears to be at least three or possibly four stacked horizons of komatiitic rocks present on the Bannockburn Property. A second suite of intrusive rocks exhibits a gabbroic composition. This low titanium and high alkaline element gabbro is associated with the margins of the komatiitic sequences, crosscutting olivine cumulates in some areas, and may be associated with the calc-alkaline mafic volcanic rocks (Jobin-Bevans and Davis, 2021).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Oct 05, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - The B-Zone (Bannockburn) located west of Rahn Lake has disseminated sulphide mineralization occurring centrally within a thick olivine adcumulate body. The B-Zone sulphide deposit is composed of a few percent of pyrrhotite, pentlandite, heazlewoodite, and native nickel. The nickel tenor of this zone is extremely high at >80% Ni in 100% sulphide and is related to the nickel-rich mineralogy. The best drill intersection from this zone is 0.45% Ni over a core length of 23.5 metres. The B-Zone is interpreted as a Type II Mt. Keith-style komatiite-hosted deposit. The B-Zone Ni-Cu sulphide occurrence was discovered in 1998 by Outokumpu, who completed a fence of drill holes across a strong northwest trending magnetic anomaly related to a +2-km long and +200-m thick serpentinized ultramafic body. The discovery hole (BN19-98) intersected 25.25 m of disseminated sulphide grading 0.46% Ni including 10.97 m of 0.66% Ni. Additional drilling by Mustang Minerals in 2004 extended the B-Zone to a strike length of +350 metres with an interpreted sub-vertical orientation and a true thickness of at least 150 metres. Sulphide mineralization is hosted within the thick body of olivine adcumulate to mesocumulate rocks and is open at depth (+275 m vertical) and +3.5 km along strike to the northwest where a second high-intensity magnetic anomaly occurs. B-Zone sulphide mineralization has been characterized as Type II Mt. Keith-style (sub-type of Komatiite-hosted type), with disseminated sulphides that occur centrally within a thick olivine adcumulate komatiitic body. The B-Zone contains mainly pyrrhotite and pentlandite with trace chalcopyrite. An unidentified grey mineral, with optical properties similar to titanomagnetite, appears to be a nickel sulphide phase (heazlewoodite?). The nickel tenor of the B-Zone is extremely high at >80% Ni in 100% sulphide. Other sulphide mineralization around Rahn Lake shows a gradational nickel tenor that decreases from >40% Ni to 10% Ni in 100% sulphide, as the basal contact is approached (Jobin-Bevans and Davis, 2021).

Mineral Record Details

References

Publication - Independent NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Bannockburn Nickel Sulphide Project

Publication Number: 2021 NI 43-101 Date: 2021

Author: Jobin-Bevans, S., Davis, P.

Publisher Name: Caracle Creek for Grid Metals Corp.

Location: SEDAR

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Ministry Contact Information

For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Kirkland Lake Resident Geologist District Office