Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI32E04SW00020

Record: MDI32E04SW00020

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Lithium

Secondary Commodities: Beryllium, Gallium, Rubidium, Tantalum, Niobium

Location

Township or Area: Steele

Latitude: 49° 1' 47.5"    Longitude: -79° 55' 40.17"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 578374   Northing: 5431329    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Kirkland Lake

NTS Grid: 32E04SW

Point Location Description: Sample from Assessment report 20000016979

Location Method: Data Compilation

Access Description: The property is accessed by the Trans-limit road from Cochrane and a southern branch leading to the former railway station of Eades near the north shore of Lake Abitibi. A 3.8 km bush road from the branch road to Eades leads directly to the property.

Exploration History

1959: Discovered during ODM mapping by S.B. Lumbers. 1962-1963: Prospecting by Canadian Johns-Manville. Three samples, totaling 171 pounds sent to Mineral Science Division of the Federal Department of Mines and Technical Surveys. Analyses identified spodumene, beryl, pollucite and columbite-tantalite. 1971-1974: Prospecting, mapping, stripping, trenching and drilling by L. Darby. 1975: Dex Ltd. evaluated the property for the production of phlogopite to supply paint and electrical industries. 1989-1990: Prospecting and sampling by G. O'Reilly (no assessment work filed). 1991: Prospecting, mapping, ground magnetic survey and sampling by J. Burns. 1996-1998: Prospecting and sampling by G. O'Reilly. Samples were collected by the OGS for evaluation in 1998. 2017: Power Metals drilled 50 DDH totalling 5405.8 m into the Main, North, and South Dykes.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Opatica

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Guidon) - The property is near the contact of the Case Batholith to the north and the Scapa Metasediments to the South. The batholith has a mapped and inferred extent in excess of 5000 square kilometres. It is unkown if this is a single or series of intrusions. The intrusion is mainly quartz monzonite, but near its contacts, it grades to a granodiorite. A wedge of metasediments (Scapa Metasediments) cross Steele Township along the southern contact of the batholith. They vary in thickness from 0.5 km on the west to greater than 5 km on the east. A set of 3 subparallel pegmatite dikes strike obliquely to the batholoith/sediment contact. The maximum known dimensions of the largest dike are 420 m long by 30 m wide. Each of the dikes is complexly zoned.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Guidon) - The following has been condensed from a report by J. Burns (1991, assessment file KL-3240). The Scapa Metasediments trend in a southeast direction and dip southward between 60 and 70 degress. Bedding varies from crude to well defined with individual beds ranging between 1 and 2 cm in thickness. In the area of the property, the unit is fine grained and schistose. Quartz, eldspar and biotite are the main minerals with occasional garnets. Stuarolite is common in some beds. Granodiorite is the dominant phase of the batholith near its contact. It is grayish-pink, massive, medium to coarse grained and equigranular. The pegamtites are zoned. The border phase is rarely more than 2 m thick and composed of quartz, feldspar and muscovite. The average grain size of the coarse grained zone is 1-2 cm. Spodumene concentrations are greatest in theos zone and may be as hight as 15-20% of the rock. Crystals average 3-7 cm. In the very coarse zone, quartz, feldspar and muscovite range from 2-5 cm. Spodumene crystals are fewer in number but may be 50 cm long and 5-7 cm in diameter. In the quartz core, grain size is in excess of 5 cm and is composed of mainly quartz with feldspar and spodumene. Spodumene crystals are up to 90 cm in length. Property visit by J. Selway The main outcrop of the south dike consists of the following zones: 1. Aplite border zone; 2. Quartz+coarse green muscovite zone with minor oxide minerals and local beryl; 3. Albite+coarse muscovite+quartz zone with local abundant apatite (up to 20 volume %) and minor beryl and oxide minerals; 4. layered aplite with green muscovite and/or garnet, and minor oxide minerals and apatite; 5. K-feldspar+green muscovite+quartz zone; 6. blocky albitized K-feldspar+quartz+beryl (up to 9cm long).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Guidon) - The above minerals were identified in a report by E.H. Nickel of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys in 1963 (see assessment file KL-0644). Pollucite was found in a coarse pegmatitic sample. Columbite-tantalite was found in both aplitic and pegmatitic phases of the samples submitted. Spodumene is found in all phases. Property visit by J. Selway albite (aplite), quartz, muscovite, K-feldspar, beryl, spessartine garnet, fluorapatite, columbite-tantalite.

Jul 13, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - Samples collected by J. Burns in 1991 returned up to 0.24% Li2O, 40 ppm Ta, and 223 ppm Cs (Assessment report 32E04SW0003). Sampling by P. Hermeston returned up to 191 ppm Li, 0.06 ppm Ta, 10.15 ppm Ga, 329 ppm Rb, and 22.1 ppm Cs (Assessment report 20000006869). The Case Lake pegmatite swarm consists of five dykes: 1. North Dyke – 12 m thick and > 100 m strike length; 2. Main Dyke (also known as Central Dyke) – 35 m thick and > 600 m strike length; 3. South Dyke – 10 m thick and > 250 m strike length; 4. East Dyke – 19 m wide and > 1200 m strike length; 5. Northeast Dyke – 10 m wide and > 75 m length. The North, Main and South dykes are hosted by a tonalite laccolith offshoot from the Case Batholith and they strike at 60 to 70° and dip 40 to 60°. Spodumene is absent in the beryl-type South Dyke (Assessment report 20000016979).

Assay Samples

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

Rank: 1       Structure Type: Vein

Site Visit Information

Date: Jul 28, 1999

Geologist: D Guidon

Notes: Property visited on September 23, 1998 with G. O'Reilly. South dike not eamined

References

File - Resident Geologist files KL-0668, KL-2653, KL-3240, KL-4462

Publication Number: Date:

Author:

Publisher Name:

Location: Kirkland Lake RGP office

Map - Steele, Bonis and Scapa townships, District of Cochrane

Publication Number: M2018 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1997

Author: Lumbers S.B.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Burntbush-Detour lakes, Cochrane District

Publication Number: M2453 Scale: 1:100,000    Date: 1982

Author: Johns G.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of Steele, Bonis, and Scapa townships, District of Cochrane

Publication Number: R008 Page: 45-46  Date: 1997

Author: Lumbers S.B.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of the Burntbush-Detour lakes area, District of Cochrane

Publication Number: R199 Page: 65-66  Date: 1982

Author: Johns G.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

File - Res/Reg Property Visit Report KL #165

Publication Number: PV 165 Date: 1980

Author: Lovell, H.L.

Publisher Name:

Location: Kirkland Lake RGP office

Mono - Fertile Peraluminous Granites and Related Rare-Element Mineralization in Pegmatites, Superior Province, Northwest and Northeast Ontario: Operation Treasure Hunt

Publication Number: OFR6099 Date: 2003

Author: Breaks F.W., Selway J.B., Tindle A.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - Fertile and Peraluminous Granites and Related Rare-Element Pegmatite Mineralization, Superior Province, Northeastern Ontario

Publication Number: OFR6100.006 Date: 2002

Author: Breaks F.W., Selway J.B., Tindle A.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Compend - Summary of Field Work and Other Activities, 2001

Publication Number: OFR6070 Page: 23  Date: 2001

Author: Baker C.L., Kelly R.I., Parker J.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - The western Abitibi subprovince in Ontario

Publication Number: SV04-01.011 Date: 1997

Author: Jackson S.L., Fyon J.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Journal - Orbicular Rocks: A Review; In: Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 77

Publication Number: GSAB.v77 Page: 409  Date: 1966

Author: Leveson, D.J.

Publisher Name: Geological Society of America

Location:

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