Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI32L04SE00002

Record: MDI32L04SE00002

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Gold

Secondary Commodities: Silver, Copper

Location

Township or Area: Sunday Lake Area

Latitude: 50° 0' 57.53"    Longitude: -79° 42' 39.69"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 592345.12   Northing: 5541203.56    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Timmins

NTS Grid: 32L04SE

Point Location Description: Head frame.

Location Method: Field Visit

Access Description: The mine is easily accessed via the Detour Lake road a 300km gravel and paved road the connects with Highway 11 at either Iroquois Falls or Cochrane.'4 Track' trail leads up to the stripped outcrops.'4 track' trail connects to secondary forestry roads branching off the Chester Access Road.'4 track' trail connects to secondary forestry roads branching off the Chester Access Road.

Exploration History

1974-76: Amoco Canada Petroleum Co. Ltd. - airborne geophysics, 335 ddh (57,339 m). 1979-1982: Campbell Red Lake Mines - DD (surface and underground) -419-31,616 m, channel and grab sampling 1983-87: open pit mining 1987-1999: Placer Dome Inc. - underground mining, DD-4219-435,002m 1996-97: Pelangio-Larder Mines-Franco-Nevada Mining Corporation - 162 ddh (38,286 m). 2004-2006: Pelangio Mines Limited - DD-127-29,780 m). 2007-2012: Detour Gold Corporation - DD-1389-537,352 m, MMI surveys, ground geophysics, mapping, sampling. 2013: Detour Gold Corporation - mine reaches commercial production as of August 12, 2013

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Abitibi

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Abitibi

Geological Age: Neoarchean   Geochronological Age: 2722 MA   Geochron. Age Ref.: Marmont and Corfu 1988

Metamorphism Type: Regional

Metamorphism Grade: Amphibolite

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (L Lutha) - The bulk of the mineralization occurs in an open 'S' shaped flexure in the 'chert' horizon. This 'chert' horizon is the locus of most of the deformation and probably represents a fault boundary between the tholeiites and komatiites. The quartz veins represent infillings along 'Riedel Shears' and are parallel to the extreme limbs of the 'S' shaped flexure in the 'chert'. The majority of the veins are centred on the flexure and all appear to be contained within the north and south limb of the flexure. In addition to this brittle deformation there is more ductile deformation which has affected the porphyry. The deformation is not well known and appears to be a ductile shear with transportation of altered komatiitic material into the porphyry along the principle shear zones. The general plunge of the porphyry is parallel to the plunge of the main zone as well as the lineation defined by varioles. A late hetrolithic breccia with abundant exotic fragment of basement gneiss appears to be a late stage intrusion.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (L Lutha) - The Detour Lake deposit is located in the northwest part of the Abitibi Greenstone Subprovince close to the contact with the Opatica Subprovince. Gold mineralization is hosted within a deformed zone at the contact between mafic and ultramafic rocks. Within the mine area, rocks from south to north or footwall to hangingwall are: clastic metasediments and metavolcanics; komatiites which vary from chlorite schist to talc-chlorite schist to talc-carbonate schist; the mine 'chert'; and massive tholeiitic basalts inter-fingered with pillowed flows. A quartz feldspar porphyry intrudes the komatiitic rocks. The mineralization occurs in two, possibly three settings, all of which are focussed on the 'chert' horizon. Originally it was thought that the 'chert' horizon was a sedimentary unit overlying a sulphide silica facies iron formation. This 'iron formation' in the footwall to the 'chert' consists of coarse disseminated sulphides and sulphide aggregates in a fine grained white quartz host. Currently the 'chert' is interpreted to be an intensely silicified shear zone and has some fine braided bands of sericite and carbonate. The 'iron formation' is presently interpreted to be quartz veining with sulphides. Where the 'chert' unit is absent there commonly quartz veining and is mapped as 'chert equivalent' Quartz veining is extensive and commonly can be traced back to the 'chert'. These veins are larger, more extensive, and thicker in the tholeiitic hanging wall tholeiite. However, there are some major quartz veins in the tholeiite that do not emanate from the 'chert'. Associated with the quartz veining are biotite alteration mantles. Sulphide veins, together with sulphide breccia veins occur sub-parallel to the quartz veins on a large scale but on the detail scale have a variety of orientations and cut the quartz veins.

Sep 13, 2013 (A Wilson) - The Upper Detour Lake Formation (UDLF) is a thick sequence of tholeiitic basaltic massive and pillowed flows while the LDLF, the base of the assemblage, is dominated by komatiitic flows and synvolcanic intrusives, mafic flows and lesser tuffaceous-volcaniclastic horizons. The contact between the two formations of the Deloro Assemblange (DA) is deeply mylonitized, mineralized and silicified. A felsic to intermediate intrusive unit, referred to as the CMH (the historical term used by Placer at the Detour Lake mine), is intimately associated with this deformation zone. In the footwall of the CMH, the mafic flows and ultramafic sills are deeply altered, ranging from chlorite schist to talc-chlorite rich schist further away from the CMH. In the flexure zone (at the former Campbell open pit), the base of the footwall is also highly strained and associated with a silicified intermediate dyke, showing some similarities with the CMH. The flexure zone is usually in contact with unaltered mafic volcanic flows and a narrow volcaniclastic unit. The PA sediments are usually imbricated with mafic volcanics, but west of the former pit the sediments (mostly quartz wackes) are in direct contact with the hangingwall volcanics. Both volcanic formations within the antiform are truncated by a regional scale thrust fault, referred to as the SLDZ. All these rock units, including the younger sediments, are intruded by a variety of crosscutting felsic, intermediate and mafic dykes. The volcanic flows have a general east-west strike, from east-northeast in the eastern part to west-northwest at the western end of the Detour Lake deposit. All rock units generally dip steeply to the north (75° to 90°). The UDLF is within an overturned isoclinal synform while the LDLF occupies the core of an antiform, both truncated by the late SLDZ. Gold mineralization is mainly concentrated within a 200 metre wide (locally up to 350 metres) east-west oriented corridor associated with the SLDZ. Gold is observed within swarms of quartz veins splaying off inside the UDLF from a flexure located in the deeper part of the main mylonitized unit (CMH). The auriferous zones are associated with high strain zones and mostly concentrated at the contacts of units showing rheological contrasts: pillow flow and massive flow, hyaloclastite and massive flow, and talcchlorite schist and intrusive. The vein systems have a spatial relationship to east-west trending and subvertical dipping brittle-ductile deformation corridors. Gold is only rarely observed in the younger sediments.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (L Lutha) - Gold mineralization and to a lesser extent copper mineralization are related to the 'chert' main zone, potassic alteration in the form of biotite mineralization, quartz veining and later peripheral sulphide veins. Most f the quartz veins are splays off the main zone but two important zones the 'Q-100' and the 'Q-120' are not connected to the main zone. Recently it has been suspected that the sulphide veins play a more important role in the mineralization than previously considered as most occurrences of visible gold are in close proximity to sulphide veins and some sulphide veins carry thousands of grams gold per tonne. Away from the main zone, gold mineralization appears to extend along the quartz veins away from intersections of sulphide veins cutting the quartz veins. Though at some point the grade in any specific quartz vein drops below cut odd grade and an adjacent quartz vein cut by the sulphide vein will be mineralized. Consequently, the stopes away from the 'chert' main zone are centred on sulphide veins. These sulphide veins are typically less than 30cm.

Sep 13, 2013 (A Wilson) - There are two types of gold mineralization recognized at Detour Lake: 1) a wide and generally auriferous sulphide-poor quartz vein stockwork formed in the hangingwall of the SLDZ and, 2) a gold mineralization overprinting the early auriferous stockwork, principally in the hangingwall of the SLDZ, with lower contents of sulphides. The sulphide-poor quartz vein stockworks observed in the hangingwall have sub-vertical north or south dips and are parallel to a series of east-west trending high strain zones. These veins, forming a weak stockwork, are boudinaged and folded throughout the deposit. Fold axes of the veins plunge shallowly to moderately relative to a dominant axial planar foliation. Sulphide-rich gold mineralization predominantly fill structural sites in deformed quartz veins, fractures and veins crosscutting the foliation fabric but also in pillow breccias and selvages. The distribution of sulphide-rich mineralization is strongly controlled by the geometry of kinematic orientation. Pyrite and pyrrhotite concentrations have a shallow westerly plunge similar to the plunge of the main flexure zone in the SLDZ at an angle of about 40° (in the area of the former open pit), shallowing to approximately 10° further to the west. The gold mineralization occurs in different rock types within broad sub-vertical mineralized envelopes and splits into several sub-vertical domains sub-parallel to the orientation of the SLDZ. It is associated with a strong biotite proximal alteration north of the CMH. It is principally contained in discrete fault-fill or shear-hosted, and extensional quartz vein networks, and broad lithologically controlled mineralized zones with a weaker vein association. The gold mineralization is characterized into two main zones: hangingwall mineralization and footwall mineralization.

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

Rank: 1       Structure Type: Shear

Site Visit Information

Date: Aug 31, 1992

Geologist: S Fumerton

Notes: Together with Lorne Luhta, Resident Geologist, and Liz Koopman, GSC geologist working on the Kidd Creek Deposit a trip was made to Detour Lake at the request of the Mine. At the Mine a presentation was made by Terry Hennesey, Senior Geologist, and Gord Trimble, Chief Geologist the evening prior to the underground tour. The object of the presentation and tour was to explain recent thoughts on the gold mineralization, i.e. gold being controlled by very late sulphide veins and then obtain some feed back from the government geologists.

Date: Sep 22, 1993

Geologist: L Lutha

Notes: On a visit to the Detour Lake Mine, the writer took samples from the pebble dike on the 525m level which was previously thought to be a possible kimberlite intrusion. Upon closer examination of the samples, the matrix material was found to have a tectonic fabric which would give the dike an age equivalent at least to the last tectonic event which occurred in the mine area. The composition seems more mafic rather than ultramafic with a fair amount of plagioclase intergrown with biotite and amphibole. The west extension of the exploration drift on the 560m level started November, 1992, was almost completed at the time of the visit. This includes a total of 960m of drifting and an additional 350m of lateral development for drill stations and bays. Diamond drilling from this level in a ring pattern is continuing. Fifty thousand feet is planned with the completion date set for June 1994. Drilling is at 40m centres. This program, including underground development and diamond drilling, is costing $5 million and was the result of the Placer Dome Exploration department tracing the main ore zone westward by surface diamond drilling. Another drift extending the 350m level westward is planned to begin before the end of 1993. Initially, 800m of drifting will be done and then another 400m. This will position the face of the drift at the same position westward as the west drift on the 560m level. A vent raise broke through to surface from the 560m level. Besides defining mineralization of the main zone, underground drilling thus far has obtained gold intersections in pillowed mafic volcanics to the south of the exploration drift as well as a few intersections in pillowed mafic volcanics to the north of the drift. This northern mineralization is called the KMF Zone by the exploration department. [ PRECIS ]

References

Map - Kesagami Lake sheet, District of Cochrane, geological compilation series

Publication Number: P0371 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1997

Author: Bennett G., Brown D.D., George P.T.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 2022, Resident Geologist Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist Report: Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie Districts

Publication Number: OFR6402 Page: 6  Date: 2023

Author: Azadbakht Z., Krukowski M., Maity B.K., Bousquet P., Daniels C.M., Hinz S.L.K., Adrianwalla C.J., Dorland G., Sabiri N., Patterson C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

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:

Book - Northern Miner 80-09-11, Detour Lake, p. 28

Publication Number: NMINER Date: 1980

Author:

Publisher Name: Northern Miner

Location: Timmins RGO

Article - 1975 report of the Northern Regional Geologist and Timmins Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP064.005 Page: 63  Date: 1997

Author: Karvinen W.O., Hunt D.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

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

Publication Number: R199 Page: 56-60  Date: 1982

Author: Johns G.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Special Project: Timmins Ore Deposit Descriptions

Publication Number: OFR5985 Page: 63-92  Date: 1999

Author: Pressacco R.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - Timmins Resident Geologist area, Northern Region

Publication Number: MP122.005 Page: 135  Date: 1997

Author: Luhta L.E., Sangster P.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Compend - Report of activities, 1983, Regional and Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP117 Page: 109  Date: 1984

Author: Kustra C.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - 1982 report of the Timmins Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP107.005 Page: 86  Date: 1997

Author: Luhta L.E., Sangster P.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - 1981 report of the Timmins Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP101.005 Page: 73-74  Date: 1997

Author: Luhta L.E., Sangster P.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - 1980 report of the Timmins Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP095.005 Page: 77  Date: 1997

Author: Luhta L.E., Sangster P.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - 1979 report of Northern Regional Geologist and Timmins Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP091.005 Page: 63  Date: 1997

Author: Luhta L.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - 1976 report of the Northern Regional Geologist and Timmins Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP071.005 Page: 65  Date: 1997

Author: Karvinen W.O., Hunt D.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - 1977 report of Northern Regional Geologist and Timmins Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP078.005 Page: 5353  Date: 1997

Author: Tihor L.A., Hunt D.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - 1978 report of Northern Regional Geologist and Timmins Resident Geologist

Publication Number: MP084.005 Page: 58  Date: 1997

Author: Tihor L.A., Hunt D.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Compend - Report of Activities 1992, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP161 Page: 245-247  Date: 1993

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Compend - Report of activities, 1991, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP158 Page: 239  Date: 1992

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Compend - Report of activities, 1990, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP152 Page: 226  Date: 1991

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Compend - Report of activities, 1989, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP147 Page: 223  Date: 1990

Author: Fenwick K.G., Giblin P.E., Pitts A.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Compend - Report of activities, 1988, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP142 Page: 237  Date: 1989

Author: Fenwick K.G., Giblin P.E., Pitts A.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - Porcupine North and Porcupine South Resident Geologists' area - 1987

Publication Number: MP138.010 Page: 215  Date: 1997

Author: Luhta L.E., Sangster P.J., Draper D.M., Ireland J.C., Bradshaw M.P., Hamblin C.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 1997, Resident Geologists Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist's Report: Timmins-Sault Ste. Marie Districts

Publication Number: OFR5972 Page: 7  Date: 1998

Author: Atkinson B.T., Hailstone M.H., Wilson A.C., Draper D.M., Hope P., Morra P.M., Egerland D.C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 1996, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: OFR5958 Page: 8-3  Date: 1997

Author: Newsome J.W., Laderoute D.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 1993, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: OFR5892 Page: 181  Date: 1994

Author: Baker C.L., Dressler B.O., Mason J.K., Newsome J.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 1994, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: OFR5921 Page: 172  Date: 1995

Author: Baker C.L., Dressler B.O., Laderoute D.G., Newsome J.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - Geology of the Lower Detour-Hopper-Sunday lakes area, northeastern Ontario

Publication Number: MP137.027 Page: 175-181  Date: 1997

Author: Marmont S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 1995, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: OFR5943 Page: 220-221  Date: 1996

Author: Baker C.L., Fyon J.A., Laderoute D.G., Newsome J.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 1998, Resident Geologist Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist Report: Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie Districts

Publication Number: OFR5990 Page: 18  Date: 1999

Author: Atkinson B.T., Hailstone M.H., Pressacco R.E., Wilson A.C., Hope P., Morra P.M., Draper D.M., Egerland D.C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - Preliminary report on the geology of the Detour Lake gold mine, District of Cochrane

Publication Number: MP119.044 Page: 226-236  Date: 1997

Author: Marmont S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - Geology of the Detour Lake Mine and surrounding area

Publication Number: MP126.045 Page: 229-234  Date: 1997

Author: Marmont S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 1999, Resident Geologist Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist Report: Timmins-Sault Ste. Marie Districts

Publication Number: OFR6006 Page: 17  Date: 2000

Author: Atkinson B.T., Hailstone M.H., Ravnaas C., Wilson A.C., Draper D.M., Hope P., Morra P.M., Beauchamp S.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 2019, Resident Geologist Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist Report: Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie Districts

Publication Number: OFR6366 Date: 2020

Author: van Hees E., Bousquet P., Suma-Momoh J., Daniels C.M., Hinz S.L.K., Boucher C., Sword P., Wang L., Fudge S.P., Millette A., Patterson C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Update of the Detour Lake Project

Publication Number: Date: 2011

Author: A. Allaire, M. Dagbert, A. Laferrière, P. Live

Publisher Name:

Location: Timmins RGO

Publication - Detour Lake Updated Mine Production Plan, 394 p.

Publication Number: Date: 2012

Author: Detour Gold Mines Ltd.

Publisher Name:

Location: Timmins RGO

Mono - Report of Activities 2017, Resident Geologist Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist Report: Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie Districts

Publication Number: OFR6339 Date: 2018

Author: van Hees E., Pace A., Bustard A., Gomwe T.S., Bousquet P., Daniels C.M., Wilson A.C., Streit L., Sword P., Patterson C., Fudge S.P.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 2018, Resident Geologist Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist Report: Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie Districts

Publication Number: OFR6354 Date: 2019

Author: van Hees E., Bousquet P., Bustard A., Pressacco R.E., Daniels C.M., Fudge S.P., Walker J., Streit L., Wang L., Sword P., Patterson C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Report of Activities 2020, Resident Geologist Program, Timmins Regional Resident Geologist Report: Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie Districts

Publication Number: OFR6374 Date: 2021

Author: Azadbakht Z., Bousquet P., Zammit K., Daniels C.M., Hinz S.L.K., Sword P., Boucher C., Dorland G., Patterson C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Report an Error

We are continuously updating our assessment file / technical report information. If you notice errors in the data, please contact us.

Terms of Use

Please review our Terms of Use agreement for this data product.

Ministry Contact Information

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