Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI41I06NW00017

Record: MDI41I06NW00017

General

Mineral Record Identification
Record Name(s) Vermilion Mine - 1888
Related Record Type Compound
Related Record(s)
Record Status Past Producing Mine Without Reserves or Resources
Date Created 1980-Jan-14
Date Last Modified 2022-Sep-27
Created By
Revised By

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Copper, Nickel

Secondary Commodities: Silver, Arsenic, Palladium, Selenium, Tellurium, Tin, Platinum, Iron, Gold, Cobalt



Location

Township or Area: Denison

Latitude: 46° 24' 57.68"    Longitude: -81° 21' 39.15"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 472266.902   Northing: 5140335.499    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Sudbury

NTS Grid: 41I06NW

Point Location Description: Shaft symbol location as per AMIS coordinates

Location Method: Conversion from MDI

Access Description: The Vermilion Mine area is located approximately 20 km west of Sudbury, in the central area of Denison Township. The area is crosscut by two east to west trending main roads: the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 17) and highway 658. Approximately 4 kilometers west of Whitefish, County Road 4 (also known as Fairbank Lake Road) turns north off of Highway 17. The Vermilion Mine area is located approximately 2 kilometers north on the Crean Hill Road turnoff to the east of Ethel Lake (OFR 6109, p.1, 2)



Exploration History

1887: Discovery as a gold property by Henry Ranger, who located free gold on lot 6, gold and copper on lot 5. The property was patented by Robert Tough and in association with J. Stobie, sank a 12 meter shaft (SMDR) 1888: The Vermilion Mining Co. was incorporated (SMDR) 1890: The mine was sold to the Canadian Copper Company (SMDR) 1898: Three shafts were sunk; diamond drilling and extraction of ore was carried out 1902: The Canadian Copper Co. commenced mining unweathered ore, extending the original shaft to 15 meters 1914: The mine was dewatered 1915: The shaft reached 46 meters, production resumed, 44 meters of drifting and crosscutting on the 2nd level was carried out. Production during the year totaled 903 tonnes (ARV25, p.73) 1904-1916: Canadian Copper Co. produced 4,078 tonnes of ore (SMDR) 1917: Mine closed. Before closure, 2,266 tonnes were produced. Property has not been worked since (SMDR) (ARV26, p.23, 78) 1919: Inco Ltd. obtained property (SMDR) (OFR5439, p. 49, 50)


Geology

Province: Southern

Subprovince: Cobalt Basin

Supergroup: Huronian Supergroup

Formation Group: Elliot Lake Group

Geological Age: Paleoproterozoic  



Geology Comments

Dec 03, 2008 (D Scholtz) - The Sudbury ore bodies occur along the lower contact of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC), i.e., in the Contact Sublayer, the Footwall Breccia and/or the footwall rocks themselves, and in the Offset dikes. The SIC is a tripartite assemblage consisting of norite overlying the footwall breccia at the bottom of the SIC, gabbro and a granophyre magmatic body. A passive magmatic event of granitic plutonism affected the south of the Sudbury basin. Subsequently, at approximately 1450 Ma the Sudbury basin underwent southeast-over-northwest ductile thrust faulting which resulted in the formation of the South Range shear zone (SRSZ). The nickel-copper sulphide orebodies at Sudbury are closely associated with the basal layer of a norite-micropegmatite complex. Between the norite and micropegmatite, there is a transition zone, and beneath the norite there is the ore-bearing sublayer that includes the quartz diorite dikes called offsets. This layering is apparently due either to differentiation in place or to composite intrusion (OFR6109, p. 5, 6) The orebody consists of small irregular, high grade shoots or veins varying from a few centimeters to 40 centimeters in diameter, distributed irregularly in fractured mafic metavolcanics (greenstones, quartzite and norite) and metasediments of the Middle Precambrian Stobie Group. A body of norite related related to the Sudbury Irruptive is associated with the ore but no surface exposure is visible. The area is within the Southern Structural Province and the mine is near to the north-east trending Crean Hill fault. The longest ore shoot encountered was 12 meters long by 5 meters wide. The ore contains a great variety of minerals including pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, native copper, cassiterite, native gold, sperrylite, millerite, and polydymite (R060 p.52) (Report of the Royal Ontario Nickel Commission 1917, p.155)




Lithology

Lithology Data
Rock Type Rank Composition Texture Relationship
Gabbro 1 Quartz Diorite, Wacke, Breccia Host

Lithology Comments

Dec 03, 2008 (D Scholtz) - Stobie Formation; pillowed and massive basalt, mafic and intermediate pyroclastic rocks, wacke in the middle and upper parts. (GSC OF4570)




Mineralization

Mineralization and Alteration
Rank Mineral Name Class Economic Mineral Type Alteration Mineral Type Alteration Ranking Alteration Intensity Alteration Style
1PyrrhotiteEconomicOre
2PolydymiteEconomicOre
3ChalcopyriteEconomicOre
4ChalcociteEconomicOre
5PyriteEconomicOre
6MilleriteEconomicOre
7CassiteriteEconomicOre
8SperryliteEconomicOre
9BorniteEconomicOre

Mineralization Comments

Dec 03, 2008 (D Scholtz) - A variety of ore minerals occur including chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, bornite, chalcocite, native copper, cassiterite, native gold, sperrylite, millerite and polydymite. The surface gossan, extending up to 2 meters in depth, and the upper portions of the mine are rich in gold and sperrylite. The first recorded occurrence of sperrylite was noted from the Vermilion mine in 1885 (SMDR, p.2)



Mineral Record Details

Classification
RankClassification            
1 Volcanogenic
Characteristics
Rank Characteristic            
1 Vein
Reserves or Resources Data
Zone Year Category Tonnes Reference Comments Commodities
Vermilion Mine 1968 Unclassified 4008395 MDC012, p.236 Copper 1.33 %, Gold 0.026 oz/T, Lead 1.0 %, Silver 1.61 oz/T, Zinc 3.97 %
Production Data
Year Tonnes Commodities Reference Comment
1916 2266 SMDR 0970
1915 903 SMDR 0907
1910 1249 SMDR 0970
1902 202 SMDR 0970

References

Book - Sudbury Timmins Algoma Mineral Program, Project 1: mineral inventory of the Sudbury-Timmins-Sault Ste. Marie region, Ontario

Publication Number: GSC OF 1087 Page: 31  Date: 1985

Author: Rose, D. G.

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/129999


Map - Geology, Sudbury bedrock compilation, Ontario

Publication Number: OF 4570 Scale: 1:50,000    Date: 2005

Author: Ames, D E; Davidson, A; Buckle, J L; Card, K D

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/221501


Map - Denison Township, District of Sudbury

Publication Number: P0202 Scale: 1:15,840    Date: 1997

Author: Card K.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Part - Mines of Ontario

Publication Number: ARV25-01.003 Page: 73, 78  Date: 1998

Author: Sutherland T.F., Collins E.A., McMillan J.G., Bartlett J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines

Location:


Map - Sudbury mining area, District of Sudbury

Publication Number: P0405 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1997

Author: Card K.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Part - Mines of Ontario

Publication Number: ARV26.003 Page: 23, 78  Date: 1998

Author: Sutherland T.F., Collins E.A., Stovel J.H., Bartlett J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines

Location:


Map - Denison-Waters area, Sudbury District

Publication Number: M2119 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1967

Author: Card K.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Mono - Report of the Royal Ontario Nickel Commission, with appendix

Publication Number: OP01 Page: 155, 496  Date: 1997

Author: Holloway G.T., Miller W.G., Young M., Gibson T.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Map - Sudbury mining area, Sudbury District

Publication Number: M2170 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1969

Author: Card K.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Mono - Preliminary report on copper, nickel, lead, and zinc deposits of Ontario (second edition, May, 1952)

Publication Number: PR1952-04 Page: 4, Table 3  Date: 1998

Author: Thomson J.E., Chisholm E.O., Greer W.L.C., Hogg N., Savage W.S., Thomson R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Map - Sudbury-Cobalt sheet, geological compilation series, Algoma, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Sudbury and Timiskaming districts

Publication Number: M2188 Scale: 1:253,440    Date: 1971

Author: Card K.D., Donovan J.F., Lovell H.L., Lumbers S.B., Meyn H.D., Savage W.S., Thomson R., Thomson J.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines and Northern Affairs

Location:


Mono - Preliminary report on copper, nickel, lead, and zinc deposits of Ontario (second edition, May, 1952)

Publication Number: PR1952-04 Page: 4, Table 3  Date: 1998

Author: Thomson J.E., Chisholm E.O., Greer W.L.C., Hogg N., Savage W.S., Thomson R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Map - Sudbury-Cobalt, geological compilation series, Algoma, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Sudbury and Timiskaming districts

Publication Number: M2361 Scale: 1:253,440    Date: 1977

Author: Card K.D., Lumbers S.B.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Mono - Copper, nickel, lead, and zinc deposits in Ontario

Publication Number: MDC001 Page: 93  Date: 1954

Author: Thomson J.E., Carlson H.D., Ferguson S.A., Pye E.G., Savage W.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Map - Mineral deposits series, Ontario mineral potential, northern part of Sudbury sheet and part of North Bay sheet, districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin

Publication Number: P1512 Scale: 1:250,000    Date: 1998

Author: Springer J.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Mono - Copper, nickel, lead and zinc deposits in Ontario (revised to February, 1957)

Publication Number: MDC002 Page: 53-54  Date: 1957

Author: Thomson J.E., Ferguson S.A., Johnston W.G.Q., Pye E.G., Savage W.S., Thomson R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Map - Sudbury-Manitoulin, Sudbury and Manitoulin districts

Publication Number: M2360 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1978

Author: Card K.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


MonoMap - Geology of the Denison-Waters area, District of Sudbury

Publication Number: R060 Page: 29, 52  Date: 1968

Author: Card K.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Map - Compilation series, Sudbury mining area, western part, Sudbury District

Publication Number: P2602 Scale: 1:50,000    Date: 1983

Author: Dressler B.O.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Mono - Copper, nickel, lead and zinc deposits of Ontario

Publication Number: MDC012 Page: 236, 268  Date: 1969

Author: Shklanka R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:


Map - Sudbury geological compilation, Sudbury District, Sudbury Regional Municipality

Publication Number: M2491 Scale: 1:50,000    Date: 1984

Author: Dressler B.O.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Folio - Denison Township, District of Sudbury

Publication Number: GDIF315 Date: 1997

Author: Sudbury RGO

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Mono - Industrial minerals of northern Ontario-supplement 2

Publication Number: OFR5439 Page: 49-50  Date: 1983

Author: Vos M.A., Smith V.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


Folio - Denison Township, District of Sudbury

Publication Number: GDIF315 Date: 1997

Author: Sudbury RGO

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location: Sudbury Mines Library, Geology Ontario


Mono - Industrial minerals of northern Ontario

Publication Number: MDC026 Page: 18, 23, 27, 35  Date: 1985

Author: Vos M.A., Abolins T., McKnight R.L.W., Smith V.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:


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