Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI41N02NE00099

Record: MDI41N02NE00099

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Copper

Location

Township or Area: Slater

Latitude: 47° 8' 30.61"    Longitude: -84° 43' 35.4"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 672382.795   Northing: 5223433.55    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Sault Ste. Marie

NTS Grid: 41N02NE

Point Location Description: Precise

Location Method: Conversion from MDI

Access Description: 50 metres east of Lake Superior, 150 metres south of the northern most point of Point Aux Mines.

Exploration History

Between 1845 and 1859, the Quebec and Lake Superior Mining Company acquired the Pointe Aux Mines area and did extensive underground exploration work. Work was done on two levels over a strike length of six hundred feet. A shaft was sunk by Quebec Mining Association to a depth of 70 feet on a small east-west vein of native copper in calcite, quartz, and mica. Two chalcocite-bearing veins situated about 500 feet north of the shaft and two other small veins, containing chalcocite and sphalerite in the vicinity. More extensive operations of the Quebec and Lake Superior Mining Company at a position about half a mile northeast of the locations described above. The activity took place near the south extremity of the middle Keweenawan volcanic rocks that occur as a thin layer overlying the Algoman granites on the southwest shore of Alona Bay. An adit was driven in the volcanics at a bearing of S10W for a distance of 220 feet where it was connected with the surface by a 40 foot shaft. The adit continued past the shaft in a direction S50W for about 30 feet where it penetrated granite. The object of the workings was the exploration of a decomposed vein containing calcite, quartz, barite, hematite, chalcocite, bornite, and chalcopyrite. No more was heard of the area until 1946 when the old workings were located on timber holdings. In 1955, Maricona Minerals Ltd., acquired the property. Between 1955 and 1956, this company conducted a small Electromagnetic geophysical survey, a geological survey and diamond drilled a total of 23,424 feet in 68 holes. From this diamond drilling, Maricona Minerals Ltd., showed a length of over 1000 feeet and averaging 8 feet in width with copper mineralization in the form of chalcopyrite, chalcocite and bornite.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Abitibi

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Dec 20, 2011 (A Pace) - The property is underlain by basic lavas, sediments and intrusives lying unconformably on Archean granites. The volcanics consist of a series of dark coloured amyddalioidal lavas, andesite, and basalts striking generally north-south with dips of 45 degrees to 50 degrees to the West. The contact of the volcanics and the granitic rocks in the vicinity of the old workings strikes approximately east-west and dips 50 degrees to the North. Some faulting is evident runnning in a northeasterly direction. East-west shearing and brecciated areas can be seen around the granitic-volcanic contact. Some silicification and alteration can be seen in this area and much of th erock is hematite stained. It is in this fractured area in which copper mineralization occurs with disseminations, fracture fillings, and solid sulphide stringers, up to an inch in width of chacopyrite, chalcocite and bornite.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 20, 2011 (A Pace) - No reliable estimates of the findings of the Quebec and Lake Superior Mining Company can be made although a representative sample of one old ore pile remaining on the property gave an assay of 2.49% copper. This sample is very inconclusive however, as the ore pile could have been hand-cobbed by the old miners to upgrade the copper content or it could have been picked over for samples by late-comers and so down graded. A chip sample taken on a six foot wall of the north adit assayed 1.85% copper. Later drilling in this area by Maricona Minerals Ltd. sowed two roughly parallel mineralized zones containing copper mineralization. This company estimated 295,000 tons in one zone grading 1.17% copper over a length of 1098 feet, with an average width of 8.1 feet, down to a average depth of 345 feet. Diamond drilling also showed other apparently unrlated intersections of copper mineralization. Heavy fracturing, and high alteration gabve poor core recovery. Mineralization can be seen in narrow fractures on the South side of Pointe Aux Mines Peninsula and about one-quarter of a mile southwest of the old workings. There is much fracturing and alterstion in the area and much of the property is heaveily overburdened so it is quite possible that zones other than those drilled exist along or near the granite contact.

Mineral Record Details

References

Map - Geological series, Precambrian geology, Batchawana synoptic project, Mamainse Point-Pancake Bay sheet, District of Algoma

Publication Number: P3062 Scale: 1:50,000    Date: 1987

Author: Grunsky E.C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Part - Geology of the Montreal River area

Publication Number: ARV64-03 Page: 11  Date: 1997

Author: Nuffield E.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Geological compilation series, Batchawana sheet, districts of Algoma and Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie Mining Division

Publication Number: P0302 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1997

Author: Giblin P.E., Leahy E.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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

Publication Number: MDC012 Page: 104  Date: 1969

Author: Shklanka R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Sault Ste. Marie-Elliot Lake, geological compilation series, Algoma, Manitoulin and Sudbury districts

Publication Number: M2419 Scale: 1:253,440    Date: 1979

Author: Giblin P.E., Leahy E.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Montreal River area, District of Algoma, Ontario

Publication Number: M1955-01 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1997

Author: Nuffield E.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

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

Publication Number: MDC012 Page: 58  Date: 1969

Author: Shklanka R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

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

Publication Number: MDC002 Page: 79  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:

Compend - Annual report of the Regional and Resident Geologists, 1974

Publication Number: MP060 Page: 161  Date: 1975

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Part - Sahkatawich (Rush) Lake section, Woman River iron range, District of Sudbury

Publication Number: ARV35-02.003 Page: 81  Date: 1998

Author: Moore E.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

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For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Sault Ste. Marie Resident Geologist District Office