Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI41N02SW00004

Record: MDI41N02SW00004

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Copper

Secondary Commodities: Gold, Silver

Location

Township or Area: Ryan

Latitude: 47° 1' 11.63"    Longitude: -84° 44' 51.17"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 671177.5   Northing: 5209837.57    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Sault Ste. Marie

NTS Grid: 41N02SW

Point Location Description: Shaft

Location Method: Conversion from MDI

Access Description: Travel approximately 60 km north on highway 17 from Sault STe. Marie. Turn right onto a gravel road and proceed 15 km to the mine site.

Exploration History

1798: surveyor and explorer David Thompson made the initial recorded discovery of copper near Mamainse Point, Lake Superior. 1798-1906: various attempts were made to discover and mine copper and silver. Early companies that worked in the region without prolonged success included: 1856-57: Montreal Mining Company. 1871: Ontario Mineral Lands Company.1882: Silver Islet Company. 1891: Canadian Land Purchase Company. 1892: Nipigon Mining Lands Company 1906: Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, 17 holes drilled between Pancake Point and Sand Bay. 1948: Kennecott Copper Company conducted an examination of the area. 1948: Macassa Mines Limited conducted reconnaissance prospecting on what is part of the current property. 1949: Macassa Mines Limited continued work with geological mapping, trenching core drilling and sampling. Many mineralized showings were found as evidenced by pre-1900's trenches, pits and shafts (Copper Creek, Silver Creek shafts, Indian Digging's Zone, "B" Area). 1951: C.C. Huston & Associates mining consultants took over the property from Macassa and drilled an additional 33,342 feet of core. 1951: Mamainse Mines Limited was incorporated in and its name was changed to Coppercorp Limited in 1955. 1955-1956: Coppercorp Limited sunk a 550 foot vertical shaft at the C-Zone and carried out approximately 14,000 feet of lateral development on 3 levels (250 feet, 375 feet and 500 foot levels) along with underground drilling, channel and muck sampling. A cross cut was driven to the Silver Creek on the third level. Coppercorp Limited drilled an additional 43 surface holes totalling 13,152 feet and 7 underground holes totalling 1,868 feet. 1957: Work on the property was discontinued.1964: Vauze Mines Limited (company controlled by Sheridon Geophysics Limited) entered into an agreement with Coppercorp to move its mining and milling equipment from Noranda Quebec area mine to the Coppercorp property. Production commenced in 1965 at a rate of 500 tons per day and lasted until 1972. 2004-2006: Nikos Exploration Ltd. targeted Iron oxide copper gold mineralization. The company carried out geological mapping sampling and a mobile metal ion survey. The company carried out a 6-hole diamond drill program on the Coppercorp property totalling 1,005 metres number CP05-01 to CP05-06. The company also carried out a 17-hole diamond drill program totalling 2,728 metres number CP05-07 to CP05-23. Nikos also completed a ground geophysical IP survey. 2010-2012: First Minerals Exploration Ltd carried out 13 diamond drill holes totaling 890m, assaying and analysis, bedrock trenching, line-cutting, ground geophysics (gravity, IP, magnetometer), and geological mapping. 2012-2014: Superior Copper Corp. Carried out 26 diamond drill holes totaling 13,709m, assaying and analysis, overburden stripping, channel sampling, geological mapping.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Southern

Supergroup: Keweenawan Supergroup

Geological Age: Late Precambrian  

Geology Comments

Jan 30, 2020 (A Pace) - The property covers Keweenawan-age volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Mamainse Point Formation. This rock formation unconformably overlies Archean-age metavolcanic rocks of the Batchawana Greenstone Belt. Rocks have been intruded by felsic dikes, felsic porphyry and felsic breccias considered to be Keweenawan in age and related to the Keweenawan felsic volcanic and intrusive rocks occurring more extensively within the Mamainse Point Formation to the west.

Lithology

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Jan 30, 2020 (A Pace) - Mineralization at the Coppercorp is structurally controlled occurring within fault-related breccia zones and veins that transect the Keweeenawan basalt flows and conglomerates. The veins and breccias consists of quartz and carbonate with subordinate laumontite and fluorite. The principal ore mineral is chalcocite with lesser amounts of bornite, chalcopyrite and rarely native copper. The fault system at Coppercorp consists of 2 sets of structures. A north-northeast trending set dips 50-65 degrees east and comprises the Copper Creek Zone, Silver Creek Zone (adit) and the 'G', 'H', and 'F' Zones. A north-northwest trending set dips 50-70 east and consists of the C Zone, SB Zone, D Zone and B Zone. The north-northwest trending set represents the most productive structures and strikes almost parallel, but with normal dips, to the volcanic and sedimentary strata. Nikos Exploration Ltd., diamond drilling in 2005. The best individual mineralized section was 1.63% cu and 5.15 g/t Ag over a core length of 35.5 metres in hole CP05-05. Cenit Corporation in 2010 focused on an area 200 to 300 metres north-east of the historical Coppercorp mine site. It is possible that this surface showing corresponds to the historical Coppercorp "B" zone. Stripping/trenching and washing revealed copper mineralization in the form of malachite, malachite mud and massive pinch and swill chalcocite veining within fractures/fault zones trending similarly and parallel to the historical mine trend. Grab samples revealed copper values as high as 71.3%. The northern section returned a grade of 4.94% Cu over 3 metres for a length of 8 metres and the southern exposed section returned a grade of 2.84% Cu over 3 metres for a length of 17 metres.

Mineral Record Details

References

File - Resident Geologist files SSMP-Ryan-14, SSMP-Ryan-18, SSMP-Ryan-25, SSMP Montreal Mng-02, SSMP Montreal Mng-03, SSMP Montreal Mng-04, SSMP Montreal Mng-05, SSMP Montreal Mng-06

Publication Number: Date:

Author:

Publisher Name:

Location: SSM RGP office

Map - Mamainse Point area, District of Algoma

Publication Number: P0554 Scale: 1:15,840    Date: 1997

Author: Giblin P.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Mamainse Point copper area, District of Algoma, Ontario

Publication Number: M1953-01 Scale: 1:12,000    Date: 1997

Author: Thomson J.E., Bonkoff E.J., Goettler G.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Batchawana, Algoma District

Publication Number: M2251 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1974

Author: Giblin P.E., Armburst G.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Part - Geology of the Mamainse Point copper area

Publication Number: ARV62-04 Date: 1997

Author: Thomson J.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

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:

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

Publication Number: MDC012 Page: 45-46  Date: 1969

Author: Shklanka R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Thesis - Geology, Mineralogy and Textural Relationships of the Coppercorp Deposit, Mamainse Point Area, Ontario

Publication Number: MSc Thesis Date: 1970

Author: Heslop, J.B.

Publisher Name: Carleton University

Location: SSM RGP

Article - Palmer and Ryan townships, District of Algoma

Publication Number: PR1965-03.012 Page: 29-30, 70  Date: 1997

Author: Giblin P.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Compend - Annual report of Resident Geologists Section, Geological Branch, 1967, part 2

Publication Number: MP017 Page: 6  Date: 1968

Author:

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Article - Sault Ste. Marie District

Publication Number: MP054.004 Page: 87  Date: 1998

Author: Rupert R.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Thesis - The Geochemistry of some Keweenawan Metabasites from Mamainse Point

Publication Number: PhD Thesis Date: 1980

Author: Massey, N.W.D

Publisher Name: McMaster University

Location:

Thesis - A Fluid inclusion and stable isotope study of Keweenawan fissure-vein hosted copper sulphide mineralization, Mamainse Point

Publication Number: MSc Thesis Date: 1985

Author: Richards, J.P.

Publisher Name: University of Toronto

Location:

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