Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI41O16NW00020

Record: MDI41O16NW00020

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Gold

Secondary Commodities: Copper, Lead, Zinc

Location

Township or Area: Silk

Latitude: 47° 56' 22.36"    Longitude: -82° 24' 26.28"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 394900.26   Northing: 5310539.3    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Timmins

NTS Grid: 41O16NW

Point Location Description: Southeast corner of fence surrounding the shaft.

Location Method: Field Visit with GPS

Access Description: The turnoff for the Foleyet Lumber road is located at a distance of 90 km west of Timmins along Hwy 101. The turnoff for the Swayze Mine road is located at kilometre 36 south along this road. The Swayze property is a total of 46 km by road south of highway 101.

Exploration History

1933: G. A. Thorne - prospecting, staking by Burk and McIroy. 1935: Hollinger Consolidated Gold Mines Ltd. - trenching, sampling, DD-25-1450 m. 1938: Mining Research Corporation - staking. 1945- 49: Orofino Mines Ltd. - stripping, trenching, DD-10 668 m; 3-compartment shaft sunk to 94 m, underground development. 1950-51: Orofino Mines Ltd. - underground development, UG DD-54-1877 m. 1962-63 - Orofino Mines Ltd. - DD-6496m. 1973-74: Camflo Mines Ltd. - DD-15-8200 ft., recalucation of ore reserve. 1979-80: Northgate Exploration - mag, VLF-EM surveys, soil and humus geochemistry, geological mapping, stripping, trenching, DD-72-41 749 m. 1981-82: Consolidated Orofino Resources - shaft dewatering, resampling, 4572 m ddh UG and surface, recalculation of ore reserves. 1983-89: Orofino Resources Limited - DD-59-8269 m; underground exploration UG-154-3683m, underground development, metallurgical testing. 2010-Red Pine Exploration Inc. - airborne geophysics

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Abitibi

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Swayze

Geological Age: Neoarchean   Geochronological Age: 2700 MA   Geochron. Age Ref.: GOO VOL 1

Metamorphism Type: Regional

Metamorphism Grade: Greenschist

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (S Fumerton) - The deposit is roughly located in the nose of a regional fold anticline that plunges steeply to the west. However, on the mine scale no structures have been correlated with this fold. The gold bearing zones can be divided into two structural orientations, those striking southeast and dipping at shallow angles to the northeast, and those striking east with steeper dips to the north. At the intersection there are no offsets and it has been postulated that the zones form a conjugate set of veins. These veins tend to be more numerous where the foliation - shearing is more intense.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Jan 22, 2013 (S Fumerton) - The deposit is located within a lower sequence of iron tholeiitic diorite and basalt near the contact with an overlying assemblage of intermediate flows, tuffs, epiclastics, and minor iron formation. The immediate dioritic host rock has been controversial with postulated origins ranging from a subvolcanic plug to altered and recrystallized mafic metavolcanics. At the mine site the dioritic host has been intruded by feldspar porphyry dykes and later lamprophyric dykes. Alteration is dominated by the extensive and pervasive calcite and chlorite alteration together with a coarser grained recrystallized texture. The host of gold mineralization is the Orofino Stock, an ovoid mass of diorite and related phases whose axes are approximately 1,100 m and 330 m. It is oriented north to north-northeast, sub-parallel to the trend of the enclosing mafic to intermediate volcanics and is interpreted to be either a subvolcanic sill related to the development of the volcanic pile or the product of 'dioritization' of the mafic volcanics. Field relations observed on surface, in the underground workings and in the diamond drill core support the latter origin (Harper and Manns, 1986). The diorite dips steeply west, grossly conformably with the mafic flows it engulfs but is non-conformable on a scale of tens of metres or less. The hanging wall contact, which is best documented, ranges from 0 to 30 m below the contact with the upper volcano-sedimentary unit. The diorite sill reaches a maximum thickness of at least 300 m but the footwall is poorly documented as exploration has concentrated on the uppermost 100 m wherein the crosscutting structures are most enriched with gold. The mineralized zones can be traced as structures into the hanging wall volcanic rocks but are barren of gold. Likewise, the zones extend well towards the footwall of the diorite but with a gradually decreasing gold content. Drilling to a maximum vertical depth of 350 m indicates the conjugate system of zones rakes to the north-northwest. Geochemically anomalous gold values are characteristic of the retrograde diorite zones with increasing values towards the centre. The highest over all values occur in the vicinity of the intersections of the zones and define rods raking shallowly east-northeast.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Jan 22, 2013 (S Fumerton) - The gold bearing structures are generally contained within the altered diorite. Structures which extend beyond this envelope are typically barren. There are two types of mineralization in the deposit: quartz veins, and Replacement Ore. In both cases gold is concentrated in those sections where the diorite is most strongly sheared, altered, and contain between 5% to 25% sulphides. Where the steeply dipping zones intersect the shallow dipping zones the gold content in much higher and forms a rod plunging at a shallow angle to the northwest. Gold concentrations are roughly proportional to the abundance and size of pyrite grains. In addition the gold grade also increases where sphalerite and/or galena are associated with the pyrite. The quartz veining within the zones is not continuous and the quartz veins are composed of white, frosty quartz together with variable amounts of carbonate. The Replacement Ore is siliceous and composed variable amounts of white quartz displaying a relict diorite fabric. Within the Replacement Zone there are schlieren of chlorite and carbonate. The siliceous replacement zones are characterized by quartz veins and stringers which are older than the lamprophyre and feldspar porphyry dykes. They have varying sulphide content, usually pyrite, with minor pyrrhotite and trace sphalerite or chalcopyrite. Variable gold content is usually proportional to the tenor of accompanying sulphide mineralization. Carbonate content is erratic and in extreme cases may comprise the entire vein Where best developed the replacement zone is typified by a texture which displays a relict diorite fabric partially digested by quartz permeation. Schlieren of chlorite and carbonate are characteristic. Pyrite can comprise up to 20% of the replacement zone volume. Pyrite occurs up to 1 to 2 cm. in subhedral crystals and gold content is probably proportional to size and quantity of pyrite. The Quartz veins zones tend to be controlled by conjugate joint systems. Joints tend to develop preferentially in competent rock members at least partially explaining why these vein zones are largely restricted to the Orofino Diorite. Although a few prominent quartz veins are present in the hanging-wall volcanics, they have proved to be barren.

Assay Samples

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

Rank: 1       Structure Type: Fold

Site Visit Information

Date: Oct 07, 1980

Geologist: L Lutha

Notes: Original Comments are more than 2000 characters. The data cannot be converted, however the data will still be available in Digitial Prospector Database

Date: May 20, 1988

Geologist: J Ireland

Notes: The writer conducted a follow up visit to the Swayze Mine accompanied by Lorne Luhta, Timmins Resident Geologist. All lateral development had ceased and the diamond drill program had just finished. Bill Gates, geologist was continuing to log and sample backlogged drill core, and an additional geologist, Etien Lantos, was working on a short term contract to map and sample the underground workings. Mr Lantos indicated they were in the process of determining the genetic relationship between sulphide bearing diorite ore and the quartz vein systems. Two test raises had been recently started to determine continuity of the ore between levels on the No 1 South and No 1 North veins. Detailed sampling of the raises was being done and each round of ore was being stockpiled separately for later bulk sampling. Underground mapping and sampling is expected to continue through June. The two test raises should be completed by mid June. Gold values are closely associated with pyritic sulphide mineralization, both within quartz veins and altered and mineralized diorite. Accessory amounts of chalcopyrite occur within and immediately adjacent to the vein ore. A preliminary estimate of 7% sulphides is used to define ore grade material (>0.1 o.p.t. gold). Gold values are not always proportional to sulphide content. They are generally proportional to the coarseness of the sulphide grain sizes and to the presence of large euhedral pyrite crystals. The presence of significant chalcopyrite and/or small amounts of sphalerite or galena means significantly higher gold assays. Free gold is rare. Dr Gerald Harper, Vice President of Orofino Resources and Chief Geologist for the Northgate Group, indicated during a telephone conversation prior to the visit, that a production decision may be announced in August or September 1988. [ PRECIS ]

Date: Aug 20, 1992

Geologist: S Fumerton

Notes: The shaft which is located in a 3m deep pit has been capped with a concrete plug. The shaft and pit in turn have been enclosed in a chain linked fence topped with barbed wire. Similarly the portal has been filled with mine muck and a chain link fence has been erected above the entrance to the portal. Both roads into the property have been blocked off. One with a gate and the other near the portal with muck berm. The core shack and core storage building are still erect though windows have been removed. Some outside core racks have collapsed or been vandalized.

References

Map - Geological series, Horwood Township, District of Sudbury

Publication Number: P0748 Scale: 1:15,840    Date: 1997

Author: Milne V.G., Breaks F.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines and Northern Affairs

Location:

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: 149  Date: 1985

Author: Rose, D.G.

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

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

Map - Horwood Lake, Sudbury District

Publication Number: M2329 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1975

Author: Breaks F.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Map - Geology, Swayze greenstone belt, Rush Lake, Ontario

Publication Number: OF3384c Scale: 1:50,000    Date: 1999

Author: Heather, K B; Shore, G T

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/210451

Part - Horwood Lake area

Publication Number: ARV44-07.002 Page: 34-35  Date: 1997

Author: Laird H.C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Core - Resident Geologist Core Library

Publication Number: Drill Core Date: 1996

Author:

Publisher Name:

Location:

Part - Geology of the Horwood Lake area

Publication Number: ARV46-02 Date: 1997

Author: Harding W.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of the Chapleau area, districts of Algoma, Sudbury, and Cochrane

Publication Number: R157 Page: 211-217  Date: 1977

Author: Thurston P.C., Siragusa G.M., Sage R.P.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of the Horwood Lake Area, Sudbury District

Publication Number: R169 Page: 50-55  Date: 1978

Author: Breaks F.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Gold Occurrences of Ontario East of Lake Superior; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 192

Publication Number: GSC Mem 192 Date: 1936

Author: Kindle, E.D.

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/100824

Mono - Gold deposits of Ontario, part 2, part of District of Cochrane, districts of Muskoka, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Sudbury, Timiskaming, and counties of southern Ontario

Publication Number: MDC018 Page: 83-84  Date: 1979

Author: Gordon J.B., Lovell H.L., de Grijs J.W., Davie R.F.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Technical Report and Updated Resource Estimate on the Swayze Property, District Of Sudbury Ontario, Canada, 122p.

Publication Number: NI 43-101 rpt. Date: 2011

Author: E. Purtich and W.D. Ewert

Publisher Name:

Location: Timmins RGO

MonoMap - Mineral Prospects of the Swayze Greenstone Belt (Volume 1, Parts of NTS 41 O and Volume 2, Parts of NTS 41 P, 42 A and 42 B)

Publication Number: OFR5912 Page: 261-265  Date: 1995

Author: Fumerton S.L., Houle K.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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