Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI42A07SE00007

Record: MDI42A07SE00007

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Platinum Metals, Chromium

Secondary Commodities: Copper, Nickel

Location

Township or Area: Nordica

Latitude: 48° 15' 10.98"    Longitude: -80° 36' 9.69"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 529492.037   Northing: 5344502.646    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Kirkland Lake

NTS Grid: 42A07SE

Point Location Description: Overburden trench

Location Method: Field Visit with GPS

Access Description: The Windward showing is located in northwest Nordica Township, on an outcrop on a hillside, adjacent to a Matachewan diabase dike (UTM Zone 17 5344274N 529484E). Access to the property is by way of the Watabeag Road with end points on Hwy 11 near Matheson in the north and on Hwy 66, midway between Matachewan and Kenogami, in the south. The outcrop is approximately 35 km north of Hwy 66 and about 3 km southwest of the point where the road cross the Nordica-McEvay townships boundary.

Exploration History

The showing was discovered and staked by prospectors G. Edwards and G. Windsor in late 1997. The property was subsequently optioned to Band-Ore Resources Ltd. Overburden stripping, line cutting, airborne and ground geophysical surveys and diamond drilling (4 drill holes totalling 738 m) were completed in 1998.

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Abitibi

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Abitibi

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Guidon) - The showing is near the contact of the volcanic rocks with the Watabeag Lake Batholith. Pyke (1976) mapped the rocks at the showing outcrop as massive mafic metavlocanic cut by a diabase dike. The recent stripping shows that these rocks are gabbroic and leucoratic gabrroic rocks. The Cross Lake Fault is located approximately 3 miles to the west, striking at about 330.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Guidon) - The PGE discovery is located on the western side of the hill. An overburden trench, trending approximately 060o, exposes the bedrock for approximately 20 m. One to two metres southwest of the main bedrock exposure, an approximately 1 m wide magnetite rich band crosses the trench. To the northeast, a fine grained, black, mafic to ultramafic rock is exposed that grades to coarse grained, black, magnetic gabbro. A narrow fine grained dike separates the black gabbro from coarse grained leucocratic gabbro. The leucocratic gabbro is exposed in the trench over a distance of 7.2 m. A Matachewan diabase dike is exposed further to the northeast in the trench. At the discovery site, platinum group elements occur in a sulphide enriched zone within the leucocratic gabbro, near the contact with a fine grained dike. Sulphide mineralization consists of disseminations of chalcopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and possibly pentlandite up to 2 mm in diameter. Total sulphide content is about 2%. The leucocratic gabbro consists of irregular feldspathic patches and blebs, locally anorthositic, which have a mottled appearance due to blebs and stringers of a mafic mineral, probably clinopyroxene. The feldspathic material is set in more mafic matrix, which can occur as patches and blebs in more feldspathic rock. Feldspar and pyroxene crystals tend to coalesce giving the rock a pegmatitic appearance. An overburden trench at UTM Zone 17 5344110N 539489E, approximately 150 m south of the discovery site, exposes a chromite rich band approximately 2 m in width. The band is truncated by both a Matachewan diabase dike and a felsic intrusion. The chromite band strikes 330o and dips near vertical. The strike of the diabase contact is 340o and dips near vertical and the strike of the felsic intrusive contact with the leucocratic gabbro is 105o and dips steeply to the north. The contact of the 3 rock units is well exposed in the trench.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Guidon) - At the discovery site, platinum group elements occur in a sulphide enriched zone within the leucocratic gabbro, near the contact with a fine grained dike. Sulphide mineralization consists of disseminations of chalcopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and possibly pentlandite up to 2 mm in diameter. Total sulphide content is about 2%. The chromite band is about 2 m wide and contains elevated PGE values. This site is located approximately 150 m south of the original PGE showing. Samples collected in 1997 assayed 0.3% Cu, 0.3% Ni and 1.1 ppm Pd. Drill hole NW98-1 intersected a 7 m wide zone assaying 1 ppm combined Pd and Pt.

Assay Samples

Mineral Record Details

Site Visit Information

Date: Mar 12, 1999

Geologist: D Guidon

Notes: Property visited July 9, 1998 with G. Meyer. Samples collected: 98301 - PGE showing - gabbro; 98302 - PGE showing - gabbro; 98303 - PGE showing - leucocratic gabbro - showing; 98304 - PGE showing - leucocratic gabbro; 98305 - east side of dike - leucocratic gabbro with sulphides | chromite; 98306 - east side of dike - chromite band; 98307 - chromite showing - chromite band; Photos (slides): PGE showing - 2 looking NE up toward showing; PGE showing - discovery zone; PGE showing - narrow dike; PGE showing - close up of dike. Property-scale relationships of the chromite-rich band, the magnetite-rich band, PGE-sulphide mineralization and the gabbroic units is poorly understood due to poor exposure and the lack of exploration data. The main chromite band is truncated to the southeast by both a diabase dike and a felsic intrusion. The PGE discovery appears to be east of the projected trend of the chromite band. The chromite band is projected to lie under the overburden near the road, assuming no interference from other structures. The chromite band is more magnetic than the leucocratic and mafic gabbro but less magnetic than the magnetic gabbro. A detailed walking-magnetic survey may be able to trace the chromite, magnetite and magnetic gabbroic bands under the overburden. The profiles produced by the walking-magnetic survey are capable of detecting and mapping such narrow units and may aid in the mapping of the other units, as well.

References

File - Resident Geologist file KL-4652

Publication Number: Date:

Author:

Publisher Name:

Location: Timmins RGP office

Map - Geological series, Watabeag River area, districts of Timiskaming and Cochrane

Publication Number: P1078 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1976

Author: Pyke D.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Mono - Geology of the Watabeag Lake area, districts of Cochrane and Timiskaming

Publication Number: OFR5290 Date: 1980

Author: Pyke D.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Report of Activities 1998, Resident Geologist Program, Kirkland Lake Regional Resident Geologist Report: Kirkland Lake and Sudbury Districts

Publication Number: OFR5991 Page: p. 18  Date: 1999

Author: Meyer G., Cosec M., Grabowski G.P.B., Guindon D.L., Gosselin S.D.M.

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 Kirkland Lake Resident Geologist District Office