Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI42D14SW00003

Record: MDI42D14SW00003

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Sulphur/Pyrite, Iron, Zinc

Secondary Commodities: Copper, Gold

Location

Township or Area: Priske

Latitude: 48° 47' 20.4"    Longitude: -87° 15' 23.1"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 481166   Northing: 5404032    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South

NTS Grid: 42D14SE, 42D14SW

Point Location Description: Open cut, shaft, adit, trenches.

Location Method: Conversion from MDI

Access Description: The occurrence is located in Priske Township about 1.6 km south southeast of Schreiber (Mining Location R606, claim map G 631, Priske Township). Access may be gained via the old Schreiber dump (Worthington Bay) road which branches off Highway 17 at a point 4.4 km east of Schreiber. The road extends approximately 3 km south and west to a small clearing where the Morley Road occurrence is found. A foot trail (old road) leads northwest for about 600 m to the dump, adit and shaft of the Morley Pyrite occurrence.

Exploration History

1897: A prospector named Morley sold claim R606 to the Davis Sulphur Ore Co. of New York. An open cut 30.5 m long and 3.6 m deep was trenched and several shallow test pits were dug. One carload of py was shipped as a trial shipment. 1897-1905: An 18.3 m shaft was sunk and a 6.1 m adit driven. No further production was recorded. 1932: The property was offered for sale or option. 1936: It was optioned by Prospectors Airways Limited. 1937: Elora Gold Mines examined the property. 1948: Base metal sampling carried out by Ironlake Exploration Ltd. 1955-1956: Property was mapped and sampled by Thorncrest Explorations. 1956: 6 diamond drill holes, totalling approximately 470 m were drilled along strike. 1960: Temanda Mines Ltd. drilled 5 holes totalling 845 feet on the Morley High Grade vein (R606). 1963: Denison Mines Ltd. carried out sampling and assaying and possibly some diamond drilling. 1983: The Morley Pyrite claims (R606, R608, R609, R610, R660, R665), formerly owned by T. Armstrong, were optioned to J.E. Bond II and D. Mocnik. Trenching and sampling were carried out by New Ambrose Resources Inc. following an airborne geophysical (VLF EM, EM magnetometer) survey. B.R. Schnieders, as well as P. Fralick and T. Barrett studied the sulphide facies iron formations in the Schreiber Terrace Bay area, including the Morley Pyrite occurrence. 1984: Lincoln Resources Limited optioned the property and conducted line cutting and geophysical surveys (Max Min II, magnetometer). 1985: Lincoln Resources Limited carried out stripping, trenching and geological mapping and prospecting on the property. 1986: Drilling by Lincoln Resources was carried out in 1986. 1989: D. E. Christianson conducted prospecting and sampling with assistance from an OPAP grant. 1994: D.E. Christianson conducted a VLF-EM 16 survey, mapping, prospecting and sampling.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wawa

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Schreiber-Hemlo

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - The Morley Pyrite occurrence is an extremely well preserved, pyrite and chert rich sedimentary deposit situated within a late Archean metavolcanic suite. The ~5m thick lenticular chemical sedimentary unit consists of Algoman type, sulphide facies iron formation, underlain stratigraphically by intermediate flows and pyroclastic rocks and overlain by minor turbidites and mafic flows (Schnieders, 1987). The iron formation or chemical sediment unit consists of predominantly massive sulphide beds, layers, laminations and lenses intercalated with graphitic py slate, chert and minor turbitic metasedimentary rocks and metavolcanic rocks. The massive sulphides consist of predominantly py and po, with minor cp and sp present. At the Morley Pyrite occurrence within the main py lens, the py displays relatively primary textures also commonly interpreted as diagenetic textures. The py occurs predominately as beds, layers, laminations and nodules. In addition to the colloform nodules the predominately sulphide facies iron formation is hosted within metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks related to and near the contact of two volcanic cycles. The volcanic rocks and metasedimentary rocks have been cross faulted, and intruded by granitic rocks of the Terrace Bay Batholith and also by metagabbroic and diabase dykes and sills. Schnieders in Patterson et al (1984, p.93) notes that the Morley Pyrite occurrence appears to be a sulphide facies iron formation unit with late stage cross faulting. It is believed to be an example of a Chemical Sediment Stratabound Type of mineralization which may host gold mineralization. Walker (1967) stated that the predominance of sulphides over magnetite, plus the occurrence of graphite, suggests a strongly reducing deposition environment. The sulphide mineralization within the ironstone may represent a later hydrothermal or epigenetic concentration of reprecipitated iron and sulphur.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - The py occurs predominately as beds, layers, laminations and nodules. Brecciation and desegregation of the primary banding or bedding is common. Individual beds of py up to 3 cm are present, separated by siliceous mudstone and chert. Within the layers, beds and nodules of py are fine colloform laminations, less than 1/3 of a mm, approximately 250 to 300 microns in width. Small scale ball and pillow textures and soft sediment deformation textures such as slumping are present. These internal structures are considered by the author to be primary textures, however possibly deformed and recrystallized by later diagenetic and metamorphic processes.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - Spectacular examples of banded, bedded, laminated and nodular py are present on the Morley Pyrite dump. Hewitt (1967, p.52) reports that an average (?) assay of the ore zone gave 27.48% S and 41.54% Fe. Although considerable surface work was undertaken, production amounted to one carload of pyrite, in 1897, which 'gave gold satisfaction.' Several hundred tons of dump material were also noted (Hopkins 1922, pp.24 25). Drilling by Lincoln Resources Inc. in 1986, in the vicinity of the Morley Road occurrence intersected 4.6 g/t Au over 7.2 m (D.E. Christianson, Prospector, personal communication, 1995) Fraleck (1907, p.186) reports that analysis of the Morley Pyrite gossan zone yielded 36.45% Fe and 5.86% S. Iron Lake Exploration Limited conducted base metal sampling in 1948. Three samples taken from the main sulphide zone assayed an average of 3.2% Zn while 10 samples from the gossan zone north of the shaft averaged 1.7% Zn. Harper and Holbrooke (1960) described the Morley Pyrite and Morley Road occurrences as being two separate iron formations. The lens of sulphide on the Morley Pyrite occurrence trends N10?W with a 70? east dip and consists of a series of parallel bands of massive mineral, from 3 to 6 feet wide, across a width of 22 feet. The average of three representative samples of the massive sulphides shows 3.2% zinc while ten similar samples of the gossan material average 2.7% zinc (Harper and Holbrooke, 1969). (Resident Geologist's Files, Schreiber Hemlo District, Thunder Bay). A grab sample taken from the southern pit by Carter (1981) assayed 0.03% Cu.

Mineral Record Details

Site Visit Information

Date: Feb 21, 1997

Geologist: B Nelson

Notes: Resident Geologist personnel visited the occurence May 19, 1983; June 17, 1983; June 29, 1983; August 23, 1983; August of 1984; July 4, 1985; October of 1985; July of 1987; August of 1989; June of 1990. Samples by Resident Geologist personnel returned values ranging from <0.01 to 0.23 oz/ton Au, <0.01 to 2.31 oz/ton Ag, and up to 129 ppm Zn, 56 ppm Co, and 92 ppm Ni. Pb values all returned <10 ppm.

References

Map - Nipigon-Schreiber, geological compilation series, Thunder Bay District

Publication Number: M2232 Scale: 1:253,440    Date: 1973

Author: Carter M.W., McIlwaine W.H., Wisbey P.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Part - The southwestern part of the Schreiber area

Publication Number: ARV47-09.001 Page: 27-28  Date: 1998

Author: Harcourt G.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Schreiber area, District of Thunder Bay, Ontario

Publication Number: ARM47J Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1997

Author: Bartley M.W., Harcourt G.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Pyrite deposits of Ontario

Publication Number: MDC005 Page: 52  Date: 1967

Author: Hewitt D.F.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Schreiber-Duck Lake area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: ARM30A Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1998

Author: Hopkins P.E., Tanton T.L.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Schreiber sheet, District of Thunder Bay, geological compilation series

Publication Number: P0360 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

File - Resident Geologist Mineral Deposit Files

Publication Number: Min Dep Date:

Author:

Publisher Name:

Location: Thunder Bay RGP

Map - Geological series, Precambrian geology of the Schreiber area, east part, Thunder Bay District

Publication Number: P2391 Scale: 1:15,840    Date: 1981

Author: Carter M.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Mineral Occurrences in the Nipigon-Marathon Area, Volumes 1 and 2.

Publication Number: OFR5951 Page: 471-478  Date: 1996

Author: Schnieders B.R., Smyk M.C., Speed A.A., McKay D.B.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Part - Mines of northwestern Ontario

Publication Number: ARV07-01.003 Date: 1998

Author: Bow J.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines

Location:

Part - Fourth report on the west Ontario gold region

Publication Number: ARV07-02.001 Date: 1998

Author: Coleman A.P.

Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines

Location:

Part - Statistical review

Publication Number: ARV16-01.001 Date: 1998

Author: Gibson T.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines

Location:

Journal - Sulfide Facies Iron Formation at the Archean Morley Occurrence, Northwestern Ontario: Contrasts with Oceanic Hydrothermal Deposits; Canadian Mineralogist, vol 27, pp. 601-616

Publication Number: CM Vol 27 Date: 1989

Author: Fralick, P.W. et al.

Publisher Name: Canadian Mineralogist

Location:

Part - Schreiber-Duck Lake area

Publication Number: ARV30-04.001 Date: 1998

Author: Hopkins P.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Compend - Report of activities, 1983, Regional and Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP117 Page: 93  Date: 1984

Author: Kustra C.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Thesis - The Geology of Sulfide-Facies Iron Formations and Associated Rocks in the Lower Steel River Little Steel Lake Area, Terrace Bay, Ontario

Publication Number: MSc thesis Date: 1987

Author: Schnieders, B.R.

Publisher Name: Unpublished thesis, Lakehead University

Location: Thunder Bay RGP

MonoMap - Geology of the Jackfish-Middleton area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: R050 Date: 1997

Author: Walker J.W.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

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For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Thunder Bay South Resident Geologist District Office