Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI42E01SE00006

Record: MDI42E01SE00006

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Copper

Secondary Commodities: Zinc, Silver

Location

Township or Area: Blood Lake Area

Latitude: 49° 5' 12.18"    Longitude: -86° 14' 17.83"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 555616.775   Northing: 5437374.999    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South

NTS Grid: 42E01SE

Point Location Description: Large pit/trench

Location Method: Field Visit

Access Description: The Baarts-Donaldson copper occurrence is located approximately 32 km west-southwest of Manitouwadge and 6 km south-east of Vein Lake. The occurrence is accessible via motor vehicle followed by travel in boat and on foot. From Manitouwadge, proceed west and north along the Caramat Industrial road for approximately 16.8 km to the Lower Landing road. Proceed west along the Lower Landing road for approximately 7 km to the Pic River. Cross the river by boat and proceed west, on foot, along a well-maintained trapline trail for approximately 12 km to the vicinity of the occurrence. Although copper mineralization is exposed in several small trenches close to the trail, the best exposure (the main showing) occurs in a large trench (Trench 1) at the base of a small cliff located approximately 475 m west of the trail and 250 m west of the northwest corner of Little Joe Lake. Alternatively, the occurrence is accessible via float plane to a small, unnamed lake located approximately 2 km east of the occurrence, or to Vein Lake, located approximately 5 km northwest of the occurrence, followed by travel on foot along the same trapline trail described above.

Exploration History

1955: Trenching, lithogeochemical sampling, geological mapping; prospectors W. Dawidowich and G. Barker. This work reportedly outlined a mineralized zone 300 feet long by 20 feet wide that averaged 1% Cu. 1965: Line cutting and a ground geophysical survey (Crone EM-15); Kerr Addison Mines Limited. Diamond drilling (4 holes totalling 288 m); prospector A. Knapp. The drilling failed to intersect any economically significant mineralization. 1966: Geological mapping; M.E. Coates (ODM). 1970-1971: Geological mapping and lithogeochemical sampling; W.M. Hawkins working on behalf of a consortium of prospectors. 1971-1972: Trenching (12 trenches varying in size up to 27.5 m long by 1.8 m wide by 2.4 m deep); prospector E. Starr. 1979: Lithogeochemical sampling; Noranda Mines Limited (Geco Division). A grab sample collected northwest of the main showing returned assay values of 0.42% Cu and 0.15 ounce Ag per ton. Regional lake sediment and water geochemical survey; GSC-MNR. Samples collected from lakes in the vicinity of the occurrence contained slightly anomalous amounts of Ni but not Cu, Zn nor Au. 1989: Dighem airborne geophysical survey; Noranda Exploration Company Limited and Noranda Minerals Inc. (Geco Division). 1991-1992: Reconnaissance till sampling program; I.M. Kettles (GSC). Lithogeochemical sampling; D. McKay (OGS).

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wawa

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Manitouwadge-Hornepayne

Geological Age: Archean  

Metamorphism Type: Regional

Metamorphism Grade: Amphibolite

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D McKay) - The occurrence is located within the Wawa subprovince and is underlain primarily by pink, coarse-grained, locally sheared and brecciated, silicified, hematized and albitized (?) granite and granitic gneiss (Coates 1970; Hawkins 1971; Kusins 1980). Local lenses and pods of migmatized, mafic metavolcanic rocks and quartz-feldspar pegmatite are also present (Hawkins 1971). The occurrence is spatially associated with the northwest-trending, Little Joe Lake fault (Coates 1970, Map 2192). Narrow (up to 600 m wide), discontinuous, northeast-trending belts of amphibolitized mafic metavolcanic gneisses occur southeast and northwest of the occurrence (Coates 1970, Map 2192). These metavolcanic rocks are believed to represent the western extension of the Hornblende Schist Group of the Manitouwadge greenstone belt (Kusins 1980). The occurrence consists primarily of erratically distributed sulphides and associated weathering products, hosted in narrow zones of altered, sheared and brecciated granite and granitic gneiss. The location of the mineralization appears to be controlled by the Little Joe Lake fault and/or related parallel faults. All of the copper-mineralized rock exposed in the trenches was confined within, or adjacent to, these faults. The mineralized zones vary in width from approximately 1 to 4 m. At the main showing, the mineralized zone dips steeply southwest and, where exposed along the cliff face, appears to widen with depth. The copper mineralization is exposed in 7 trenches and has been traced along stirke for approximately 8000 feet.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D McKay) - The occurrence consists primarily of erratically distributed sulphides and associated weathering products, hosted in narrow zones of altered (silicified, hematized and albitized (?)), sheared and brecciated granite and granitic gneiss.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D McKay) - The sulphide assemblage consists primarily of fine- to medium-grained, disseminated grains of pyrite and coarser-grained anhedra and blebs of chalcopyrite. Chalcocite, covellite and trace amounts of bornite also occur locally. The sulphides tend to be concentrated in zones rich in quartz and may locally comprise up to 5% of the host. Azurite and malachite staining are common within the mineralized zones. Although native copper is reported to occur within some of the trenches (Pye 1955; Irbe date unknown; Hawkins 1971), none was observed during the present examination. The host granite and granitic gneiss are locally strongly silicified and hematized. Several narrow (up to 1 cm wide) veinlets of fine-grained, foliation-parallel specular hematite occur within the granitic gneiss adjacent to the main showing. Channel samples collected from the occurrence in 1964 by Noranda Mines Limited and by Kerr Addison Mines Limited returned the following assay results: Trench 1: 26 feet averaging 0.45% Cu; Trench 2: 15 feet averaging 0.28% Cu; Trench 4 (Main Showing): 18 feet averaging 0.54% Cu. Chip samples collected from Trench 4 (after it was deepened and lengthened) in 1970 by J. Strickland (Geco Mines Ltd.?) returned an average assay of 5.02% Cu, 0.25% Zn and 0.30 ounce Ag/ton over 16.5 feet. Grab samples collected from the occurrence in 1991 by D.B. McKay for the OGS returned assay values which varied from nil to 0.003 ounce Au/ton, nil to trace Ag, 70 to 34200 ppm Cu and 8 to 91 ppm Zn.

Alteration Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D McKay) - The host granite and granitic gneiss are locally brecciated and strongly silicified and hematized.

Mineral Record Details

References

Map - Killala-Vein lakes area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: P0382 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1997

Author: Coates M.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Vein Lake sheet, Thunder Bay District

Publication Number: M2192 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1970

Author: Coates M.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Manitouwadge sheet, districts of Thunder Bay and Algoma, geological compilation series

Publication Number: P0494 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1997

Author: Milne V.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

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

Publication Number: MDC012 Date: 1969

Author: Shklanka R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Manitouwadge-Wawa sheet, geological compilation series, Algoma, Cochrane, Sudbury and Thunder Bay districts

Publication Number: M2220 Scale: 1:253,440    Date: 1972

Author: Milne V.G., Giblin P.E., Bennett G., Thurston P.C., Wolfe W.J., Giguere J.F., Leahy E.J., Rupert R.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of the Killala-Vein lakes area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: R081 Date: 1970

Author: Coates M.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Mineral Occurrences in the Manitouwadge Area, Volumes 1, 2 and 3

Publication Number: OFR5906 Date: 1994

Author: McKay D.B.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

File - Schreiber-Hemlo Resident Geologist Mineral Deposit files, Barker-Dawidowich Property

Publication Number: Min Dep Date: 1955

Author: Pye, E.G.

Publisher Name:

Location: Thunder Bay RGP

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

Publication Number: MDC002 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:

File - Schreiber-Hemlo Resident Geologist Mineral Deposit files, Baarts-Knapp Property

Publication Number: Min Dep Date:

Author: Irbe, J.S.

Publisher Name:

Location: Thunder Bay RGP

File - Schreiber-Hemlo Resident Geologist Mineral Deposit Files, The Economic Potential of the L.M.M. Baarts Property

Publication Number: Min Dep Date: 1971

Author: Hawkins, W.M.

Publisher Name:

Location: Thunder Bay RGP

File - Schreiber-Hemlo Resident Geologist Mineral Deposit Files, Vein Lake Prospect (L.M.M. Baarts Vein Lake Claims)

Publication Number: Min Dep Date: 1980

Author: Kusins, R.

Publisher Name:

Location: Thunder Bay RGP

Compend - Report of activities, 1991, Resident Geologists

Publication Number: MP158 Page: 121-163  Date: 1992

Author: Fenwick K.G., Newsome J.W., Pitts A.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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