Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record:
MDI42E04NE00003
| Record Name(s) | Little Bear Amethyst Quarry - 1980, Little Bear Quarry - 1980, T. Galarneau - 1970, Little Bear Amethyst Mine - 1980 |
|---|---|
| Related Record Type | Partial |
| Related Record(s) | |
| Record Status | Developed Prospect Without Reported Reserves or Resources |
| Date Created | 1984-Nov-02 |
| Date Last Modified | 2022-Sep-27 |
| Created By | |
| Revised By |
Primary Commodities: Amethyst
Secondary Commodities: Mineral Specimen
Township or Area: Kabamichigama Lake Area
Latitude: 49° 14' 7.25" Longitude: -87° 39' 16.33"
UTM Zone: 16 Easting: 452351.749 Northing: 5453824.788 UTM Datum: NAD83
Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South
NTS Grid: 42E04NE
Point Location Description: Trench
Location Method: Conversion from MDI
Access Description: The occurrence is located approximately 51 km northeast of Nipigon and north of Kabamichigama Lake (claim map G-58). The Camp 81 Domtar Woodlands Road turns off Highway 17 approximately 16 km east of Nipigon. Follow the main road for approximately 40 km until you reach the cabin and shop on Kabamichigama Lake. The Little Bear Quarry is 100 m south of the Little Bear Amethyst Mine. Both operations are 200 to 400 m north of the Camp 81 Road. The similarity in mine names has led to some confusion.
1970: Staked by T.F. Galarneau. Named after the black bear cub which visited the site and was raised by the Galarneau family (Vos 1976). 1971-73: Various mechanical and manual surface work was performed. Bulk sampling was conducted. 1974-75: No work was done; extension were granted. 1976: Manual and mechanical work was reported. 1977-80: Galarneau applied for a lease; aggregate permit was issued; amethyst was mined and sold at the site. 1980: Galarneau sold a leased claim (TB 27789, Little Bear Amethyst Mine) to R.H. Patterson who completed the required surveys. 1981: A mining lease was issued to Patterson. (Patterson also staked and worked TB 543785, located immediately south of the main quarry, from 1979 to 1981). 1983-88: R. Patterson conducted blasting, trenching and sampling. 1995: Ownership of the Little Bear Quarry is unknown. R. Patterson still holds a lease on the Little Bear Amethyst Mine.
Province: Superior
Geological Age: Archean
Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - The bedrock consists of pink biotite granite bordered on the eastern part of the property by metasedimentary megmatite. The mineralization consists of a vuggy breccia zone striking 295 degrees. This zone is 0.3 to 1 m wide and dips 73 degrees southwest. The zone is about 60 m long and consists of brecciated pink biotite granite cemented with pink to purple amethyst and containing elongate vugs measuring up to 60 cm long by 15 cm wide, and lined with pink quartz and amethyst. The vein amethyst occurs as ramifying veinlets 1.3 to 2.5 cm wide along the brecciated zone. The vein structure is entirely in the pink biotite granite and the entire worked section of the vein is approximately 200 m in strike length. To the northwest, the Little Bear Amethyst Mine conists of a breccia zone up to 4 m wide. Here the zone strikes 330 degres and dips 85 degrees NW. Two parallel vein structures approximately 10 m apart were observed and a quartz-amethyst stringer zone bifurcates into gneissic biotite granite. Individual amethyst veins are up to 5 cm wide. Vos (1976) described the Little Bear Quarry as containing quartz veins with vugs up to 0.75 m and reportedly up to 2.5 m wide and 6 m deep. The mineralized zone at the Little Bear Quarry can be traced for 800 m.
| Rock Type | Rank | Composition | Texture | Relationship | Granite | 1 | Biotite Granite | Locally Gneissic, Brecciated, Pegmatitic | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diatexite Migmatite | 2 | Near | ||
| Vein | 3 | Amethyst | Host |
| Rank | Mineral Name | Class | Economic Mineral Type | Alteration Mineral Type | Alteration Ranking | Alteration Intensity | Alteration Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amethyst | Economic | Ore | ||||
| Quartz | Alteration | Hydrothermal | 1 |
Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - Little Bear Amethyst Quarry: Crystals up to 7.6 cm long have been recovered from the vugs, which are up to 25 cm in size. Crystals average 2 cm wide, and tend to be rusty. The quartz is white at the edge of the vein, becoming darker purple towards the centre. Little Bear Amethyst Mine: Amethyst druse coats the sides of the veins. The crystals are small and tend to be flattened. The quartz is rusty due to the presence of sulphides.
Date: Feb 28, 1997
Geologist: B Nelson
Notes: Resident Geologist personnel visited the occurrence June 28, 1990; July 18, 1991; July 21, 1993.
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:
Map - Dickison Lake, Thunder Bay District
Publication Number: M2293 Scale: 1:63,360 Date: 1974
Author: Carter M.W.
Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines
Location:
MonoMap - Geology of the Dickison Lake area, District of Thunder Bay
Publication Number: R123 Page: 20-21 Date: 1975
Author: Carter M.W.
Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines
Location:
Book - Amethyst deposits of Ontario
Publication Number: GB05 Page: 53-54 Date: 1998
Author: Vos M.A.
Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines
Location:
File - Resident Geologist Mineral Deposit Files
Publication Number: Min Dep Date:
Author:
Publisher Name:
Location: Thunder Bay RGP
Mono - Mineral Occurrences in the Nipigon-Marathon Area, Volumes 1 and 2.
Publication Number: OFR5951 Date: 1996
Author: Schnieders B.R., Smyk M.C., Speed A.A., McKay D.B.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
File - Schreiber-Hemlo Resident Geologist Mineral Deposit Files, Thunder Bay office
Publication Number: Min Dep Date:
Author:
Publisher Name:
Location: Thunder Bay RGP
Mono - Amethyst in the Thunder Bay Area
Publication Number: OFR5891 Date: 1994
Author: Garland M.I.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
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