Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI42E05SW00015

Record: MDI42E05SW00015

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Lithium, Beryllium, Tantalum

Secondary Commodities: Niobium, Cesium, Gallium, Rubidium

Location

Township or Area: Keemle Lake Area, Barbara Lake Area

Latitude: 49° 18' 4.65"    Longitude: -88° 0' .16"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 427297   Northing: 5461431    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South

NTS Grid: 42E05SW, 52H08SE

Point Location Description: DDH collar location (AFRI 20000008079)

Location Method: Conversion from MDI

Access Description: The property is approx. 7 km east of Highway 11 and 35 km south of the town of Beardmore. It can be accessed by driving 40 km north of the town of Nipigon on Highway 11, then driving 7 km east on a dirt road to reach the eastern boundary of claim 3009119.

Exploration History

1955: Aumacho River Mines Ltd. staked claims. Aumacho drilled 13 DDH totalling 1148.6 m from October to December 1955. 1956-7: Aumacho followed up with additional drilling. 1975: claims lapsed. 1995: A. Hayes staked the property and carried out a VLF EM survey. 2009: Rock Tech Lithium Inc. acquired the property from James Bay Midarctic Developments Inc. Rock Tech drilled 3 DDH totalling 175 m and undertook prospecting. 2010: Rock Tech drilled 3 DDH totalling 200.7 m. 2011: Rock Tech Lithium Inc. carried out channel sampling.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Quetico

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Schnieders) - The Brink (or No.1) deposit is exposed along the north shore of Blay lake. It has an average exposed width of 13 feet, and can be followed for 215 feet continuously in a direction of N 20 degrees W. The Brink deposit contains about 25 percent spodumene, as coarse to very coarse-grained prismatic crystals having lengths up to a measured maximum of 42 inches. The spodumene crystals (and accompanying feldspars) exhibit a distinct tendancy to be orientated perpendicular to the pegmatite contacts. Some of the spodumene and feldspar has been replaced by very fine-grained yellowish and pale-greenish mica, which occurs in small pods and irregular-shaped masses at irregular intervals thoughout the deposit, but mostly along or near the central part of it (Pye, 1965).

Feb 26, 2015 (Therese Pettigrew) - The lithium-bearing pegmatites are hosted by a sill-like body of massive to fainly foliated, pinkish grey, white-weathering granitic rock which invaded the metasediments. The body extends some 4.5 km from the west boundary of the present claims group, across the Brink No. 1 pegmatite deposit along an azimuth of 80 degrees almost to the east boundary of the property. It ranges upt o 150 m in width. The No. 2 zone lies 6 to 8 m below a flatter section of the N40 – 45E dipping Brink Zone and has been traced in drill holes for a lengh of 180 m.

Lithology

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Sep 13, 2019 (Therese Pettigrew) - Rock Tech’s 2010 drill program was designed to twin historic holes. The Aumacho pegmatites strike approx. NNE. Drill hole AM-11-01 intersected spodumene pegmatite from 21.03 to 27.05 m and from 54.90 to 58.50 m. Both these pegmatites occur within a grey to pinkish-grey, biotite granite. Both these pegmatite dykes contain 10-15 vol. % coarse to very coarse-grained spodumene as prismatic crystals up to 15 cm long and oriented sub-parallel to core axis. Both pegmatites intersect the core axis between 50 and 75º. The first dyke intersected at 21.03 m down hole returned 0.39 % Li2O over 0.97 m (from 21.03 to 22.0 m). AM-11-02 was collared approximately 50 m south of AM-11-01. This drill hole intersected two spodumene pegmatite dykes from 37.77 to 42.10 m and from 45.55 to 48.40 m. Both these dykes occur within biotite granite. The first pegmatite returned 0.98% Li2O over 4.33 m and the second pegmatite returned 0.42% Li2O over 2.85 m. AM-11-03 was collared approximately 285 m northeast of AM-11-01. The purpose of this hole was to evaluate the REE content of the granitic host of the Aumacho pegmatite dykes. Although this drill hole did not intersect any spodumene-bearing pegmatite, it returned anomalous values of REE (AFRO 2.49022). A mill test of typical pegmatite by the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, Ottawa, indicated that heavy-media separation would yield concentrate containing 6.27% lithium with a recovery of about 90% (The Northern Miner, March 8, 1956, page 26). A second test indicated that floatation would yield a concentrate containing 5.93 % lithium, also with a 90% recovery (The Northern Miner, September 27, 1956, page 4). Distribution of spodumene within the pegmatite dyke is erratic, with alternating sections of lithium-rich and lithium-poor zones (Pye, 1965). Grab samples collected during Rock Tech’s 2009 prospecting program returned results indicating the concentration of lithium oxide (Li2O) in the range of 2.17% to 7.22% with an average of 4%, beryllium <5 ppm to 462 ppm, cesium 301.1 ppm to 283 ppm, gallium 43 ppm to 81 ppm, niobium 10 ppm to 210 ppm, tantalum 5 ppm to 190 ppm, and rubidium 29.4 ppm to 1,430 ppm (AFRI 20000005862). Coarse, pale green and white spodumene in random orientation forms clusters within the dyke. Fairly well defined aplitic ‘chill zones’ at the contacts contain blue apatite in small, scattered grains, and a little tourmaline, with rather abundant muscovite. The feldspar, in part microcline-twinned, is in long white crystals oriented mostly at right angles to the dyke, and the spodumene-quartz masses are mainly interstitial (Mulligan, 1965). Channel sampling by Rock Tech in 2011 returned assays of up to 2.76% Li2O over 0.67 m and 3.16% Li2O over 1 m (Assessment report 20000008997).

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

References

Book - Geology of Canadian Lithium Deposits, p. 60

Publication Number: Econ Geol 21 Date: 1965

Author: Mulligan, R.

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/102454

MonoMap - Geology and lithium deposits of Georgia Lake area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: R031 Page: 62-64  Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

MonoMap - Columbium (niobium) deposits of Ontario

Publication Number: MDC014 Page: 53  Date: 1971

Author: Ferguson S.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines and Northern Affairs

Location:

Map - Georgia Lake area, Thunder Bay District

Publication Number: M2056 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Red Rock-Pine Portage sheet, District of Thunder Bay, geological compilation series

Publication Number: P0357 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

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