Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI42E10NE00003

Record: MDI42E10NE00003

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Gold

Secondary Commodities: Silver

Location

Township or Area: McBean Lake Area

Latitude: 49° 41' 50.59"    Longitude: -86° 31' 27.8"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 534299   Northing: 5505094    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay North

NTS Grid: 42E10NE

Point Location Description: Minesite

Location Method: Data Compilation

Access Description: The property is located in the McBean Lake Area, on the east side of the Making Ground River, approximately 9.6 km south of Longlac. Access to the claim block is via an all-weather gravel road south from the town of Longlac for approximately 9.6 km. The mine is on the west side of the road.

Exploration History

1934: Initial gold discovery made by Moses Fisher. Numerous claims were staked by various individuals. 1935: Work done by Afton Gold Mines resulted in limited production of Au and Ag. 1936: Surface expl'n conducted; 2 bulk samples prepared, diamond drilling completed; 2 compartment incline shaft started. 1937: Underground dev't con't. A 2 compartment vertical shaft was sunk to 66.1 m. At the end of the year, the option was dropped and the mining plant was moved off the property. Diamond drilling from surface totalled 2398.17 m. 1938: Theresa Gold Mines Ltd. was incorporated; a mill was installed; ore treated from the dump and 1st level. A new mining plant was installed. 1939: 2 compartment vertical shaft was sunk. No dev't done on the old workings. Operations were suspended late in the year. 1947: Underground dev't resumed. 2 DDH totalling 60.96 m were drilled from underground. 1948-49: 115 holes drilled from underground (10880.75 m). 1950: A 100 t/d mill was completed. 10 DDH totalling 757.7 m were drilled from surface and 103 holes totalling 8309.5 m were drilled from underground. Mill construction was completed and operations began with an average mill rate of 71 t/d. 1951: Underground dev't con't. No. 3 shaft was extended to 986 ft. 10 DDH totalling 1314 m were drilled from surface and 35 holes totalling 2501.5 m were drilled from underground. Avg. mill rate was 108 t/day. 1952-53: Underground dev't con't. 60 holes totalling 4392.8 m were drilled from underground. 1954: Operations were suspended in Feb. 1960: claims were staked by prospectors. 1961: 12 claims were optioned to Caravelle Mines Ltd. who performed limited work and then dropped the option. Claims were transferred to Newrich Explorations Ltd. 1962: Newrich Explorations made the recommendation to dewater the underground workings and conduct further underground exploration. A limited diamond drilling program was completed. 1964: Newrich drilled 17 DDH totalling 1039.4 m, then dropped the option. 1972: Proto Explorations and Holdings Ltd. cut a grid and performed geological and mag surveys. 1973: 18 DDH were drilled totalling 1742.2 m. Option was dropped. 1982: Cotton Valley Resources optioned the property. 1983: A portion of the block was optioned to Mid North Exploration Services; numerous claims were leased for 21 years. 1985: Cotton Valley name was changed to Conscot Resources Ltd. 1987-88: Durations Mines Ltd. conducted geological mapping and sampling, geophysical surveys (VLF-EM and magnetics), dewatering and rehabilitation of the underground workings, underground sampling, and surface and underground diamond drilling (35 surface holes totalling 5817.88 m and 65 underground holes totalling 7392.3 m). 2003: R. Liard conducted geological mapping. 2009: R. Liard conducted prospecting and sampling.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wabigoon

Terrane: Eastern Wabigoon

Belt: Beardmore-Geraldton

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - The area consists predominantly of altered mafic metavolcanic rocks, agglomerates and metasediments. These units have been intruded by massive quartz diorite-granodiorite bodies. These units are all cut by northeast-trending diabase dykes. The Theresa Gold property covers a large area of the quartz diorite-granodiorite intrusion. The remainder of the intrusion is mostly in Indian Reserve #77. The workings are almost entirely restricted to the area of the contact between the intrusion, the volcanics, and the metasediments. The most important showing is on claims TB16373 and TB17784, about 0.25 mile west of the Making Ground River. A steep-dipping shear zone averaging 5 feet in width over a length of 300 feet, strikes N40 degrees East along the contact of a sheared agglomerate and massive hornblende-quartz diorite. The shear zone contains a quartz vein averaging about 1 foot in width and shows coarse visible gold in many places. The zone has been traced at least 650 feet and apparently dies out to the southwest. The results of surface sampling and of preliminary drilling are reported to warrant more extensive operations (Shaft 1 area). The 2 best showings on the Indian group are No. 2 vein and No. 3 vein. The former consists of a network of small quartz stringers spread over a zone 10 feet wide on the contact of hornblende-quartz and a fine, highly altered, greyish dyke rock. The contact strikes N85 degrees E and dips 55 degrees N. The No. 3 vein is highly deformed and discontinuous. The showing on the east end consists of an altered hybrid rock, probably greenstone, which contains a drag-folded quartz vein about 3 feet wide. This vein has been traced for 65 feet and contains irregular gold values.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - A thin section of the 'highly altered greyish dyke rock' hosting the No. 2 vein shows a fine felted mass consisting mostly of calcite, quartz, feldspar, sericite, and accessory biotite, chlorite and epidote. The feldspar is indeterminable, and much of the quartz may be secondary. The veinlets occur mostly in this altered rock.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (B Nelson) - Veinlets in the area of the No. 2 vein contain coarse visible gold, with minor amounts of cp, po, bn and py. A novelty is the occurrence with the gold of small amounts of the gold-silver telluride, petzite. Tellurides have not been reported elsewhere in this area. Pyrite and tourmaline are associated with a shear zone on the Caouette group. Phelan and Laird (1972) noted that a 'lenticular bed of talc-sericite schist near the southwest corner of the property contains a small sphalerite occurrence which has been trenched and sampled.

Mar 18, 2016 (Therese Pettigrew) - During the underground sampling program in 1987-88, results ranged from 0.001 opt Au to 29.840 opt Au. Stopes that had previously produced gold had values that included 2.78, 4.62, 1.12, 8.343, 0.06, 0.038, 0.30, and 3.30 opt Au. Surface drilling results include 0.0611 opt Au over 0.49 m, 0.183 opt Au over 0.15 m, 0.271 opt Au over 1.44 m, 0.29 opt Au over 1.10 m, and 0.114 opt Au over 1.55 m. Underground drilling results include 0.22 opt Au over 0.31 m and 0.168 opt Au over 1.22 m (AFRI 42E09NW0002). Surface sampling in 2009 returned assays that ranged from 11 to 2890 ppb Au (AFRI 20000004229).

Mineral Record Details

Site Visit Information

Date: Jan 29, 1997

Geologist: B Nelson

Notes: The Beardmore-Geraldton Economic Geologist visited the occurrence July 14, 1982 and September 26, 1985.

References

Map - Long Lake-Pagwachuan Lake area, District of Thunder Bay, Ontario

Publication Number: ARM46B Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1997

Author: Fairbairn H.W., Macdonald R.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Compilation series, Geraldton sheet, Thunder Bay and Cochrane districts

Publication Number: P0241 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1984

Author: Stott G.M., McConnell C.D., Mason J.K.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Mineral deposits series, Ontario mineral potential, Longlac sheet, districts of Thunder Bay and Cochrane

Publication Number: P1527 Scale: 1:250,000    Date: 1978

Author: Springer J.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Tashota-Geraldton sheet, geological compilation series, Thunder Bay and Cochrane districts

Publication Number: M2102 Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G., Harris F.R., Fenwick K.G., Baillie J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Gold occurrences, prospects, and deposits of the Beardmore-Geraldton area, districts of Thunder Bay and Cochrane

Publication Number: OFR5630 Page: 574-581  Date: 1986

Author: Mason J.K., White G.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Part - Geology of the northern Long Lake area

Publication Number: ARV46-03.001 Page: 1-22  Date: 1997

Author: Fairbairn H.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Gold deposits of Ontario, part 1, districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Rainy River, and Thunder Bay

Publication Number: MDC013 Date: 1971

Author: Ferguson S.A., Groen H.A., Haynes R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines and Northern Affairs

Location:

Part - Mines of Ontario in 1939

Publication Number: ARV49-01.003 Date: 1997

Author: Tower W.O., Cave A.E., Taylor J.B., Douglass D.P., Hargrave W.G., Bayne A.S., Cooper D.F., Weir E.B., Webster A.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Part - Mines of Ontario in 1946

Publication Number: ARV56-02 Date: 1997

Author: Tower W.O., Smith R.L., Bawden W.E., Cooper D.F., Walkom L.K., Little E.S., Kirk A.T., Weir E.B., Douglass D.P., Ward J.L., Barrett C.M.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Precambrian Geology, Seagram Lake Area, Southern Part

Publication Number: M2569 Scale: 1:20,000    Date: 1993

Author: Kresz D.U., Zayachivsky B., McCuaig T.C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Folio - McBean Lake area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: GDIF047 Date: 1997

Author: Thunder Bay RGO

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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