Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI42I14SW00002

Record: MDI42I14SW00002

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Gypsum

Location

Township or Area: Canfield, Carroll

Latitude: 50° 49' 47.01"    Longitude: -81° 17' 11.81"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 479814.846   Northing: 5630929.149    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Timmins

NTS Grid: 42I14SE, 42I14SW

Point Location Description: General--exposures extend along north bank of river for 4km; south bank for 3.5km

Location Method: Conversion from MDI

Access Description: Outcrops on the north bank first occur 600 feet east of railway bridge; on the south bank, opposite the east end of Murray Island. The area can be accessed in the summer by train (ONR line from Cochrane to Moosonee, Ontario), river (canoe or inflatable boat), or helicopter. In winter, access is by winter roads, train and helicopter. (OGS OFR 5728, pp.3,5) As of January 1989, portions of this site (about 1.5km of NW bank exposure) have been designated as part of the Missinaibi Provincial Park; mineral development is prohibited with park boundary. (IMBP 12, p.15).

Exploration History

1911--W. Tees Curran: Property first staked; no work done 1923--W. Tees Curran: 12 claims restaked; 4 holes drilled 1928-29--Ont. Dept. of Mines and Mines Branch, Ottawa: Sample analyses (AR 38-4, p. 9) 1929--James Bay Basin Oil Co. (formerly W.T. Curran): 3 holes drilled (Mike, Murray and Grey Goose islands); the Mike and Murray island holes intersected 54m and 20m of gypsum respectively 1955--Atlas Gypsum Corporation / R.E. Parkes: Linecutting, geological survey 1964--Ontario Dept of Mines: Channel sampling and analyses 1988--Ontario Geological Survey: Mapping and sampling, geochemistry, thin section analyses 1993--Formosa Environmental Aggregates Ltd. (5 claims on south side of Moose R., east of Murray Island): Diamond drilling (10 holes, 306m total), geochemistry, colour analysis James Bay Gypsum Development Group (Note: 16 claim property north of river, straddling railway): 1992--Manual test-pitting, sampling, map compilation 1993--12 Test-pits, sampling; gypsum encountered in 4 of the pits 1994--2 vertical Winkie drill holes (110ft total); sampling 1995-97--Resource calculation and material testing.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Paleozoic and Mesozoic Basins

Subprovince: Moose River Basin

Geological Age: Paleozoic  

Geology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Draper) - Gypsum occurrences of the Moose River Basin are considered part of the lower Middle Devonian Moose River Formation. (GSC MEM 379, p.90). Gypsum exposures here appear as a series of low cliffs on both sides of river, in two separate groups: on the NW bank of Moose River commencing 600 feet east of the railway bridge and continuing downstream for 2.5 miles; and on the south bank starting opposite the east end of Murray Island then downstream for 2 miles. Outcrops are found only on the river banks, none occur on the mid-river islands. The beds are exposed to a maximum of 16 feet above the water level with the greatest thickness found on the NW side of the river. Typically the exposures consist from top to bottom of: 3-15 feet of gypsum/limestone breccia; 3-6 feet of banded brown selenite and white gypsum; and massive white gypsum continuing below water level. Thin-bedded, fine-grained brown limestone overlies the gypsum at the extremities of the outcrop areas. Several feet of overburden (till and river sand) top both areas of exposure. (Refs: AR 13, p.156; AR Vol 37-6, p. 41; IMR 18, p.53; OGS Study 21, p.175) 1994 drilling by James Bay Lowlands Gypsum near Canfield/Carroll township line, between the river and the rail line, encountered massive, high-grade gypsum beds at 10 and 17 feet in depth--both holes bottomed in gypsum (47ft and 40ft deep) (AF T-3543).

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Draper) - The upper gypsum beds are commonly laminated and more coarsely crystalline and may have beds of shale and limestone interbedded; the lower beds are purer, more massive, and finely crystalline. These are overlain by a breccia consisting of angular blocks of gypsum, transparent selenite, and limestone embedded in a matrix of grey shale. (AR Vol 37-6, p. 41).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (D Draper) - The outcrops vary from greyish, pinkish, greenish to snow-white saccharoidal gypsum to coarsely crystalline brownish to whitish-grey varieties. Brown to clear, transparent selenite occurs within the gypsum. (AR 13, p. 156) The gypsum is usually granular or finely crystalline and snow-white in colour, but grey, pink, green and brown gypsum occur, and a greyish variety with coarsely crystalline, star-shaped spots of selenite is not uncomon. (AR Vol 37-6, p.40) Ont. Dept. of Mines testing of 8-foot vertical channel samples taken from both north and south shores (1964) returned a value of 95.51% gypsum for both. (IMR 18, p.58) 1990 geochemical analyses of 33 samples from both banks returned an average gypsum value of 96.44%. (OFR 5728, p.101) A resource appraisal commissioned by James Bay Lowland Gypsum Development Group in 1995 on a small portion of potential northern extent of Moose River gypsum beds (274,278 sq.m., located between river and rail line along township boundary) calculated a minimum resource of 1,371,390 cubic metres of gypsum within confines of study block. (AF T-3543) Formosa Environmental Aggregates' 1993 10-hole program inferred a subsurface lateral continuity of 1.86km paralleling the river to the south with thicknesses exceeding 30m, with a 10m high-grade section grading to 95.06 wt% gypsum. (AF T-3687).

Mineral Record Details

References

File - Resident Geologist files T-0427

Publication Number: Date:

Author:

Publisher Name:

Location: Timmins RGP office

Map - Onakawana sheet, geological compilation series

Publication Number: P0375 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1997

Author: Bennett G., Brown D.D., George P.T.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Journal - Canadian Mining Journal 1964, Vol 85 No 6

Publication Number: CMJ Page: 50-52  Date: 1964

Author:

Publisher Name:

Location: Timmins RGP office

Map - Moose River Basin, District of Cochrane, Ontario

Publication Number: ARM37P Scale: 1:506,880    Date: 1997

Author: Dyer W.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Geology, Hudson Bay Lowlands, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and District of Keewatin

Publication Number: Map 17-1967 Scale: 1:1,013,760    Date: 1967

Author: Norris, A W; Sanford, B V; Bostock, H H

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/107628

Publication - Geology and bibliography of the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Operation Winisk; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 67-60

Publication Number: Paper 67-60 Page: 42  Date: 1968

Author: Sanford, B V; Norris, A W; Bostock, H H; Bell, R T

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/100932

Map - Moosonee sheet, geological compilation series, Cochrane District

Publication Number: M2171 Scale: 1:253,440    Date: 1969

Author: Bennett G., Brown D.D., George P.T., Guillet G.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Gypsum in Ontario

Publication Number: IMR018 Page: 43, 53-58  Date: 1997

Author: Guillet G.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Compend - Mesozoic geology and mineral potential of the Moose River Basin

Publication Number: S021 Page: 152, 174-175  Date: 1982

Author: Telford P.G., Verma H.M.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Part - Economic resources of Moose River Basin

Publication Number: ARV13-01.009 Page: 155-157  Date: 1998

Author: Bell J.M.

Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines

Location:

Part - Geology and economic deposits of the Moose River basin

Publication Number: ARV37-06.001 Page: 39  Date: 1998

Author: Dyer W.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Operation Kapuskasing

Publication Number: MP010 Page: 84  Date: 1967

Author: Bennett G., Brown D.D., George P.T., Leahy E.J., Guillet G.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Publication - Devonian stratigraphy of the Hudson Platform; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir no. 379

Publication Number: GSC Mem 379 Page: 91  Date: 1975

Author: Sanford, B V; Norris, A W

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/127033

Mono - Industrial minerals of northern Ontario

Publication Number: MDC026 Page: 119  Date: 1985

Author: Vos M.A., Abolins T., McKnight R.L.W., Smith V.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Geology of gypsum deposits in the James Bay Lowland

Publication Number: OFR5728 Page: 38  Date: 1990

Author: Bezys R.K.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Gypsum in northern Ontario: resources and market potential

Publication Number: IMBP012 Date: 1997

Author: Hains Technology Assoc., Bezys R.K., Muir J.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

Location:

Part - General review of non-metallic mineral resources, 1928

Publication Number: ARV38-04.001 Page: 9-10  Date: 1997

Author: Dyer W.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Report an Error

We are continuously updating our assessment file / technical report information. If you notice errors in the data, please contact us.

Terms of Use

Please review our Terms of Use agreement for this data product.

Ministry Contact Information

For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Timmins Resident Geologist District Office