Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI42J01NE00006

Record: MDI42J01NE00006

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Silica Sand, Clay

Location

Township or Area: Kipling

Latitude: 50° 9' 22.42"    Longitude: -82° 12' 42.06"

UTM Zone: 17    Easting: 413445   Northing: 5556704    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Timmins

NTS Grid: 42J01NE

Point Location Description: pit, east bank of Mattagami River

Location Method: AMIS Site Visit

Access Description: Group of 8 patented and 1 leased claim (P.91135). Access is via Hwy 807 from Smooth Rock Falls 45 miles north to Fraserdale junction on the Ontario Northland Railway, then west 20 miles by private road (Ontario Hydro) to Smoky Falls, then north 6 miles by dirt road on west side of Mattagami River to Kipling generating station. (See also Kilborn Limited feasibility study p. 1-3, Figure 1-1, AF T-3216 for regional location and access map.).

Exploration History

1916-17: C.M. McCarthy- Initial discovery and claim-staking 1919. 1925-26: Ontario Bureau of Mines - Drilling; 3 holes up to 200ft depth on claim T19482; test pitting, hand augering and sampling.1926: Incorporation of the Northern Ontario China Clay Corporation Limited (controlled by the Douglas family). 1927-28, Ontario. Department of Mines: Drilling; testing of clay samples by Ecanada Art Pottery (vases produced). 1962: Chesterfield Mining and Exploration Company Limited - Drilling, 1 vertical hole to 163ft; material testing by Lakefield Research of Canada Limited.1963-67: B. Douglas - Material testing, including KIM analysis. 1972: Geocon Ltd - DD- 6 holes. 1972: B. Douglas/Mikas Oil Company - Boreholes, test pits along bank of leased claim P.91135. 1981: Lignasco - Amag. 1985: Carlson Mines Ltd - DD-5, 500 ton bulk sample;material evaluation by Ontario Research Foundation. 1985: Carlson Mines: Feasibility study for open pit production, including analysis of samples from 1972 drilling. 1986-88: MNDM and I.M.D.Laboratories Ltd - Beneficiated kaolin samples tested for fine china manufacture. 1987, Black Gregor Explorations Amag, AVLF. 1988: R. Platt (Carlson Mines)- Drilling (2 holes, 142m, just north of patents). 1989: 798839 Ontario Ltd./James Bay Kaolin Corporation - Acquisition of Douglas claims and staking of 358 adjacent claims extending across center of Kipling and east into Emerson Twp. 1990-96: Mineral Research Canada Inc. / Great Lakes Kaolin Inc. took control of James Bay Kaolin property. Extensive program of drilling, sampling, and material testing (WRA; XRD; pH; viscosity; abrasion; particle size distribution); Amag, AVLF. 2004: Property under patent and lease.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Paleozoic and Mesozoic Basins

Subprovince: Moose River Basin

Geological Age: Mesozoic   Geochronological Age: Lower Cretaceous    Geochron. Age Ref.: MP113, p. 65

Geology Comments

Mar 20, 2014 (D Draper) - The Mesozoic clay deposit on the east bank of the river was initially observed to have a maximum thickness of 12 ft, with outcrops extending 5/8ths of a mile along shore. Montgomery reported that a highly kaolinized syenite gneiss occurs a few miles upstream at the head of Long Rapids and speculated that this may be the source of the sand and kaolin. The overall occurrence forms a very gentle anticline and consists of 3 main beds: a top bed of coarse and relatively pure silica sand, approximately 9 feet deep; a middle bed of fireclay of varying thickness to a maximum of 12 feet; a lower bed of silica sand of finer texture than the upper bed. Early test drilling showed this lowest bed reached over 40 feet in thickness. The deposit is overlain by Pleistocene sediments to an average depth of 30m (100ft). Chesterfield's 1962 hole (C-1), drilled 2000ft to north along river bank, confirmed northern extension of deposit by intersecting clay and silica sand from 69ft to E.O.H. at 163ft (93ft below level of river). Drilling in the area of the patents by Great Lakes Kaolin (D-88 series holes) intersected an average of over 135 ft of Cretaceous sediments. The holes reached a maximum depth of 250ft and nearly all bottomed in the kaolin-silica sand-clay sediments.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Mar 20, 2014 (D Draper) - A series of lenticular horizontal beds of [Q] fine-grained, plastic fire clays of light-grey, brown, red, and buff colours. Mottling by red and brown blotches is common. Both overlying and underlying the fire clays on the Mattagami river are beds of white to milky quartz sand. The white clay contained within the quartz sand was considered to be a kaolin or china clay, albeit of sedimentary rather than residual origin. The kaolin is present in amounts averaging 15% of the silica sand units.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Mar 20, 2014 (D Draper) - Occurrence is comprised of: china clay; fireclay; silica sand. An early sand sample collected by Wm. Douglas was analyzed at: 99.1% silica, 0.324% alumina and 0.176% iron oxide. Clay samples were rated as being from No. 1 to No. 3 grade refractory clays. Chesterfield's investigations estimated it at: 10% fireclay, 90% silica and 15-20% kaolin. Testing by Keele in 1920 rated the fireclay at No. 1 grade; the silica sand tested as 99.8% silica. Additional tests of the fireclay yielded PCE results as high as 34. (A summary of Montgomery and Watson's and Keele's test results are given in table format in Study 21, p. 180) Sampling of hole C-1 showed 97.8% SiO2 and 0.09% Fe2O3 although difficulties in obtaining the samples may have impeded accurate evaluation. Feasibility tests sponsored by MNDM in the mid-80s concluded that the kaolin, while proving an adequate replacement for English china clay, would require substantial upgrading to meet commercial standards for fine china production.

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

Rank: 1       Structure Type: Paleo-Surface

References

File - Resident Geologist files T-0423, T-0663, T-4115

Publication Number: Date:

Author:

Publisher Name:

Location: Timmins RGP office

Map - Little Long Rapids sheet, District of Cochrane, geological compilation series

Publication Number: P0396 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1997

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Book - Newsclipping Files: Carlson Mines (1985 TO 2002); James Bay Lowlands

Publication Number: Newsclip Date: 1985

Author: Various

Publisher Name:

Location: Timmins RGO

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:

Mono - Economic geology of the Cretaceous deposits, Moose River Basin, Ontario, general appraisal

Publication Number: OFR5157 Page: 45-48  Date: 1975

Author: Vos M.A.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

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

Publication Number: S021 Page: 157, 180  Date: 1982

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Article - North clay belt and Lowland Resident Geologist area, Northern Region

Publication Number: MP128.005 Page: 146  Date: 1997

Author: Mackasey W.O., Digby M.C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Industrial minerals of northern Ontario

Publication Number: MDC026 Page: 121  Date: 1985

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Part - Geology and economic deposits of the Moose River basin

Publication Number: ARV37-06.001 Page: 56, 60-61  Date: 1998

Author: Dyer W.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Part - Semi-commercial tests on northern Ontario fire clays

Publication Number: ARV38-04.002 Page: 20  Date: 1997

Author: Dyer W.S., Montgomery R.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Part - Lignite and refractory clay deposits of the Onakawana lignite field

Publication Number: ARV42-03.002 Page: 59-61  Date: 1997

Author: Dyer W.S., Crozier A.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Part - Fire clay, kaolin, and silica sand deposits of the Mattagami and Missinaibi rivers

Publication Number: ARV37-06.003 Page: Loc'n 1  Date: 1998

Author: Montgomery R.J., Watson R.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Part - Pre-Cambrian rocks and iron ore deposits in the Abitibi-Mattagami area

Publication Number: ARV29-02.001 Page: 17  Date: 1998

Author: Cross J.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines

Location:

Part - Clay and shale deposits of the Abitibi and Mattagami rivers

Publication Number: ARV29-02.003 Page: 42-46  Date: 1998

Author: Keele J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Bureau of Mines

Location:

Book - CIM Bulletin: Refractory Clays of Northern Ontario

Publication Number: CIMM Page: 248  Date: 1933

Author: Dyer, W.S and Crozier, A.R.

Publisher Name: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum

Location: Timmins RGO Tech Paper File

Mono - Fine china, trials with Ontario minerals

Publication Number: IMBP008 Date: 1997

Author: Salt D.N.S.

Publisher Name: Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

Location:

Mono - Operation Kapuskasing

Publication Number: MP010 Page: 75-79  Date: 1967

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Bore hole mining of silica sand and kaolinite clay in the James Bay Lowlands, Ontario; feasibility and cost analysis

Publication Number: OFR5427 Date: 1983

Author: Derry, Michener, Booth and Wahl, IMD Laboratories Ltd

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Canadian Mineral Deposits not Being Mined in 1989

Publication Number: MR 223 Date: 1990

Author:

Publisher Name: Energy Mines and Resources Canada

Location: Timmins RGO

Publication - Stratigraphy and lithological composition of Quaternary sediments from five boreholes, Kipling Township, Ontario; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper no. 88-1C

Publication Number: Paper 88-1C Page: 239  Date: 1988

Author: Kettles, I M; Wyatt, P H

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/122637

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