Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record:
MDI52A03NE00003
| Record Name(s) | McKellar Island - 1869 |
|---|---|
| Related Record Type | Simple |
| Related Record(s) | |
| Record Status | Developed Prospect Without Reported Reserves or Resources |
| Date Created | 1984-Feb-01 |
| Date Last Modified | 2022-Mar-22 |
| Created By | |
| Revised By |
Primary Commodities: Barite
Secondary Commodities: Zinc, Silver, Lead
Township or Area: Spar And Victoria Islands Area
Latitude: 48° 11' 6.51" Longitude: -89° 7' 35.89"
UTM Zone: 16 Easting: 341935.03 Northing: 5339065.22 UTM Datum: NAD83
Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South
NTS Grid: 52A03NE
Point Location Description: AMIS location
Location Method: Conversion from MDI
1869: discovered by the McKellar brothers. In a search for silver, the vein was subsequently developed from a shaft 39.6 m deep, an adit 45.7 m long, and a crosscut 18.3 m long. 1886: 30 men were employed mining barite from an open pit. 1961: International Minerals and Chemical Corporation (Canada) Ltd. acquired the property. 1967: L.V. Lomas Chemical Company Ltd. drilled 1 DDH totalling 94.2 m.
Province: Southern
Formation Group: Animikie Group
Geological Age: Paleoproterozoic
| Rock Type | Rank | Composition | Texture | Relationship | Diabase | 1 | Diabase Dyke |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vein | 2 | Barite | Host |
| Rank | Mineral Name | Class | Economic Mineral Type | Alteration Mineral Type | Alteration Ranking | Alteration Intensity | Alteration Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 2 | Galena | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 3 | Sphalerite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 4 | Pyrite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 1 | Calcite | Economic | Gangue | ||||
| 2 | Quartz | Economic | Gangue | ||||
| 3 | Fluorite | Economic | Gangue |
Feb 28, 2018 (Therese Pettigrew) - The island is formed by a diabase dyke. The vein strikes N45W and dips vertically, crossing McKellar Island near its middle and widest point. The vein is 137.2 m long, and is 12.2 m wide on the north side of the island. It is 9.1 m on the south side, and reaches its maximum width of 18.3 m about 45.7 m back from the north side. Barite in the main body of the vein is present as white radiating tabular aggregates. Calcite and quartz are also present, along with fluorite, galena, sphalerite, and pyrite. The McKellar vein would appear to represent about 50,000 tons of a barite-calcite mixture above lake-level. With some form of gravity separation, a high-grade barite concentrate representing about half this tonnage might be realized (Guillet, 1963). In the hole drilled by L.V. Lomas Chemical Company in 1967, there is barite present from 72.2-91.4 m. The barite content in this zone ranges from 28.0-58.4% BaSO4 (report in RGP mineral files, Thunder Bay office).
| Rank | Classification |
|---|---|
| 1 | Vein |
| Rank | Characteristic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Vein |
| Zone | Year | Category | Tonnes | Reference | Comments | Commodities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKellar Island | 1963 | Unclassified | 22680 | Guillet, 1963, p. 10-11 | The McKellar vein would appear to represent about 50,000 tons of a barite-calcite mixture above lake-level. With some form of gravity separation, a high-grade barite concentrate representing about half this tonnage might be realized. |
| Year | Tonnes | Commodities | Reference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894 | 8076 |
Barite 8902 Tons (short) |
Guillet, 1963, p. 8 | The United States Baryta Company of Cleveland shipped 8402 tons of hand-cobbed barite. The Duluth Barytes Company also shipped 500 tons in 1894. |
Mono - Barite in Ontario
Publication Number: IMR010 Page: 6, 8-11 Date: 1997
Author: Guillet G.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Mono - Silver cobalt calcite vein deposits of Ontario
Publication Number: MDC010 Page: 75 Date: 1968
Author: Sergiades A.O.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
We are continuously updating our assessment file / technical report information. If you notice errors in the data, please contact us.
Please review our Terms of Use agreement for this data product.
For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Thunder Bay South Resident Geologist District Office