Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52A10NE00023

Record: MDI52A10NE00023

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Lead, Zinc

Secondary Commodities: Barite, Silver, Copper

Location

Township or Area: McTavish

Latitude: 48° 37' 43.44"    Longitude: -88° 42' 57.38"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 373564   Northing: 5387606    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South

NTS Grid: 52A10NE

Point Location Description: Map in Thunder Bay office RGP mineral deposit files showing shaft

Location Method: Data Compilation

Exploration History

1866: veins were discovered by P. McKellar along the southwest shore of Silver Lake, in Lot 2. 1867-72: the property, consisting of Lots 1, 2, and 3, was sold to an unspecified party. The veins were explored by trenching and test pitting. A shaft was put down to a depth of 16 feet (4.9 m) on the A Vein in Lot 2. The shaft is 90-180 m south of Silver Lake, about 25 m above its level. 1874: A. Nicholson, P. McKellar, J. McIntyre, and T.W. Aerrick carried out work on the property. 1876: The Silver Lake Mining Company was incorporated and acquired the property. No work was carried out. 1880: the southwest portion of Lot 1 was sold to A.B. Meeker and Mr. Hedstrom. A road was cut and buildings erected. 1926: The Northwest Ontario Chamber of Mines and the Silver Lake Syndicate carried out test pitting, trenching, and at least 2.4 km of stripping. 1927: W. Longworth, B. Seel, and T. Delbridge discovered and worked additional veins on the property, primarily on the west side of a peninsula 305 m east of the west end of Silver Lake. 1928: H. Dreany and international Minerals Ltd. optioned Lots 2 and 3. 1929: Schlumberger Electrical Processes were contracted to carry out an unspecified geophysical survey over Lots 2 and 3. 1947: Little Long Lac Gold Mines Ltd. drilled 7 DDH. No assessment reports were found on file.

Geology

Province: Southern

Subprovince: Nipigon Basin

Formation Group: Sibley Group

Geological Age: Mesoproterozoic  

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Mar 10, 2020 (Therese Pettigrew) - Mapping by McIlwaine (1975) indicates the immediate area south and east of Silver Lake, in Lots 2 and 3, is comprised of red arenaceous Red Rock dolomite with interformational conglomerate and breccia. Immediately west of Silver Lake, in Lot 1, conglomerate and buff to pink quartz arenite and quartzose arenite of the pass Lake Formation are more dominant. Lot 1 is also comprised of a 198 m wide unit of ferruginous rocks of the Gunflint Formation, consisting of taconite and chert and/ore carbonate, and a lesser unit of Early Precambrian intermediate to mafic metavolcanics. The Gunflint Formation is intruded by a 150-305 m wide diabase sill, in the southwest portion of Lot 1. In Lot 1, the east-west Sheen Lake fault separates the Red Rock arenaceous dolomites from the southerly Early Precambrian metavolcanics, Gunflint, and Pass Lake sediments (Thunder Bay RGP office mineral deposit files).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Mar 10, 2020 (Therese Pettigrew) - In general it appears that a major east-west fault, readily traced west from Silver Lake, divides or pursues an irregular course through the eastern part of the area. Numerous minor faults also occur. The mineralized veins are fissure fillings and cemented shatter zones. The shatter zones range in width up to 60 feet and are traceable for hundreds of feet. They are commonly cemented with a ramifying network of tiny quartz and calcite stringers. Galena occurs abundantly in certain of the stringers, particularly at places where several veinlets converge. The various shatter zones occur in line with one another, trend approximately east, and pass along the south shore of the western extremity of Silver Lake. The faulting along this zone causes Sibley sandstone to abut against red tuff of a higher stratigraphic horizon, the downthrow being on the north. The shatter zone system has been traced for 4,000 feet easterly and 1.5 miles westerly from the west end of Silver Lake. Geological mapping reveals the approximate position of a westerly extension of this fault for an additional 5 miles to the vicinity of Beck. The most richly mineralized vein observed is on the property of Mr. Wm. Longworth and associates on the west side of a peninsula 1,000 feet east of the west end of Silver Lake. The vein here is discontinuously exposed along the shore for a length of 150 feet. The southern part of the vein strikes north 25 degrees east; the northern end, 30 feet long, strikes north 52 degrees east. The vein dips about 70 degrees northwest. It is 1 foot wide and consists of white quartz, amethyst, galena, sphalerite, and a little pyrite. The galena locally makes up one-third of the volume of the vein and occurs in cubes measuring up to 2 inches along an edge. The greater part of this vein as exposed is less than 1 foot above lake level (Tanton, 1931). There are two occurrences of galena and sphalerite disseminated within a breccia zone in Sibley sediments (Shklanka, 1969). Hawley (1930, p. 82) described some of the more prominent veins situated south of Silver Lake: “Two fairly continuous veins south of the lake have been explored. ‘A’ vein is exposed intermittently for 900 feet (274.3 m). The width of ore in pit No. 10 is from 1.5-2 feet (0.46-0.61 m). It consists of a calcite stockwork in quartzose dolomite and carried good values in galena and sphalerite. This vein narrows to the west and is lots in the large breccia zone which continues westward. ‘B’ vein swings to the southeast and has several branches for a length of 800 feet (243.8 m). It consists of one to three split veins and fine stringers of calcite or quartz in brecciated sandstone and dolomite. At the old shaft, a 4 foot (1.2 m) vein contains fragments of country rock. At pit No. 6, the vein is rich in galena and about 4 feet (1.2 m) wide. Pits nos. 1 to 3 show 2 or 3 veins of 3 to 10 inches (7.6 to 25.4 cm) in width, well mineralized with galena, sphalerite and a little chalcopyrite.” A 4 foot vein at the shaft (possibly the A vein) returned assays of 4.71% Pb and 2.84% Zn (Hawley, 1929).

Mineral Record Details

References

Map - Geological series, McTavish Township (southern half), District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: P0990 Scale: 1:15,840    Date: 1975

Author: McIlwaine W.H.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Part - Lead and zinc deposits, Dorion and McTavish townships, Thunder Bay District

Publication Number: ARV38-06.002 Scale:     Date: 1998

Author: Hawley J.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Publication - Fort William and Port Arthur, and Thunder Cape Map-area, Thunder Bay District, Ontario; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 167

Publication Number: GSC Memoir 167 Scale:     Date: 1931

Author: Tanton, T.L.

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/100799

Mono - Copper, nickel, lead and zinc deposits of Ontario

Publication Number: MDC012 Scale:     Date: 1969

Author: Shklanka R.

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