Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record:
MDI52C15SE00006
| Record Name(s) | Little Turtle Lake Soapstone Quarry - 1922, H. H. Wood Talc Company - 1922, Seine River - 1987 |
|---|---|
| Related Record Type | Simple |
| Related Record(s) | |
| Record Status | Developed Prospect Without Reported Reserves or Resources |
| Date Created | 1987-May-20 |
| Date Last Modified | 2022-Sep-27 |
| Created By | |
| Revised By |
Primary Commodities: Soapstone, Talc
Township or Area: Little Turtle Lake Area
Latitude: 48° 46' 23.72" Longitude: -92° 38' 8.5"
UTM Zone: 15 Easting: 526766.987 Northing: 5402314.231 UTM Datum: NAD83
Resident Geologist District: Kenora
NTS Grid: 52C15SE
Point Location Description: Occurrence
Location Method: Conversion from MDI
Access Description: The occurrence is located on the south shore of Little Turtle Lake on patent claim HP 141. It is approximately 1 km northwest of the village of Mine Centre, 58 km west-northwest of the town of Fort Frances. The occurrence can be reached by boat from Little Turtle Lake. A boat can be launched at Misner's Landing 2 km east of the site. The boat launch is 2 km northeast of the junction of the Mine Centre road and Highway 11. Alternatively the site can be reached by walking through the bush along the shore of Little Turtle Lake from cottages located west of the landing.
1922 - Sutherland et al (1923) reported: In June, 1922, the company began to work a soapstone deposit on H.P. 141. When inspected in August, a pit, 5 feet by 6 feet, had been sunk near the shore of the lake and was 12 feet deep. In addition to the soapstone obtained during the sinking of the pit, between two and three cubic yards had been channelled with a plugger drill from the deposit nearby. The portion of the soapstone deposit being worked was a band, two feet six inches wide, with a strike of 105 degrees magnetic. Eardley-Wilmot (1924) reported: About a car lot of talc was mined by H.H. Wood at Mine Centre in the Rainy River district, Ontario. 1923 - Further development at the quarry involved stripping of the talc vein for about 30 m. The soapstone was quarried in ledges or steps, and blocks of 0.6 m by 0.6 m by 0.6 m (0.2 m3) were extracted and sawn into slabs. Wood carried out further exploration along strike of the vein. He removed a considerable amount of overburden in one place and uncovered the vein for a width of 3.7 m. 1924 - No sales are reported. H.H. Wood and foreman,Andrew Jackson, worked at the quarry to prepare blocks for sale. (Daily Times-Journal, May 8 1924; Rogers and Young 1926a) 1925 - No work was performed at the property during the year (Sutherland et al 1926b). 1926 - In May, three men were employed preparing a 30 ton shipment for the Lava Corporation of America, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Work was halted soon after due to the drowning death of H.H. Wood. (Sutherland et al 1926b).
Province: Superior
Subprovince: Wabigoon
Geological Age: Archean
Dec 07, 2005 (R Degagne) - The area has been mapped by Lawson (1913), Tanton (1936) and Wood et al (1980). The geology is shown on Figure 19. The area is underlain by intermediate metavolcanics intruded by narrow gabbroic sills which are related to a gabbro-anorthosite intrusive body located south of the area (Wood et al 1980). The metavolcanics are chlorite-rich and dark green in colour, well foliated and split readily along the foliation. The metagabbro is dark grey and fine to medium-grained. (Storey 1986). The occurrence is poorly exposed except in the pits near the lakeshore.
| Rock Type | Rank | Composition | Texture | Relationship | Mafic lava flow-unsubdivided | 1 | Chl | Near |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabbro | 2 | Gabbro | Host | |
| Ultramafic Schist | 3 | Soapstone; Chl,Amp,Qtz,Pl,Tlc | Fine Grained | Contains |
Dec 07, 2005 (R Degagne) - Storey described the occurrence in the three pits, numbered 1 through 3, west to east, as follows: Openings 1 and 2 were sunk in metavolcanics. No. 1 is completely overgrown and little can be seen of the rock. Opening 2 is a pit 3 by 3 by 1 m deep on the lakeshore. The rock is layered with softer material forming thin layers parallel to the foliation. There is a trace of disseminated pyrite in the rock and minor seams of pyrite parallel to the foliation. The foliation in the metavolcanics trends 070/85N. Opening 3 is in gabbroic rock. The foliation is much weaker than in the metavolcanics and soft lensoid masses of talcose material are present. The weathered overgrown state of the workings obscures the details of these lenses. Narrow quartz veins are associated with the talcose rock in all of the workings. Often the softest material is intimately associated with the veins. The soapstone has apparently formed by the alteration of metavolcanics and metagabbro.
| Rank | Mineral Name | Class | Economic Mineral Type | Alteration Mineral Type | Alteration Ranking | Alteration Intensity | Alteration Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talc | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 1 | Chlorite | Economic | Gangue | ||||
| 2 | Amphibole | Economic | Gangue | ||||
| 3 | Quartz | Economic | Gangue | ||||
| 4 | Plagioclase | Economic | Gangue | ||||
| 5 | Pyrite | Economic | Gangue | ||||
| Talc | Alteration | Steatization | 1 | ||||
| Chlorite | Alteration | Steatization | 2 |
Dec 07, 2005 (R Degagne) - The soapstone is grey in colour, fine grained, and soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail. However, Storey (1986) reports, from X-ray diffraction mineral analysis, that the rock contains primarily chlorite and amphibole with quartz and plagioclase and minor talc. TEST RESULTS: Specific Gravity: 2.86 Chemical Analysis: SiO2-39.80, TiO2-0.28, Al203-5.92, Fe203-12.90, FeO- , MnO-0.16, MgO-27.60, CaO-2.78, Na20-0.0, K20-0.0, P205-0.08, CO2-4.23, S-0.05, H20+ , H20- , Total-93.81, LOI-10.60 (Geoscience Laboratories, Ontario GeologicalSurvey, MNDM) Note: Total Fe expressed as Fe203; Fe0, H20+, and H20-, not determined.
| Shape | Length | Thickness | Depth | Strike | Dip | Plunge | Trend | Age | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 30 | 4 |
Date: Mar 04, 1997
Geologist: R Degagne
Notes: N/A
Map - Geological series, Mine Centre area (eastern half), District of Rainy River
Publication Number: P2202 Scale: 1:15,840 Date: 1980
Author: Wood J., Keay J.P., Panagapko D.A., Dekker J., Jansen J.G.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
Publication - Talc, steatite, and soapstone; pyrophyllite; Canada Mines Branch, Publication 803
Publication Number: CMB Pub 803 Page: 67 Date: 1940
Author: Spence, H S
Publisher Name: Canada Mines Branch
Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/307947
Map - Mine Centre area, Rainy River District, Ontario
Publication Number: Map 334A Scale: 1:31,680 Date: 1936
Author: Tanton, T L
Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada
Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/122188
Part - Mines of Ontario
Publication Number: ARV32-06.002 Page: 25 Date: 1998
Author: Sutherland T.F., McMillan J.G., Bartlett J., Cole G.E., Webster A.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Mono - Talc in Ontario
Publication Number: IMR040 Page: 49 Date: 1998
Author: Hewitt D.F.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines and Northern Affairs
Location:
Mono - Building and ornamental stone inventory in the districts of Kenora and Rainy River
Publication Number: MDC027 Page: 97-98 Date: 1986
Author: Storey C.C.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
Part - Mines of Ontario
Publication Number: ARV33-07.002 Date: 1998
Author: Sutherland T.F., McMillan J.G., Bartlett J., Cole G.E., Webster A.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Part - Mines of Ontario in 1925
Publication Number: ARV35-01.004 Date: 1997
Author: Sutherland T.F., McMillan J.G., Sinclair D.G., Cole G.E., Webster A.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Part - Statistical review of Ontario's mineral industry in 1924
Publication Number: ARV34-01.001 Date: 1997
Author: Rogers W.R., Young A.C.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Book - Archaean geology of Rainy Lake re-studied; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir no. 40
Publication Number: GSC Mem 40 Date: 1914
Author: Lawson, A.C.
Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada
Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/100515
Book - Talc and Soapstone in Canada, 1922; In: Summary report on mines branch investigations during the calendar year, ending December 31, 1922; Canada Mines Branch, Publication 605
Publication Number: CMB Pub 605 Page: 40-42 Date: 1924
Author: Eardley-Wilmott, V. L.
Publisher Name: Canada Mines Branch
Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/307792
Mono - Industrial minerals of northern Ontario-supplement 1
Publication Number: OFR5388 Page: 94-95 Date: 1982
Author: Vos M.A., Abolins T., Smith V.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
Mono - Soapstone in Ontario
Publication Number: OFR5764 Page: 94-99 Date: 1991
Author: Gerow M.C., Sherlock E.J., Bellinger J.A.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
Book - RES. GEOL. FILES
Publication Number: N/A Date: 1997
Author:
Publisher Name:
Location: Kenora RGP
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