Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52C16SW00019

Record: MDI52C16SW00019

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Copper

Secondary Commodities: Cobalt

Location

Township or Area: Bennett Lake Area

Latitude: 48° 46' 49.13"    Longitude: -92° 21' 44.02"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 546853   Northing: 5403231    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Kenora

NTS Grid: 52C16SW

Point Location Description: Sulphide Zone on OGS map M1960B and Sample 54797 from Assessment report 52C16SW2008

Location Method: Data Compilation

Exploration History

1958: Noranda Mines Ltd. conducted a geophysical survey and 691 m of DD in 11 holes. 1966: Noranda Exploration Company Ltd. conducted an EM geophysical survey. 1976: E. Pearson carried out trenching. 1982: A. LaFrennier, R. Pitkanen, G. Armstrong, K. Carlson, and E. Pearson drilled 212 m of DD in one hole. 2000: Mustang Minerals Corp. carried out prospecting, trenching, and sampling. 2006-07: K. Davis and R. Angove carried out prospecting and sampling. 2012: K. Davis and R. Angove carried out prospecting.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wabigoon

Terrane: Western Wabigoon

Belt: Fort Frances-Mine Centre

Geological Age: Archean  

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (P Hinz) - Lithologies included various schists, mafic metavolcanic rocks and amphibolite.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (P Hinz) - Massive sulphide intersections up to 20m. Mineralization included pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. Assay results were not documented.

Sep 15, 2020 (Therese Pettigrew) - Lenses of pyrite from 10 to 60 feet thick extending 2000 feet in a northwest direction cutting chlorite schist (Hewitt, 1967). Young, (1960), describes the mineralogy: "Noranda Mines Limited has outlined an interesting zone of sulphides composed principally of pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. Development work has indicated erratic sulphide mineralization along a strike length of about 4,800 feet. Widths up to 50 feet of massive sulphides have been encountered. A grab sample of diamond drill core containing massive sulphides was assayed but contained only traces of gold, copper and nickel. The sulphides occur in a medium-to-fine-grained foliated hornblende diorite and hornblendite. The mineralization appears to be controlled by a northwesterly-trending shear zone. Thin section examination suggests that the mode of origin was by injection along the shear, accompanied by some replacement. Because sulphides have been found elsewhere in the same rock type, it seems reasonable to assume that there is a genetic relationship between the two. It is thought that the immiscible sulphides were segregated from the basic magma, after which the magma was intruded and sheared contemporaneously, to be followed by the injection of the sulphides." A sulphide zone up to 1,455 metres long, striking approximately 300 degrees and dipping 70 degrees north to vertical is hosted by chlorite to chlorite-amphibolite schist, likely representing an altered horn blende diorite or hornblende gabbro, (Young, 1960). The zone appears controlled by a shear zone, up to 100 metres wide. The mafic intrusive rocks are hosted by intermediate to mafic metavolcanics, including chlorite schist, pyroclastic rocks, and fault rocks. Minor quartz-carbonate and quartz-carbonate veins crosscut the host rocks, (Young, 1960). Samples taken in 1982 returned up to 0.49% Cu from a coarse-grained gabbro with visible pyrite and pyrrhotite, and 0.21% Cu, 0.02% Ni, 0.02% Co, and 0.01% Zn from a core sample with massive sulphides (Schneiders and Dutka, 1985). The best field exposure of the Massive Sulfide Zone is in Mustang Minerals’ Trench 4 where one of the massive sulfide horizons was exposed by bulldozer trenching in the early 1980s. Exposed rock is now strongly oxidized and rusty. Several grab and chip channel samples were taken from this exposure. A chip channel sample taken from a cross-section of exposed mineralization and wallrock assayed 1965 ppm Cu over 8 m, including 2376 ppm Cu across 6 m of more strongly mineralized material. Samples 54797 and 54795 returned 4544 ppm Cu over 1 m and 2502 ppm Cu over 1 m respectively. Accompanying Au values were slightly above background, while Pt, Pd and Ni values were not significant (Assessment report 52C16SW2008).

Mineral Record Details

References

Map - Bennett-Tanner area, District of Rainy River, Ontario

Publication Number: M1960B Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1997

Author: Young W.L.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Pyrite deposits of Ontario

Publication Number: MDC005 Scale:     Date: 1967

Author: Hewitt D.F.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Part - Geology of the Bennett-Tanner area

Publication Number: ARV69-04 Scale:     Date: 1997

Author: Young W.L.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Property visits and reports of the Atikokan economic geologist, 1979-1983, Atikokan geological survey

Publication Number: OFR5539 Scale:     Date: 1985

Author: Schnieders B.R., Dutka R.J.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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