Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52F07NE00002

Record: MDI52F07NE00002

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Gold

Secondary Commodities: Silver

Location

Township or Area: Boyer Lake Area

Latitude: 49° 26' 20.29"    Longitude: -92° 41' 57.44"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 521800.8   Northing: 5476299.33    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Kenora

NTS Grid: 52F07NE

Point Location Description: Precise

Location Method: Conversion from MDI

Access Description: East of Trafalgar Bay of Upper Manitou Lake, approximately 1.2 km south east of Gold Rock town, and north of Selby Lake. Shafts Nos. 1 and 2 on HP 366 and No. 3 on HP 368. Map Reference: ODM Map 47K Mining Properties near Goldrock. The property is accessed from Dryden by travelling 6 km W on Highway 594, then turning S onto Highway 502. Travel Highway 502 for approximately 62 km, at which point, a gravel trail branches off from the highway, to the west. The trail heads SW, along the west side of Mud Lake. At a distance of 5.09 km along the trail, the main branch continues west to the historic town of Gold Rock, while the south branch accesses the Kenwest Property.

Exploration History

Earliest exploration in the Upper Manitou Lake area was known from the 1890s. Gold prospecting was very active from 1895. The Big Master mine was operated at intervals from about 1900 to 1906. Between 1902 and 1905 the mine produced bullion valued at 139,261 from 5,027 tons of ore milled. The original holdings around the turn of the century were on HP366 to 369, and HP373. Five veins were outlined at this time. Shafts were sunk on HP366, and one, the Helena shaft, on HP368. Shafts on HP366 came to be known as the main, or No. 1 shaft, and the No. 2 shaft. The Big Master Mining Company was formed in 1905, taking over from the original owners, and the main or Number 1 shaft deepened to 86.9 m. Between 1902 and 1905 the mine produced gold valued at 339,261 from 5,027 tons of ore milled (based on gold valued at 335.007ounce). The mine lay idle following this initial activity, until 1911 when the workings were pumped out for examination. Again in 1916 the mine was examined by the Dominion Reduction Company when that company also examined the Laurentian and Jubilee Mines. The property again lay idle until the 1930s. Big Master Consolidated Gold Mines Limited, was organized in 1935 to develop a group of claims surrounding the Big Master mine. Big Master Consolidated examined the old workings, opened up a new level at a depth of 106.7 m in the main shaft, and did a considerable amount of trenching and surface drilling. Plans and cross-sections prepared by E.K. Fockler, consulting geologist for Big Master Consolidated Gold Mines Limited, show developments on the Number 3 and Number 4 veins, with a cross-cut between veins at the first, 22.9 m level. Subsequent mining was confined to the Number 3 vein. Further development was done in the late 1930s by R.J. Jowsey and associates. By August, 1938, a total of 115 drill-holes, comprising 19,733 feet, had been put down. During the winter of 1938-39 Selby Lake Mines Limited, undertook further underground development of the mine. For this purpose a mining plant was moved from the adjacent Selby Lake property. In July, 1940, the property was purchased by Kenwest Gold Mines Limited, who deepened the main shaft to 150 m with a new level at 144.8 m. By the end of 1943 the main shaft had been continued to 194.5 m and another level cut at 180 m. Underground work continued sporadically until 1948. 1967: Kenwest Mines (owned by Dickenson Mines) reevaluated the property and outlined a resource. Property was held by Goldcorp for a time but there is no record of exploration activity. 2009: Manitou Gold Inc. purchased the property from Goldcorp and conducted an exploration program of regional prospecting and sampling, and line-cutting. 2010-14: Manitou Gold conducted an IP survey and drilled 104 DDH totaling 19,445 m. 2013: Manitou Gold conducted an exploration program including geochemical surveys, trenching, structural mapping and channel sampling. 2018: Manitou Gold Inc. completed a diamond drill program consisting of 16 drill holes totaling 2,078 m, assaying and analyses. 2022: Manitou Gold Inc. sold the property to Dryden Gold Corp. 2023-2024: Dryden Gold Corp. completed a diamond drill program consisting of 13 drill holes totaling 1,613 m.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wabigoon

Terrane: Western Wabigoon

Belt: Eagle-Wabigoon-Manitou

Geological Age: Precambrian  

Geology Comments

Feb 27, 2015 (D Scholtz) - In the vicinity of the main workings the exposed rocks are very largely lava flows (greenstone) with about the composition of andesite. Zones of porphyritic lava occur locally and serve as marker horizons. Dikes of felsite and quartz-feldspar porphyry cut the lavas. A number of veins have been found on the property. These strike N.35°-40°E and are roughly parallel to one another. No. 3 vein has been traced by surface-trenching and diamond-drilling for more than 5,000 feet. On the surface a short section of quartz is exposed north of the shaft; another 140-foot length is exposed in surface trenches located about 1,450 feet northeast of the shaft. The intervening section lies under a swamp and has been explored by drilling. In 1938 the northeasterly extension of No. 3 vein was traced across claims H.P. 368 and 369, but no ore shoots were found in this part of the vein. No. 4 and No. 5 veins consist of felsite dikes containing quartz stringers and pyrite mineralization. No. 4 vein has been traced by surface work and drilling for a length of about 2,400 feet. The Property lies mostly within the mafic volcanic flows of the Benson Bay Sub- Group of the Pincher Lake Group rocks (Blackburn, 1982). This volcanic unit is intruded by felsic dykes. The former mines, and all significant gold prospects and producers northwest of the MSF, are confined to two stratigraphic zones: a sequence of felsic metavolcanics (Upper Manitou Lake group and lower part of the Pincher Lake group) hosting the deposits at Gold Rock and Upper Manitou Lake and subjacent mafic metavolcanics (Blanchard Lake group) hosting deposits between Manitou Island and Rector Lake (Blackburn, 1982). The trace of the Manitou Anticline is situated northwest of the Property. The north-northeast trending MSF lies along the eastern limits of the Property, and the structural and alteration associated with this fault/shear is noted in rocks on the eastern side of the property (from Manitou Gold Inc. Technical Report on Kenwest - Big Master Property, April 2010).

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Feb 09, 2011 (C Ravnaas) - Gold-bearing quartz veins are the most common type of mineralization in the area. The veins have wispy to well-layered “crack-seal” textures, with sericite, chlorite, ferroan carbonate, 1% to 5% sulphides, and occasionally tourmaline along the selvedges. Gold is concentrated in the “crack-seal” fractures and in selvedges along the quartz vein margins. Calcite filled fractures within quartz veins also carry gold. Narrow gold-bearing semi-massive sulphide filled fractures within fissile zones also contain significant gold values. Pervasive ferroan carbonate alteration, disseminated sulphides, and very small barren quartz veinlets characterize the fissile zones. Sulphides are predominantly pyrite, with variable amounts of chalcopyrite. The gold tenor appears to be related to the quantity of pyrite present in the wall rock and in the veins. (from Manitou Gold Inc. Technical Report on Kenwest - Big Master Property, April 2010).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Feb 27, 2015 (C Ravnaas) - Exploration activity conducted by Manitou Gold Inc. since 2009 was designed to examine the mineralization associated with 2 parallel high-strain zones known as Shear #1 and #2 at the past-producing Big Master Mine. Manitou Gold Inc. mentioned that “gold mineralization has been identified within two parallel shear zones spaced only 40 m apart. The two geological structures display shearing, strong alteration, quartz veining and gold mineralization” Manitou Gold Inc., The original holdings around the turn of the century were on HP366 to 369, and HP373. Five veins were outlined at this time. Shafts were sunk on HP366, and one, the Helena shaft, on HP368. Shafts on HP366 came to be known as the main, or No. 1 shaft, and the No. 2 shaft. Underground development on HP366 allowed an assessment of the veins by Carter (1902): ...the veins lie in altered zones in and along the strike and dip of the formation, the zone of the west vein being one hundred feet in width, of which however only 10 or 12 feet can be considered as actually belonging to the vein, while at the east vein, 200 feet to the east, the metamorphic action though leaving a well-defined plane of movement has altered the rock for but 5 to 6 feet on either side of the fissure. The vein in the west zone consists primarily of a wavy quartz band in width from a few inches to two feet inbedded between...light [coloured] highly quartzose schist outside of which again lies fine [grained] chloritic schist interbanded...with thin stringers of quartz, all carrying pyrites. The east vein is of much the same character...In the two veins the values are in gold which occurs both free and in the pyrites. Miller (1903) considered the easterly vein to consist of: "siderite with iron pyrites...The gold probably occurs practically all in the pyrite." The west "vein" was later termed the Number 3 vein, and the "east vein", the Number 4 vein (see Figure 11). The Big Master Mining Company was formed in 1905, taking over from the original owners, and the main or Number 1 shaft deepened to 86.9 m. Between 1902 and 1905 the mine produced gold valued at 339,261 from 5,027 tons of ore milled (based on gold valued at 335.007ounce). The mine lay idle following this initial activity, until 1911 when the workings were pumped out. Again in 1916 the mine was examined by the Dominion Reduction Company when that company also examined the Laurentian and Jubilee Mines. The property again lay idle until the 1930s, when Big Master Consolidated Gold Mines Limited examined the old workings (Thomson 1938), opened up a new level at a depth of 106.7 m in the main shaft, and did a considerable amount of trenching and surface drilling. Plans and cross-sections prepared by E.K. Fockler, consulting geologist for Big Master Consolidated Gold Mines Limited, show developments on the Number 3 and Number 4 veins, with a cross-cut between veins at the first, 22.9 m level. Subsequent mining was confined to the Number 3 vein. Further development was done in the late 1930s by R.J. Jowsey and associates, and by Selby Lake Mines Limited, and in 1940, under Kenwest Gold Mines Limited, the main shaft was deepened to 150 m with a new level at 144.8 m. By the end of 1943 the main shaft had been continued to 194.5 m and another level cut at 180 m. Underground work continued sporadically until 1948, and the property has remained idle to the present. Total production from the mine is not known, but for the years 1902-1903, 1905, and 1942-1943 figures are: 2,565 ounces Au, and 184 ounces Ag, to a total value of 375,115 from 14,470 tons ore milled (Ferguson et al. 1971). (R 202, p. 86, 87, 1981) SEE DEPOSIT COMMENT.

Feb 27, 2015 (Therese Pettigrew) - Five quartz veins were located on the property, the most productive being the west or No. 3 vein and the east or No. 4 Vein. The No. 3 vein was mainly quartz, while the No. 4 and no. 5 veins consisted of felsite dykes containing quartz stringer and pyrite mineralization. The Helena shaft was located over the No. 2 and No. 3 veins. There are three styles of gold mineralization that have been identified on the property: 1) gold associated with quartz veins, stringers and stockwork within the felsic dykes; 2) gold associated with pyrite within the groundmass of the felsic dykes; and 3) gold associated with the sheared volcanics adjacent to the dyke contacts. The zones host mineralized felsic dykes with white to grey white quartz veins within the dyke, and oriented at oblique angles to the contacts. The quartz veins typically compose 5 to 20 percent of the felsic dykes (Maunula and Wilson, 2010). Some of the more interesting drill results are as follows: Manitou DDH KW10-13 from 135.8-141.9 m 15.4 g/t Au (press release July 7, 2010); KW-10-19 from 115.0 to 116.0 m 7.92 g/t Au (press release Aug 19, 2010); KW-11-26 from 55.25-63.70 m 3497 g/t Au and 55.9-56.45 m 53,700 g/t Au, 56.45-57.0 m 8.7 g/t Au (press release Feb 28, 2011); KW-11-33 257.5-263.5 m 10.30 g/t Au, KW-11-69 293-293.8 m 1055 g/t Au (press release Nov 25, 2011).

Mar 05, 2024 (Sheree Hinz) - Drilling done by Dryden Gold Corp. in 2023 intersected a new high-grade shoot on Big Master One with drill hole KW-23-009A intersecting 26.11 g/t Au over 3.16 m, including 79.8 g/t Au over 0.33 m. Confirmed the interpreted 1.5 km strike length on the Big Master gold system which is open in all directions. Step out holes KW-23-004 returned 3.40 g/t Au over 1.60 m and KW-23-010 intersected 3.70 g/t Au over 6 m (Dryden Gold Corp. Press Release February 21, 2024).

Mineral Record Details

References

Press Release - Dryden Gold Intersects 26.11g/t gold over 3.16 meters in First Drill Program on the Gold Rock Camp within the Dryden Gold District, Ontario

Publication Number: Press Release Date: 2024

Author: Kolb, M.J.

Publisher Name: Dryden Gold Corp.

Location:

Part - Some gold deposits near Goldrock, Upper Manitou Lake

Publication Number: ARV47-06.001 Page: 3-6  Date: 1997

Author: Thomson J.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Gold deposits of Ontario, part 1, districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Rainy River, and Thunder Bay

Publication Number: MDC013 Page: 160-161  Date: 1971

Author: Ferguson S.A., Groen H.A., Haynes R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines and Northern Affairs

Location:

Mono - Gold deposits of the Kenora-Fort Frances area, districts of Kenora and Rainy River

Publication Number: MDC016 Page: 9  Date: 1976

Author: Beard R.C., Garratt G.L.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Mono - Geology of the Boyer Lake-Meggisi Lake area, District of Kenora

Publication Number: OFR5263 Page: 150-152  Date: 1979

Author: Blackburn C.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Feasibility of small scale gold mining in northwestern Ontario (parts of the districts of Kenora, Rainy River, and Thunder Bay), volume 1, text, volume 2, appendices

Publication Number: OFR5332 Page: PD-2  Date: 1981

Author: Neilson J.N., Bray R.C.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of the Boyer Lake-Meggisi Lake area, District of Kenora

Publication Number: R202 Page: 86-87  Date: 1981

Author: Blackburn C.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Kenwest Property NI 43-101 Compliant Technical Report

Publication Number: 2010 43-101 Date: 2010

Author: Maunula, T., Wilson, J.

Publisher Name: Wardrop for Manitou Gold Inc.

Location: Manitou Gold website

Map - Boyer Lake, Kenora District

Publication Number: M2437 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1981

Author: Blackburn C.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Manitou-Stormy lakes area, District of Kenora, Ontario

Publication Number: ARM42C Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1998

Author: Thomson J.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Upper Manitou Lake-Sunshine Lake, Precambrian geology

Publication Number: M2476 Scale: 1:50,000    Date: 1983

Author: Blackburn C.E.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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