Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record:
MDI52F11NE00043
| Record Name(s) | Hardrock Bay - 1936, Magdalena - 1949, Saari - 1986, W.W. Smith - 1936 |
|---|---|
| Related Record Type | Partial |
| Related Record(s) | |
| Record Status | Prospect |
| Date Created | 1986-Jul-28 |
| Date Last Modified | 2022-Jul-28 |
| Created By | |
| Revised By |
Primary Commodities: Gold
Secondary Commodities: Copper, Nickel
Township or Area: Buchan Bay Area
Latitude: 49° 39' 51.17" Longitude: -93° 12' 25"
UTM Zone: 15 Easting: 485065.816 Northing: 5501318.03 UTM Datum: NAD83
Resident Geologist District: Kenora
NTS Grid: 52F11NE
Point Location Description: Precise
Location Method: Conversion from MDI
1936: W.W. Hardrock Smith staked several claims at Hardrock Bay and obtained "heavy pannings" from 300 feet of trenching he had completed on the north shore of the bay. The property was optioned by Birch Bay Gold Mines Ltd. who conducted geological mapping, trenching, and sampling. 1938: Birch Bay Gold Mines Ltd. drilled nine holes totalling 1768 feet. 1947-1948: The Hardrock Bay area was restaked and optioned to Magdalena Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. who conducted stripping, trenching, sampling, geological mapping, ground magnetometer and SP geophysical surveys. 1949: Magdalena Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. drilled six holes totalling 1551.2 feet. 1951: Magdalena Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. drilled five holes totalling 1511.5 feet. Nine claims encompassing the W. W. Smith Prospect were surveyed and patented. The majority of holes drilled by Magdalena Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. in 1949 and 1951 were drilled down dip. 1956: The nine patented mining claims were acquired by Pardee Amalgamated Mines Ltd. who conducted a vertical loop electromagnetic survey over the claims. 1961: Rio Algom Inc. acquired the nine patented claims from the Hirshhorn interests. 1972: Rio Algom drilled two holes totalling 1000 feet after reevaluating previous work completed on the property. Results from the drilling were discouraging. 1982: Tasu Resources Ltd. optioned the nine patented mining claims, staked an additional 24 claims, and conducted ground magnetometer and electromagnetic surveys over the claims. 1983: Tasu Resources Ltd. drilled six holes totalling 3133 feet. 1984: Tasu Resources Ltd. drilled three holes totalling 990.5 feet. 1985: Tasu Resources Ltd. dropped the option of the patented claims. 1987: The nine patented claims were optioned to Noranda Exploration Company Limited who conducted some sampling and geophysical surveys.
| Office File Number | Online Assessment File Identifier | Online Assessment File Directory |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 52F11NE0260 | 52F11NE0260 |
| Rock Type | Rank | Composition | Texture | Relationship | Chert | 1 | Adjacent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ironstone-unsubdivided | 2 | Iron Formation (> 15% Iron) | Adjacent | |
| Mylonite/Fault Gouge/Pseudotachylite | 3 | Shear Zone | Contains | |
| Vein | 4 | Contains |
Jul 28, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - The prospect is underlain by massive and pillowed, mafic metavolcanic flows intercalated with discontinuous lense of interflow metasediments consisting of chert and siltstone. The mafic flows occur at the top of the Eagle Lake Volcanics immediately south of their contact with the overlying intermediate and felsic pyroclastics of the Lower Wabigoon Volcanics. An elliptical unit of vent breccia, interpreted to be volcanic center, is situated along the north shore of Hardrock Bay at the base of the Lower Wabigoon Volcanics. The metavolcanics are relatively undeformed with the exception of a small anticlinal fold axis southeast of Iron Island on the mainland, and a few narrow northeast-trending shear zones, and hairline microfracturing in the metavolcanics and metasediments. The metavolcanics and metasediments are intruded by mafic dikes, and by quartz porphyry, feldspar porphyry, and felsite dikes. Many of the felsic dikes have been emplaced into horizontal structures and are flat-lying or shallow-dipping to the north (Parker, 1989).
| Rank | Mineral Name | Class | Economic Mineral Type | Alteration Mineral Type | Alteration Ranking | Alteration Intensity | Alteration Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pyrrhotite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 2 | Chalcopyrite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 10 | Gold | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 15 | Marcasite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 25 | Sphalerite | Economic | Ore |
Jul 28, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - The gold mineralization at the W.W. Smith Prospect occurs within stratiform, sulphide-rich, mafic metavolcanic flows which extend east and west from Iron Island (a small gossan-stained island in Hardrock Bay) along the north shore of the bay. The flows are best exposed on Iron Island and have been extensively trenched along a 2000 ft. strike length on the mainland east and west of Iron Island. Gold mineralization is associated with dark green, massive and pillowed, fine- to medium-grained, mafic, flows containing 5% to 50% disseminated pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite concentrated along hairline fractures. Pyrrhotite is also concentrated in pillow selvages, interpillow breccias, and amygdules. Pyrrhotite is the most abundant sulphide mineral, and combined with chalcopyrite, makes up 90% of the sulphides in the mafic metavolcanics. Minor amounts of pyrite, marcasite, and sphalerite have been identified under the microscope in polished sections of samples taken from Iron Island (Learning 1948). The author observed small flakes of visible gold along quartz-filled hairline fractures [<3 mm] within the sulphide-rich mafic flows, and small flakes of gold intimately associated with the disseminated sulphides. Learning (1948) observed gold associated with chalcopyrite, and isolated blebs of gold scattered amongst gangue minerals in polished sections of samples from Iron Island. Alteration of the mafic metavolcanics consists of moderate to intense, widespread, and pervasive, epidotization, chloritization, and saussuritization of feldspars, with the presence of clinozoisite or zoisite, epidote, fibrous actinolite, and minor chlorite and carbonate. The pervasive epidotization has made the mafic metavolcanics extremely hard, and so that they fracture conchoidally when broken. Anomalous gold mineralization is associated with interflow metasediments which occur immediately below the sulphide-rich mafic flows. Although pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite occur along hairline fractures in some of the metasediments, the higher gold values have been obtained from metasediments hosting very fine-grained, finely disseminated pyrite. Drilling conducted by Birch Bay Gold Mines Ltd. in 1936 intersected 0.10 ounce gold per ton across 40 feet in a hole targeted on Iron Island (Assessment Files, Resident Geologist's Office, Kenora). Two chip samples taken by Magdalena Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. on Iron Island in 1948 assayed 0.145 ounce gold per ton across 60 feet and 0.146 ounce gold per ton across 40 feet. A chip sample taken from a large T-shaped trench on the mainland, east of Iron Island, assayed 0.146 ounce gold per ton across 25 feet (Assessment Files, Resident Geologist's Office, Kenora). The best drill intersections from the drill program conducted by Magdalena Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. in 1949 were 0.14 ounce gold per ton across 25 feet, 0.08 ounce gold per ton across 25 feet, and 0.08 ounce gold per ton across 20 feet (The Northern Miner, April 20, 1950). Drilling conducted by Magdalena Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. in 1951 intersected 0.14 ounce gold per ton across 30 feet, 0.14 ounce gold per ton across 35 feet, and 0.18 ounce gold per ton across 6 feet in three holes targeted on Iron Island. A fourth hole targeted on the T-shaped trench east of Iron Island intersected 0.12 ounce gold per ton across 3.4 feet (Rio Algom Inc., Assessment Files, Resident Geologist's Office, Kenora). Holes drilled by Tasu Resources Ltd. in 1983 intersected 0.22 ounce gold per ton across 9.9 feet, 0.11 ounce gold per ton across 3.3 feet, 0.15 ounce gold per ton across 3.3 feet and 0.22 ounce gold per ton across 3.3 feet. The best drill intersection from a 3-hole drill program in 1984 was 0.17 ounce gold per ton across 5.3 feet (George Cross News Letter, March 20, 1984, p. 2). OGS staff member J. Parker has obtained numerous gold assays from grab samples taken at the W.W. Smith Prospect which range from trace to 1.28 ounces gold per ton (Parker, 1989).
Book - George Cross Newsletter 84-02-09, Tasu
Publication Number: G Cross News Page: 3 Date: 1984
Author:
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Book - George Cross Newsletter 84-03-20, Tasu
Publication Number: G Cross News Page: 2 Date: 1984
Author:
Publisher Name:
Location:
Book - George Cross Newsletter 83-09-22
Publication Number: G Cross News Page: 2, map Date: 1983
Author:
Publisher Name:
Location:
Book - Northern Miner 84-02-02, Tasu
Publication Number: NMINER Date: 1996
Author:
Publisher Name: Northern Miner
Location:
Part - Geology of Garrison Township
Publication Number: ARV58-04 Page: 22-23 Date: 1997
Author: Satterly J.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Mono - Copper, nickel, lead and zinc deposits of Ontario
Publication Number: MDC012 Page: 190 Date: 1969
Author: Shklanka R.
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: 241 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: 37 Date: 1976
Author: Beard R.C., Garratt G.L.
Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines
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: 42 Date: 1981
Author: Neilson J.N., Bray R.C.E.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
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Compend - Report of activities, 1983, Regional and Resident Geologists
Publication Number: MP117 Page: 6 Date: 1984
Author: Kustra C.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
Compend - Report of activities, 1984, Regional and Resident Geologists
Publication Number: MP122 Page: 20 Date: 1985
Author: Kustra C.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
Compend - Report of activities, 1985, Regional and Resident Geologists
Publication Number: MP128 Page: 23, 27-30 Date: 1986
Author: Kustra C.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
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Mono - Geology, gold mineralization and property visits in the area investigated by the Dryden-Ignace economic geologist, 1984-1987
Publication Number: OFR5723 Page: 303-306 Date: 1989
Author: Parker J.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
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