Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52I08NW00017

Record: MDI52I08NW00017

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Lithium, Rubidium, Tantalum

Secondary Commodities: Cesium, Gallium, Beryllium, Niobium

Location

Township or Area: Crescent Lake Area

Latitude: 50° 26' 55.82"    Longitude: -88° 18' 34.61"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 407022   Northing: 5589356.01    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay North

NTS Grid: 52I08NW

Point Location Description: approximate

Location Method: Data Compilation

Access Description: Main access to the site is achieved via the North Jackfish Road, which is an extension of Airport Road, leading NE out of Armstrong. The roads leading onto the property are logging roads. The North Road separates from the main Jackfish Road at approximately the 76 km marker. There is an old road at the 5 km marker along the North Road that can be used to access the Dempster East showing. Drill access to the Tebishogeshik showing was re-established in 2010. This trail was limited to ATV and snowmobile use and was considered a winter-use trail only. This trail is now in need of maintenance and upgrade.

Exploration History

1956: discovery by F. Tebishogesick. 1958-60: Dempster Mines Limited optioned the property and carried out mapping, trenching, sampling, DD-24, ground geophysics. 1979: E & B Explorations Inc. and Cominco Limited carried out a geochemical survey. 1982: Bird River Mines Company Limited conducted sampling. 2002: Platinova Resources Ltd. carried out sampling. 2010-11: Canadian Orebodies carried out mapping, trenching, sampling, and drilled 8 DDH totalling 484.6 m. 2021: Nuinsco Resources optioned the property and carried out prospecting and sampling.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wabigoon

Belt: Caribou Lake

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Mar 07, 2014 (A Wilson) - The Zigzag Lake lithium deposits are a group of pegmatite dikes which lie along the south boundary of a two mile wide belt of Keewatin-type, predominantly andesitic metavolcanics, part of the Marshall Lake Group, which are intruded on either side by Algoman-type granite.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Mar 07, 2014 (A Wilson) - The Tebishogeshik deposit is in amphibolite and schistose amphibolite 80 to 100 feet north of the contact with the granite and porphyritic granite found west of Tettares Lake. The deposit is exposed intermittently over a length of 2,800 feet, and is made up of five lenses, at least four of which are arranged en echelon. The lenses generally parallel the host rocks in strike and trend N75-80 E. The No. l or most westerly lens is attenuated. It is exposed at intervals over a length of 520 feet and attains a maximum known width of 20 feet. The No. 2 lens is 15 to 20 feet north of the east end of the No. l, which it overlaps in strike for about 150 feet. It is exposed intermittently in 10 outcrops for 460 feet and has a maximum observed width at its centre of 35 to 40 feet. The No. 3 lens, with a strike length of 350 feet and a maximum width of 60 feet, is the shortest but widest of the several bodies making up the deposit. It is 20 to 25 feet north of the No. 2 body, and parallels it for 70 to 100 feet...the No. 3 lens is curved and irregular in shape, and toward its east end, splits into tongue-like eastward-projecting extremities. The No. 4 lens is the largest and, in terms of lithia content, the most important. It is exposed 110 feet east and roughly 50 feet north of the east end of the No. 3 lens and from this exposure can be traced easterly for 500 feet. It averages 22 feet in width and has an observed maximum of 34 feet. The No. 5 lens is about 870 feet east of the No. 4 body. It has been traced in outcrops for 150 feet and has measured widths up to 20 feet.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Mar 07, 2014 (A Wilson) - The spodumene and potash feldspar crystals are typically coarse-grained to very coarse-grained, whereas the other minerals are usually fine- to medium-grained. The spodumene is slightly sericitzed but is mostly unaltered and has a high lithium content. The spodumene content ranges from 10% to 25% in the pegmatites. A sample collected by Dempter Explorations Limited from the No. 2 lens assayed 1.28% Li2O over 32 ft. The No. 4 lens has been channel sampled at intervals throughout a length of 500 ft. These samples averaged 1.65% Li2O over 22 ft. The No 4 lens contains, per veritcal foot of depth, 1250 tons of commercial grade material. Channel samples collected from the lithium-bearing pegmatites by Bird River Mines averaged between 0.5 and 1 lb tantalum per ton. The best assay returned 7 lb/t tantalum across 3.5 ft. Sampling also returned values up to 0.5 lb per foot gallium. Channel samples collected from the pegmatites by Cominco assayed: 1.85% Li2O, 100 ppm Ta and 430 ppm Cs (grab sample) and 2.30% Li2O, <50 ppm Ta and 45 ppm Cs over 2.5 ft.

Apr 10, 2019 (Therese Pettigrew) - There were several instances of small tantalite laths in drill core, and there are historical accounts of 2-inch tantalite crystals in outcrop in the Tebishogeshik showing. DDH CO-10-007 returned assays up to 1.49% Li2O and 240.18 ppm Ta2O5. DDH CO-10-008 returned assays up to 0.58% Li2O and 399.82 ppm Ta2O5 (Assessment report 20000007669). Samples collected in 2002 by Platinova returned assays of 164 to 1700 ppm Ta (Assessement report 52I08NW2002). Samples collected by Nuinsco in 2021 returned up to 3.55% Li2O, 836 ppm Ta2O5, and 4,003 ppm Rb2O from a pegmatite intrusion that is known to be at least 800 m in length and up to 18 m wide at the surface (Nuinsco news release, Nov. 16, 2021).

Mineral Record Details

References

Compend - Annual report of the Regional and Resident Geologists, 1979

Publication Number: MP091 Page: 45  Date: 1980

Author: Kustra C.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Mono - Industrial minerals of northern Ontario-supplement 1

Publication Number: OFR5388 Page: 187-191  Date: 1982

Author: Vos M.A., Abolins T., Smith V.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

MonoMap - Geology of the Crescent Lake area, District of Thunder Bay

Publication Number: R055 Page: 56-57  Date: 1968

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Pegmatite mineral resources of Ontario

Publication Number: IMR021 Page: 48  Date: 1997

Author: Hewitt D.F.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Crescent Lake area, Thunder Bay District

Publication Number: M2100 Date: 1997

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Book - Geology of Canadian Lithium Deposits; Economic Geology Report 21

Publication Number: EGR21 Page: 61  Date: 1966

Author: R. Mulligan

Publisher Name: Geological Survey of Canada

Location: https://doi.org/10.4095/102454

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For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Thunder Bay North Resident Geologist District Office