Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52K16NW00012

Record: MDI52K16NW00012

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Iron

Location

Township or Area: Avis Lake Area

Latitude: 50° 56' 36.06"    Longitude: -92° 23' 54.59"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 542258.52   Northing: 5643697.41    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Red Lake

NTS Grid: 52K16NW

Point Location Description: Precise

Location Method: Data Compilation

Access Description: 100 km East of Red lake or 68 km North east of Ear Falls. Access to the property is along the Wenasaga logging road which heads northeast from Highway 105, near Ear Falls.At km 70 on the Wenasaga Road, a spur logging road heads off to the east. At the end of this road, approx. 2.8 km from the Wenasaga Road junction, an ATV trail extends an additional 2.7 km to the north boundary of the claims. The property can also be accessed by float plane.

Exploration History

1955-56: Capital Lithium Mines Ltd. conducted a large airborne magnetic and EM survey over the area. 1956: El Sol Gold Mines staked the property. 1956-1957: El Sol Mines conducted exploration, including geological mapping geophysical surveying, trenching and diamond drilling, 67 DDh @33,998ft. A 50 t bulk sample was collected from the western shore of Jean Lake, but no results were reported. 1958: Mineral resource estimate was calculated. 2005: property staked by P. English. 2007: Raytec Metals Corp. (now Lion Energy) optioned the property and conducted outcrop stripping and trenching. 2008: Raytec completed 11 DDH @ 2,301 m as well as linecutting, and ground mag and VLF surveys. 2010: Northern Iron Corp. acquired the property from Lion Energy.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Uchi

Terrane: North Caribou

Domain: Uchi

Belt: Birch-Uchi

Geological Age: Neoarchean  

Geology Comments

Apr 17, 2015 (Therese Pettigrew) - The rocks underlying the property lie near the contact between the Mesoarchean to Neoarchean metavolcanic terrane of the Uchi Subprovince, to the north, and the metasedimentary terrane of the Neoarchean English River Subprovince, to the south. The El Sol property lies within the boundary zone between the Uchi and English River subprovinces. The geology of the property preserves volcanic and sedimentary rocks for each of these domains, and late to post tectonic plutons which intrude them. The property is centered on an east-west trending corridor of narrow horizons of iron formation within a succession of pelitic and argillaceous sediments. This succession is flanked, to the north and the south, by panels of mafic to intermediate volcanic flows and volcaniclastic debris. The central part of the property is dominated by a sedimentary succession of greywacke, argillite, conglomerate and iron formation, which is flanked by intermediate to mafic volcanics. The area has been affected by a minimum of four deformational phases, included three major folding episodes (D1, D2, and D4) and later (D5) ductile shearing related to the regional Sydney Lake Fault structure. Elements of these events are preserved as property and drillhole scale structures. The stratigraphy of the El Sol property is mostly EW and WSW-ENE trending, and is inclined steeply to the south. The claims are centered on an approximately four kilometre long trend comprised of two main panels of iron formation, and several smaller ones. The main zones, A and B, represent the opposite limbs of a D4 synclinal fold structure which converge to the southwest of Kesaka Lake. The smaller zones internal to this structure may be the remnants of D2 fold repetitions of the same iron formation horizon comprising Zones A and B. Local increased thicknesses are due to folding. The iron formation is described as alternating cm to mm scale bands of fine grained magnetite and white to grey chert and jasper bands. Local silicate or sediment dominant bands are also common, and specular hematite is reported (AFRI 2.45491).

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Apr 17, 2015 (Therese Pettigrew) - The property is underlain by a sequence of clastic sediments with local horizons of iron formation, which are flanked by horizons of mafic to intermediate volcanic flows, volcaniclastics and amphibolite. The clastic sediments vary from wacke to arkose in composition and are locally intercalated with argillite and iron formation. Local formations of polymictic conglomerate have also been documented. The volcano-sedimentary succession generally trend northeastward to eastward in the western part of the claim group and trend eastward to southeastward in the eastern part of the claim group. The panels dip vertically to steeply south. The distribution of iron formation within the succession outlines an east-west trending fold structure which converges towards the southwest of Kesaka Lake. The gross repetition of stratigraphy from pelitic to argillaceous sediments with iron formation in the core of the structure flanked by intermediate and mafic volcanics to both the north and south, is consistent with a property scale synclinal fold structure. Along the southern edge of the property, there is an east-west trending sequence of pillowed mafic volcanics which is 200-300m wide. To the immediate north of the property, there is also a broad, 300m wide section of highly metamorphosed mafic to ultramafic volcanics. This corridor consists of coarse grained, garnetiferous amphibolite and a garnet-rich, banded unit, with alternating layers of amphibolite and feldspar-rich sandstone. Garnets up to 1mm in size are common, and locally form bands which are highly contorted. The central part of the property is underlain by a broad section of clastic sediments and iron formation. The outer part of the fold structure defined by iron formation is considered to be the base of the sedimentary succession. Below the iron formation, the sequence is dominated by a coarser section of greywacke with local conglomeratic horizons. Thin, discontinuous horizons of argillite (grey to black) locally flank the iron formation, but are more common near its the base. Above the iron formation, the sequence becomes finer and consists mostly of greywacke and arkose (AFRI 2.45491).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Feb 03, 2012 (A McKee) - PIT RESERVES - 1969: 115,059,931 TONS AT 31.2% FE TO 440 FT DEPTH. The 2008 samples of drillcore consisted mostly by magnetite dominant facies of IFM and IFMJ. A lower proportion of the samples were of facies IFML, which has a variable silicate content as bands of chloritic mudstone. A comparison of the total iron (TFe%) and magnetic iron (FeMt%) content of these samples indicates that most of the iron sampled occurs as magnetite. Hematite contents of 1-10% were associated with some samples. This was also noted in the Lurgi Davis Tube results, as well as within thin sections. The FeMt% grades for the 2008 composites ranged between 20.50% to 33.20%, due to infolding of dilutive lithologies. In comparison, the FeMt% composited grade of the samples with >10% FeMt had ranges of 29.20% to 32.76%. This shows that the iron formation on the A Zone has a relatively consistent grade range, related to relative magnetite proportions.

Apr 17, 2015 (Therese Pettigrew) - Metallurgical testing in 1957-58 by Lakefield Research and Lurgi Gesellschaft fur Chemie determined that most of the iron was contained within magnetite, with only minor local hematite and iron silicates. The historic property-wide ground magnetic surveys detected 7 zones of possible iron formation within an east-west trending corridor straddling Kesaka and Crossley (Jean) Lakes. The most prominent of these features are the A and B Zones, which both trend parallel to the eastward regional trend of the underlying geological units. The A Zone is an east-west trending horizon which extends over a 13,200 ft (4023 m) strike length from the western shore of Kesaka Lake, to Jean Lake, in the east. The B Zone is a parallel horizon located between 500 to 1800 m south of the A Zone. It extends eastward over a 7200 ft (2195 m) strike length from the southwest corner of Kesaka Lake. A series of smaller Zones C, D, E, F and G, ranging between 600 to 1500 ft (183-457 m) in length, were also detected between the A and B Zones. Two much smaller anomalies, H and I, were also detected to the northwest of the A Zone at Kesaka Lake. In 1956, a channel sample was cut across one of the exposures of the A Zone iron formation and composited sample results returned 31.74% Fe over 8.08 m. The stratigraphy encountered in both historic and recent drillholes is consistent with a basinal shelf succession with possible contributions from volcanism. The gradation of the succession from coarse sediments fining upwards into iron formation and tuffs, is typical of Algoma iron formation deposits. Along the A Zone, the iron formation is thickest in the Kesaka East area, and thins to both the east and west, where it has been thickened by ductile deformation in successive folding and shearing events (AFRI 2.45491).

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

References

Part - Geology and gold deposits of the Uchi-Slate lakes area

Publication Number: ARV48-08.001 Page: 7-8  Date: 1997

Author: Bateman J.D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Mono - Iron deposits of Ontario

Publication Number: MDC011 Page: 215  Date: 1968

Author: Shklanka R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines

Location:

Map - Precambrian geology, Slate Lake area, District of Kenora (Patricia Portion)

Publication Number: M2517 Scale: 1:31,680    Date: 1989

Author: Bowen R.P.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Geological series, Precambrian geology of the Slate Lake area, east sheet, Kenora District (Patricia Portion)

Publication Number: P2408 Scale: 1:15,840    Date: 1981

Author: Bowen R.P.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Compilation series, Trout Lake-Birch Lake sheet, Kenora District

Publication Number: P2386 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1981

Author: Thurston P.C., Bartlett J.R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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