Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record:
MDI52L02SE00005
| Record Name(s) | Minaki Pyrite - 1937 |
|---|---|
| Related Record Type | Simple |
| Related Record(s) | |
| Record Status | Developed Prospect With Reported Reserves or Resources |
| Date Created | 1977-Feb-04 |
| Date Last Modified | 2022-Jul-26 |
| Created By | |
| Revised By |
Primary Commodities: Sulphur/Pyrite, Iron
Township or Area: Sand Lake Area
Latitude: 50° 3' 56.05" Longitude: -94° 36' 8.43"
UTM Zone: 15 Easting: 385323.694 Northing: 5547150.728 UTM Datum: NAD83
Resident Geologist District: Kenora
NTS Grid: 52L02SE
Point Location Description: Precise
Location Method: Conversion from MDI
1918: discovered by F. McCallum. 1937: Minaki Mining and Development Company was incorporated to develop the deposit as a source of pyrite for sulphur, and carried out trenching (22 pits) and diamond drilling (26 DDH). 1949-50: property held by F. McCallum. 1957: Minaki Mining charter cancelled after several years of inactivity.
Jul 26, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - The area is underlain by a narrow arcuate metavolcanic belt extending east-northeastwards from Sand Lake to Perch Lake (Storey, 1990).
| Rock Type | Rank | Composition | Texture | Relationship | Mafic lava flow-unsubdivided | 1 | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granitoid-Unsubdivided | 2 | Near |
| Rank | Mineral Name | Class | Economic Mineral Type | Alteration Mineral Type | Alteration Ranking | Alteration Intensity | Alteration Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pyrrhotite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 2 | Pyrite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 3 | Jarosite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 4 | Hematite | Economic | Ore | ||||
| 5 | Goethite | Economic | Ore |
Jul 26, 2022 (Therese Pettigrew) - The northwest end of Vermilion Lake is noted for its bright orange-red soil. This led to investigation of the area and the discovery of a large massive pyrrhotite-pyrite body. The body is hosted in schistose, apparently silicified, metavolcanics with disseminated pyrrhotite and pyrite plus stringers of pyrrhotite and pyrite. Pyrrhotite is the dominant sulphide. The sulphide body trends northeast and dips steeply to the northwest (Assessment Files). It is deeply weathered and does not outcrop but has been exposed by pits and diamond drilling. The soils on the south and east side of the hill are stained red from FeO. Iron oxide forms a thin coating on all soil particles, rocks, and outcrop surfaces in the trenches. The stream flowing out of Vermilion Lake has iron stain in its bed. The host rocks for the sulphide body have been mapped as mafic metavolcanics. Granitoid rocks mapped as quartz monzonite to granite can be found on either side of the metavolcanics and are in close proximity to the sulphide body on the south side. Decomposition of the pyrrhotite created strongly acid groundwater that attacked the other rocks, leaching them and creating the red iron staining and a material referred to as hydrous silica by Wright and Stockwell (1934). The soils are thin on top of the hill but are up to 5.5 m (18 ft) thick (Assessment Files) in the area of the pits. The soil in the top 0.5 metre is bright orange red, then abruptly becomes yellow due to changes in the oxidation state of iron minerals. The yellow continues to the maximum depth of the exposures and presumably to the bedrock surface. Sample 84-41 returned 34.0% Fe2O3 (Storey, 1990). The pyrite-bearing zone has length of 1000 feet, width of 75 feet, strikes east-west and dips 83 degrees N (Hewitt, 1967).
| Zone | Year | Category | Tonnes | Reference | Comments | Commodities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minaki Pyrite | 1967 | Unclassified | 1299451 | MDC005 p. 36 | 1,432,400 tons to 250-foot depth, averaging 41% S. | Sulphur/Pyrite 41 % |
Part - Mines of Ontario in 1937
Publication Number: ARV47-01.003 Page: 231 Date: 1997
Author: Sinclair D.G., Tower W.O., Taylor J.B., Douglass D.P., Bayne A.S., Cave A.E., Cooper D.F., Weir E.B., Webster A.R.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Mono - Pyrite deposits of Ontario
Publication Number: MDC005 Page: 36 Date: 1967
Author: Hewitt D.F.
Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines
Location:
Mono - An evaluation of the industrial mineral potential of parts of the districts of Kenora and Rainy River
Publication Number: OFR5718 Page: 181-184 Date: 1990
Author: Storey C.C.
Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey
Location:
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