Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52L07SE00029

Record: MDI52L07SE00029

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Lithium, Rubidium, Cesium

Secondary Commodities: Tantalum, Niobium, Tin

Location

Township or Area: Paterson Lake Area

Latitude: 50° 16' 12.35"    Longitude: -94° 35' 33.08"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 386512   Northing: 5569875    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Kenora

NTS Grid: 52L07SE

Point Location Description: Located 600-1400 m west of Separation Lake, 1.3 km west of Big Whopper deposit

Location Method: Field Visit with GPS

Access Description: Pegmatite occurs 60 km north of Kenora on an all-weather road.

Exploration History

1997: property was staked by prospectors A. Mowat and P. Thorgrimson. 1998: property was transferred to Emerald Fields Resource Corporation, who removed a 5 ton bulk sample from a 30 m long trench across the pegmatite for metallurgical evaluation. This sample registered a lithium oxide value of 4.85%. Emerald Fields drilled 3 DDH totalling 103.8 m. 1998: Emerald Fields conducted line cutting, soil and rock sampling, prospecting and stripping. 1999: Emerald Fields drilled 11 DDH totalling 1156.7 m. Four claims were brought to lease. 2001: Emerald Fields did a compilation report, drilled 17 DDH totalling 2100 m, conducted metallurgical testing, and calculated a non-41-101 compliant tonnage. 2008: Emerald Fields and Klondike Capital Corp. merged to form Pacific Iron Ore Corp. 2009: Big Mack and Separation properties were combined into the Separation Project and an NI 43-101 report was released. 2010: property was joint ventured to Mega Graphite Inc. in May 2010. 2011: Mega Graphite Inc. drilled 2 DDH totalling 64.27 m. 2012: Mega Graphite conducted sampling. 2022: Pan American Energy Corp. optioned the property from Magabra Resources Corp. 2023: Pan American Energy carried out sampling and drilled 28 DDH totalling more than 3300 m.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: English River

Belt: Separation Lake

Geological Age: Archean  

Geology Comments

Feb 27, 2015 (Therese Pettigrew) - The property is predominantly underlain by metabasalts and derived rocks of lower to middle amphibolite facies metamorphic grade. Primary pegmatitic granite and related dykes of the Winnipeg River batholith intrude amphibolite on the southern half of the property. Pegmatitic granite related to the Separation Rapids pluton outcrops at several locations on the property as irregular dykes and larger elliptical intrusions. It is comprised mainly of white K-feldspar, albite, green muscovite, quartz, with accessory spessartine garnet, cassiterite, apatite, tantalum-oxides, and gahanite. The Separation Rapids pluton is likely the parent granite to the Separation Rapids pegmatite field. The largest pegmatite dyke in the field is a petalite-bearing pegmatite, named the Big Mack. check

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (C Ravnaas) - Southwest Petalite Zone: the pegmatite consists of several internal units that include: 1. Wall zone (garnet, muscovite, cordierite, quartz, plagioclase), 2. Petalite-rich pegmatite (muscovite, quartz, K-feldspar, petalite), 3. Chrysoberyl-bearing petalite pegmatite, 4. Primary aplite layered with petalite pegmatite, 5. quartz-rich patches with local petalite, 6. replacement stage, muscovite-garnet aplite (possible albitite) zones, 7. post-deformation bikitaite-and holmquistite-coated fractures, and 8. apophyses that extend to south and southeast of Big Mack pegmatite. Most of the pegmatite comprises of K-feldspar-petalite zone.

Nov 15, 2021 (Therese Pettigrew) - The Big Mack pegmatite represents the largest petalite-bearing mass on the property and is exposed over an 80 by 225 m area. The pegmatite comprises a 30 by 100 m main mass coupled with several prominent, narrow apophyses that taper towards the south and southeast. These apophyses consist of non-petalite-bearing sodic pegmatites, sodic aplites, potassic pegmatite and holmquistite-bearing granitic rocks, which contain sporadic, scattered grains of dark brown cassiterite and currently unidentified black oxide minerals. The Big Mack Pegmatite exhibits an internal zonation expressed by a continuous wall zone, 0.5 to 3 m thick that grades into a main core mass of petalite-rich pegmatite. The wall zone is composed mainly of cordierite, quartz, and plagioclase and generally lacks petalite. This strongly peraluminous unit is characterized by abundant cordierite, up to 2 by 3 cm, variably altered to garnet plus mica-rich symplectites enveloped by deep blue, fine-grained holmquistite. Petalite megacrysts, up to 2.5 by 6 cm, are only locally evident in the wall zone and are invariably partially altered to light pink clay minerals of the smectite group. Other varietal minerals include light green muscovite and garnet. Petalite-rich pegmatite comprises most of the body and contains areas up to 56 to 60% light brown-weathering petalite, 30 to 33% blocky potassium feldspar, 5 to 11% quartz, and 2 to 4% muscovite based upon two modal analyses each conducted over a 1 square metre area. The petalite is white, grey or faint blue, translucent to locally transparent with individual well preserved crystals up to 10 by 15 cm. Cordierite and mica-rich aggregates that replace this mineral are also noted locally in petalite-rich zones as at the northern end of the blasted trench. Deep-blue holmquistite is apparent along the fringes of these mica-rich aggregates and also extends into adjacent petalite. Chrysoberyl-bearing petalite pegmatite is confined to a 2 to 6 by 25 m unit that is exposed within the southern end of the trench. This unit comprises the assemblage chrysoberyl, garnet, muscovite, petalite, and potassium feldspar-plagioclase and is generally finer grained than the main petalite-bearing unit. The petalite content is noticeably lower than the adjacent quartz-potassium feldspar-petalite unit with milky to clear white petalite (10 to 20%) limited to sporadic megacrysts up to 10 cm diameter and narrow, irregular segregations composed of polycrystalline petalite, lesser white feldspar and sporadic, lime-green chrysoberyl. Quartz-rich patches up to 0.3 by 1 m occur sporadically in the quartz-potassium feldspar-petalite pegmatite unit and may contain 5 to 10% petalite megacrysts and rare platy black oxide grains (Breaks et al., 1999).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Nov 15, 2021 (C Ravnaas) - The ore minerals area petalite, feldspar, ferrocolumbite, ferrotantalite, manganotantalite, ferrotapiolite, ferrowodginite, cassiterite, and beryl. The pegmatite contains common minerals petalite, K-feldspar, albite (aplite), oligoclase, quartz, muscovite; accessory minerals: beryl, chrysoberyl, cordierite, garnet (almandine, spessartine), fluorapatite, siderophyllite; and rare spodumene, eucryptite, bikitaite, zinnwaldite, holmquistite. Accessory oxides include ferrocolumbite, ferrotantalite, manganotantalite, ferrotapiolite, ferrowodginite, cassiterite, struverite, gahnite, nigerite. Petalite that was assayed contained 4.63 wt.% Li2O, 60% of the main body consists of petalite. eucryptite contained up to 11.45 wt.% Li2O. Bulk analysis of K-feldspar contained an average of 1101 ppm Cs, 8768 ppm Rb and 12.1 K/Rb ratio for 5 samples (Breaks and Tindle 2001). Values of Ta2O5 for several minerals include: columbite-tantalite (4-63.52%), wodginite group (50.18-68.25%), cassiterite (0.04-3.97%), struverite (28.0-54.7%). Sample 6059 contained the highest Ta2O5 value at 64.30 wt.%, ferrotapiolite contains 77.13 wt.% Ta2O5, and microlite contained 71.68 wt.% Ta2O5. The surface exposure of the Big Mack pegmatite is approximately 25 m wide by 200 m long.

Aug 10, 2023 (Therese Pettigrew) - Sampling by Pan American Energy in 2023 returned up to 3.14% Li2O and 3784 ppm Rb2O from Sample 633087 and 1.95% Li2O and 5009 ppm Rb2O from Sample 632957. A channel sample over the Eleven Zone (approximately 175 m NW of the Big Mack; located at NAD83 Zone 15 386355 mE, 5569977 mN) returned 1.06% Li2O over 19.3 m. Four rock samples were taken from the Big Mack Pegmatite and delivered to the Saskatchewan Research Council’s Advanced Microanalysis Centre in Saskatoon, SK for QEMSCAN (Quantitative Evaluation of Materials by Scanning Electron Microscope) analysis. QEMSCAN results from Sample SRC198159 from the high-grade zone of the Big Mack Pegmatite showed the sample contained 75.87% petalite (LiAlSi4O10), the main ore mineral responsible for identifying the Big Mack Lithium Project as being prospective for high-grade lithium mineralization. Sample SRC198160 contained 31.08% petalite and 9.08% spodumene (Pan American Energy news release August 9, 2023). Drillhole BM23-001 was drilled in the interior of the Big Mack pegmatite and returned 1.13% Li2O over 27.98 m from 6.5-34.48 m depth (Pan American Energy news release December 12, 2023). Anomalous tin values up to 5520 ppm were intersected in exploration drill holes along strike of the Eleven Zone and Big Mack Pegmatite in DDHs BM23-032 (up to 5520 ppm Sn and 184.5 ppm Ta), BM23-033 (up to 4910 ppm Sn and 114.5 ppm Ta), and BM23-034 (up to 5260 ppm Sn and 73.1 ppm Ta) (Pan American Energy news release March 21, 2024).

Alteration Comments

Jul 29, 2019 (C Ravnaas) - The alteration mineral is holmquistite. The alteration type is metasomatic.

Assay Samples

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

References

Mono - Rare-Metal Exploration Potential of the Separation Lake Area: An Emerging Target for Bikita-Type Mineralization in Superior Province, Northwestern Ontario

Publication Number: OFR5966 Date: 1997

Author: Breaks F.W., Tindle A.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Geological series, Operation Kenora-Sydney Lake, Umfreville-Separation lakes sheet, District of Kenora

Publication Number: P1028 Scale: 1:63,360    Date: 1975

Author: Breaks F.W., Bond W.D., McWilliams G.H., Gower C.F., Findlay D.C., Stone D.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Book - Rare-Element Mineralization of the Separation Lake Area, Northwest Ontario: Characteristics of a New Discovery of Complex-Type, Petalite-Subtype, Li-Rb-Cs-Ta Pegmatite

Publication Number: CIM V53 Date: 2001

Author: Breaks, F.W. and Tindle, A.G.

Publisher Name: Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum

Location:

Compend - Summary of Field Work and Other Activities, 1999

Publication Number: OFR6000 Date: 1999

Author: Ayer J.A., Baker C.L., Kelly R.I., Stott G.M., Thurston P.C.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Columbite-Tantalite Mineral Chemistry from Rare-Element Granitic Pegmatites: Separation Lakes Area, NW Ontario, Canada; Mineralogy and Petrology, Dec 2000, vol. 70, issue 3-4, pp. 165-198

Publication Number: Min & Pet v.70 Date: 2000

Author: Tindle, A.G. and Breaks, F.W.

Publisher Name: Mineralogy and Petrology

Location:

Publication - Technical Report, Separation Property

Publication Number: 2009 NI 43-101 Date: 2009

Author: Clark, J.G., Cullen, D.

Publisher Name: Clark Expl. Consulting Inc. for Pacific Iron Ore Corp.

Location: Pacific Iron Ore website

Map - Precambrian Geology, Werner Lake-English River Area

Publication Number: M2516 Scale: 1:50,000    Date: 1997

Author: Beakhouse G.P.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Precambrian Geology, Separation Lake Greenstone Belt-West Sheet

Publication Number: P2673 Scale: 1:20,000    Date: 2008

Author: Blackburn C.E., Young J.B., Breaks F.W.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Map - Compilation series, Lower English River sheet, Kenora District

Publication Number: P2394 Scale: 1:126,720    Date: 1981

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Publication - Report on Rare Element Pegmatite Properties in the Separation, Huston & Linklater Lakes Areas of NW Ontario, Rush Lake – Birse Lake of SE Manitoba

Publication Number: Tech Rep. Date: 2001

Author: Chastko, L.C.

Publisher Name: Emerald Fields Resource Corp.

Location: Pacific Iron Ore website

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