Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52L07SE00031

Record: MDI52L07SE00031

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Lithium, Rubidium, Tantalum

Secondary Commodities: Tin, Niobium, Cesium

Location

Township or Area: Paterson Lake Area

Latitude: 50° 15' 48.64"    Longitude: -94° 34' 41.27"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 387522   Northing: 5569121    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Kenora

NTS Grid: 52L07SE

Point Location Description: OGS staff field visit

Location Method: Data Compilation

Access Description: The property is accessed by travelling north from Kenora along Highway 658 to the English River Road turnoff, approximately 2 km south of the town of Redditt on the CNR mainline railway, then north on the English River Road to a boat landing and campground at Separation Rapids. From the Separation Rapids campground, the property can be reached by boat, 8 km west along the English River. Alternatively, the property can be accessed by logging roads off the English River Road, namely the Sand Lake Road and the Snook Lake Road, which terminates immediately west of the property. A 2 km bush road cleared in September 1997 for drill access from the termination of the Snook Lake Road can be travelled in the winter months by four-wheel drive and in the spring and summer months by ATV.

Exploration History

1996: Avalon Ventures Ltd. acquired the property. 1997: Avalon conducted linecutting, a ground magnetometer survey, and drilled 6 DDH totalling 945 m.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: English River

Belt: Separation Lake

Geological Age: Archean  

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 07, 2005 (C Ravnaas) - Southwestern Petalite Zone, biotite-garnet-quartz-K-feldspar-plagioclase zone, petalite zone.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Jul 13, 2017 (C Ravnaas) - The ore minerals area petalite, cassiterite, wodginite, ferrocolumbite, ferrotantalite, manganocolumbite. The pegmatite contains abundant petalite, K-feldspar, quartz, albite and accessory biotite, garnet, oxides (wodginite, cassiterite, ferrocolumbite, ferrotantalite, manganocolumbite); rare nigerite, pyrite.

Jul 13, 2017 (Therese Pettigrew) - After the Big Whopper, the Western Pegmatite is the most significant petalite pegmatite found on the property to date. It is a continuation of the Big Whopper in the sense that it merges as the southern zone within the Big Whopper. It becomes recognizable as a discrete dyke west of L5+50W, where it continues in a westerly direction to its apparent termination at L14+OOW for a strikelength of 850 metres. It averages 10 metres in width with areas of thickening to 15 metres. Diamond drilling between lines 5+50W and 7+OOW indicate common amphibolite screens, or conversely, a narrow dyke swarm. The most diagnostic feature is the intense fabric along its entire length, imparting a mylonitic fabric that obscures most primary features. This suggests that the Western Pegmatite occupies and defines a reactivated fault. Light brown weathering belies its significant petalite content, which probably averages 35%, calculated from lithium assays obtained in trenching and diamond drilling. From drilling, the Western Pegmatite was discovered to continue eastward from the Great White North and merge with a series of laterally compressed pegmatites to form the Big Whopper Pegmatite. From L7+OOW and eastward, it is vertically continuous as a series of undulating dykes and dykelets. Westward it appears to narrow rapidly from surface to a series of primary feeder dykes from drill core evidence in SR97-28 and 29. Along section 4+60W, it is much deeper and mineralized to the 225 metre level, whereupon it becomes abruptly primary in composition and likely reflects the beginning of the feeder dyke. Assays from surface and drill core for the Western Pegmatite are comparable to the Big Whopper. Petalite zones typically average 1.5 to 1.69% Li2O and 0.3% Rb2O to as high as 0.437% Rb2O over 28.02 metres in SR97-14. Tantalum is often elevated, with assays commonly exceeding 0.01% Ta2O5. Trench 5 across the West Pegmatite returned weighted assays of 1.563% Li2O, 0.193% Rb2O, 0.001% Cs2O, 140 ppm SnO2, 41 ppm Ta2O5, 0.008% Nb2O5, and 0.027% P2O5 (AFRI 52L07SE2003).

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

References

Article - Rare-metal exploration potential of the Separation Lake Area: an emerging target for bikita-type mineralization in the Superior Province of northeastern Ontario

Publication Number: MP168.017 Page: 72-88  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:

Mono - Tantalum Mineralogy of Rare-Element Granitic Pegmatites from the Separation Lake Area, Northwestern Ontario

Publication Number: OFR6022 Date: 2000

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

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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