Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52L07SE00044

Record: MDI52L07SE00044

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Lithium, Beryllium

Secondary Commodities: Niobium, Tantalum, Rubidium, Tin, Cesium

Location

Township or Area: Paterson Lake Area

Latitude: 50° 17' 13.56"    Longitude: -94° 38' 3.55"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 383575   Northing: 5571830    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Kenora

NTS Grid: 52L07SE

Point Location Description: Pegmatite occurs 60 km north of Kenora

Location Method: Data Compilation

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

Exploration History

1999: Champion Bear Resources conducted geological mapping and sampling. 2001: Champion Bear conducted stripping, rock and soil sampling, and geological mapping. 2015: GoldON Resources carried out trench washing, mapping, and channel sampling. 2017: Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. carried out prospecting and sampling.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: English River

Belt: Separation Lake

Geological Age: Archean  

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Jul 13, 2010 (C Ravnaas) - Southwestern Petalite Zone, this pegmatite exhibits four distinct units of internal zonation which include: 1. Discontinuous wall zone of garnet+muscovite+quartz+plagioclase aplite, 2. Main mass of muscovite+quartz+K-feldspar+petalite pegmatite, 3. Holmquistite+cordierite+muscovite+biotite granitic pegmatite, and 4. replacement stage garnet+muscovite aplite as irregular patches and anastomosing vein network.

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Jul 12, 2017 (C Ravnaas) - The ore minerals found in the pegmatite are petalite, ferrocolumbite, ferrotantalite, manganocolumbite, manganotantalite, cassiterite, ferrowodginite, lepidolite, beryl. Metasomatic alteration. The pegmatite contains common minerals: petalite, K-feldspar, albite, oligoclase, quartz; accessory minerals include: beryl, cordierite, garnet, muscovite, siderophyllite, apatite, holmquistite; and rare minerals include: spodumene, zinnwaldite, lepidolite. Accessory oxides include: ferrocolumbite, ferrotantalite, cassiterite, manganocolumbite, manganotantalite, ferrowodginite, gahnite, nigerite. Analysis of petalite revealed 1.64 wt.% Li2O with up to 80% locally. Bulk analysis of the whole rock (717958 channel over 1 m) contained 1.25 wt% Li2O, 50 ppm Ta, 98 ppm Nb, 904 ppm Rb, 17 ppm Cs, 276 ppm Sn, 52 ppm Be (Breaks, Tindle and Smith 1999). Ferrocolumbite contained 16.38 wt.% Ta2O5, ferrotantalite contained 60.49 wt.% Ta2O5, ferrotapiolite (77.33 wt.% Ta2O5), ferrowodginite ( 59.20 wt.% Ta2O5, 13.69 wt.% SnO2).

Jul 29, 2019 (Therese Pettigrew) - The Glitter Pegmatite is the westernmost known occurrence of petalite pegmatite in the Separation Rapids greenstone belt. It is extremely deformed and isoclinally to recumbently folded. It is exposed for 75 metres along strike before pinching in to boudins to the east, and striking in to overburden to the west. The original dyke appears to have been about 3-4 m in width and has been completely folded into a zone measuring 100x12 m. The dyke is composed mainly of white albite. Garnet, yellow-green to green lithium mica and minor tourmaline are common secondary consitiuents. Biotite is also common, but it is clearly aligned in the foliation planes. There appears to be a minor amount of a black oxide mineral, however field identification is not absolute due to the fine-grained nature of the unit and the presence of other black minerals such as tourmaline Petalite occurs in the central portion of a series of folded dykes and boudins, with the major portion of petalite mineralization occurring in the central thickened hinge of the dyke. The dyke is zoned and thins to albitic aplite and petalite-free feldspathic pegmatite to the east, and to petalite-free feldspathic pegmatitic granite tectonically "nested" at the south margin/limb (Assessment report 52L07SE2006). The petalite-bearing pegmatite of the Glitter pegmatite zone compares closely in terms of mineralogy and degree of deformation and recrystallization to the Big Mack pegmatite. This highly deformed, petalite-bearing pegmatite is exposed along its southeastern strike-length for 75 m and achieves a maximum width of 25 m. It exhibits internal zonation as four distinct units: (1) discontinuous wall zone of garnet + muscovite + quartz + plagioclase aplite; (2) main mass of muscovite + quartz + potassium feldspar + petalite pegmatite; (3) holmquistite + cordierite + muscovite + biotite granitic pegmatite; (4) replacement stage garnet + muscovite aplite as irregular patches and anastomosing vein network. Considerable deformation is obvious in the form of ubiquitous tectonic flames of biotite-rich, metasomatized mafic metavolcanic rock along the contact which locally are traceable into tight folds contained within the petalite-rich pegmatite zone. A similar structural history to the Big Mack pegmatite was observed. Notable thickening of petalite-bearing pegmatite within an adjacent apophysis was developed during the isoclinal folding stage. Subsequent boudinage followed by late, Z -kink folds (fold axis orientation: 127/40 SE) led to rotation of boudins and kinking of a previously developed horizontal to shallow-plunging mineral lineation in 3 mm thick holmquistite-rich bands hosted in mafic metavolcanic rocks. Channel samples were selected at 1 m intervals by Champion Bear Resources across part of the main petalite-bearing unit. The results revealed Li2O contents between 1.03 and 1.64% accompanied by anomalous trace levels of other rare-elements. Petalite in the main unit is light brown on the weathered surface and intensely recrystallized, such that original crystal shapes could not be discerned. Locally up to 80% petalite was noted. Oxide minerals occur sparsely disseminated and were identified by electron microprobe analysis as cassiterite, ferrowodginite, ferrotantalite, ferrocolumbite, and ferrotapiolite (Breaks et al., 1999).

Assay Samples

Mineral Record Details

Mineral Zones - Size and Shape

References

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:

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 - 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:

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