Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI52O08NE00008

Record: MDI52O08NE00008

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Gold

Secondary Commodities: Silver

Location

Township or Area: Connell

Latitude: 51° 29' 17.79"    Longitude: -90° 9' 21.67"

UTM Zone: 15    Easting: 697441   Northing: 5707961    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay North

NTS Grid: 52O08NE

Point Location Description: Crown pillar - centre of highway 599

Location Method: Field Visit with GPS

Exploration History

1929: Trenching and diamond drilling of Central Patricia deposit by Central Patricia Mines. Trenching of No. 6 vein on Springer claims. 1930: Exploration shaft sunk at Central Patricia deposit. 1934-1951: Central Patricia Mine in production. 1935: Exploration shaft sunk on Springer Claims. 1938-1940: Central Patricia No. 2 Shaft in production. 1980-1986: Geological, geophysical and geochemical surveys and diamond drilling by Golden Shadow Resources. 1986-1989: Geological, geophysical and geochemical surveys and diamond drilling by Noramco Exploration for Quinterra Resources and Pure Gold Resources. 2003-06: Geological surveys and diamond drilling by King's Bay Gold and Richview Resources.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Uchi

Terrane: North Caribou

Domain: Uchi

Belt: Pickle Lake

Geological Age: Mesoarchean  

Geology Comments

Dec 28, 2006 (Mark Puumala) - Pye (1976) indicates that the principal structural feature in the vicinity of the Central Patricia mine is the Central Patricia Anticline. The axial plane of this structure strikes approximately east-west in the vicinity of Central Patricia, while further to the east, the strike of the axial plane orientation changes to northeast. Pye (1976) has also noted that shear zones oriented approximately parallel to the fold axial plane, and dipping steeply to the north (i.e., at 70 to 75 degrees) are commonly observed in less competent stratigraphic horizons. An east-west-striking zone of intense shearing and drag folding is described by Pye (1976) at the north contact of the gold-mineralized iron formation. The east-west striking shear zones described by Pye (1976) are likely to be the equivalent of the D2 shear zones described by MacQueen (1987) nearby in the Pickle Crow mine area. A second prominent set of northwest-striking shears and faults is also reported by Pye (1976) in the Central Patricia area. These structures are interpreted to post-date the D2 shear zones, and dip 60 to 65 degrees to the northeast. The northwest-striking faults described by Pye (1976) are likely to be equivalent to the third-generation northwest-striking D3 faults recognized by MacQueen (1987) in the Pickle Crow area. Late north-northeast-striking faults are also described by Pye (1976) at the Central Patricia mine. These structures are likely to be equivalent to similar D3 faults described by McQueen (1987) at Pickle Crow.

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Dec 28, 2006 (Mark Puumala) - Rocks in the vicinity of the Central Patricia Gold Mine are dominated by pillowed mafic metavolcanic flows, with secondary amounts of tuff, lapilli tuff and agglomerate (Evoy 1988). These rocks are intercalated with intermediate to felsic metavolcanics, banded iron formation, clastic metasedimentary rocks and quartz-albite porphyry (Evoy 1988). The south-central portion of the property is intruded by the granitic Hooker-Burkoski Stock. Stott (1996) describes the mafic metavolcanic rocks of the Central Patricia-Pickle Crow area as typically pillowed flows that have been extensively carbonatized and strongly deformed. The intermediate to felsic metavolcanic rocks of the Central Patricia area are described by Evoy (1988) as being tuffs that can often be difficult to differentiate from silicified mafic tuffs. The iron formation units are described by Stott (1996) as magnetite-chert iron formation with interbedded greenish mudstone and local graphitic schist. The mudstone and graphitic schist interbeds are extensively ferroan dolomitized in the vicinity of Central Patricia and Pickle Crow (Stott 1996). This alteration has been noted to be spatially associated with the carbonatized mafic metavolcanics. The Central Patricia deposit was hosted within an iron formation unit that pinches and swells, having a thickness ranging from a few centimetres up to approximately 21 m (Pye 1976). The quartz feldspar porphyry sills that intrude the mafic metavolcanics are described by Stott (1996) as lenticular bodies containing 3-5 mm quartz and feldspar phenocrysts within a fine- to medium-grained matrix. These intrusions generally conform to schistosity, and are often strongly-sheared. The Hooker-Burkoski Stock is a quartz-phyric, biotite, sodic trondjemite (Stott 1996). Young (2003) has identified the supracrustal rocks of the Central Patricia area as being part of the >2860 Ma Pickle Crow assemblage. The approximate age of the Pickle Crow Assemblage has been inferred from a U-Pb age determination of approximately 2860 Ma obtained from a quartz porphyry sill in this area (Stott 1996).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Dec 28, 2006 (Mark Puumala) - A total of 621,806 ounces of gold and 58,349 ounces of silver were produced from 1,729,248 tons of milled ore on the Central Patricia mine property between 1934 and 1951. The majority of this production (608,648 oz Au) was obtained from the Central Patricia No. 1 Operation, while the remainder was mined from the No. 2 (Springer) Operation (Ferguson, Groen and Haynes 1971). The Central Patricia gold deposit was a stratabound, iron formation-hosted sulphide replacement orebody that strikes approximately east-west and dips steeply to the north. Gold mineralization is reported by Pye (1976) to have consisted of auriferous sulphide minerals deposited along, and replacing iron formation outward from closely-spaced tension fractures in iron formation. In the upper portions of the orebody, the mineralized fractures originated at the hanging wall (north) contact, and extended southward (i.e., perpendicular to contact) into the iron formation, only rarely extending to the footwall contact (Pye 1976). These fractures were reported by Pye (1976) to have an average strike orientation of 004, with a range of orientations about the 004 plane between 320 and 035. Mineralization along the transverse fractures consisted of pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, dark green chlorite and ankerite. Many of the fractures are also reported by Pye (1976) to have contained a central filling of smoky quartz. Frequently, sulphide mineralization occurred outward from the fracture fillings along magnetite or siderite-rich iron formation laminae, while occasional irregular masses of complete sulphide replacement were also reported (Pye 1976). Deeper in the orebody, the characteristics of the fractures and mineralization patterns were reported by Pye (1976) to have changed significantly. The fracture orientations changed to be largely parallel to bedding, and sulphide replacement extended much further into he iron formation. Pye (1976) attributed the changes in the characteristics of the mineralization to an increase in the iron oxide content of the iron formation with depth. The change in mineralization style also corresponded with a decrease in grade with depth, with the highest gold grades being associated with the fracture-filling sulphides that were present in larger quantities higher in the orebody (Pye 1976). Mineralized fractures were indicated by Pye (1976) to have generally occurred in groups that could be delineated as minable ore shoots. Isolated fractures containing appreciable gold values were generally left in place, as the overall grade of mineralization in these portions of the iron formation was considered to be sub-economic (Pye 1976). The overall sulphide content of the ore was reported by Pye (1976) to be approximately 18%, consisting of pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, pyrite and chalcopyrite in decreasing order of abundance. At the time that operations at the Central Patricia No. 1 mine ceased, no remaining un-mined reserves were reported (Ferguson, Groen and Haynes 1971). A study by McGregor (1993) also did not identify any additional reserves at this location, although a limited amount of open pit reserves were identified near the Central Patricia No. 2 site.

Mineral Record Details

References

Book - Northern Miner 82-09-09, Shadowfax, p. 2

Publication Number: NMINER Date: 1996

Author:

Publisher Name: Northern Miner

Location:

Book - Northern Miner 85-04-18, Golden Shadow, p. A4

Publication Number: NMINER Date: 1996

Author:

Publisher Name: Northern Miner

Location:

Mono - Geology of the Crow River area, District of Kenora (Patricia Portion)

Publication Number: OFR5152 Date: 1976

Author: Pye E.G.

Publisher Name: Ontario Division of Mines

Location:

Thesis - New Structural, Geochronological, and Geochemical Constraints on the Tectonic Assembly of the Archean Pickle Lake Greenstone Belt, Uchi Subprovince, Western Superior Province

Publication Number: Date: 2003

Author: Young, M.D.

Publisher Name: unpublished thesis, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, 182p.

Location:

Mono - The Geology and Tectonic History of the Central Uchi Subprovince

Publication Number: OFR5952 Date: 1996

Author: Stott G.M.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

Book - Stratigraphy, Structure and Gold Mineralization of the No. 5 Vein/Iron Formation Zone, Pickle Crow Gold Mines, Pickle Lake, Ontario

Publication Number: Date: 1987

Author: MacQueen, J.K.

Publisher Name: unpublished thesis, Carleton University, Ottawa, 166p.

Location: Thunder Bay RGP

Mono - Gold deposits of Ontario, part 1, districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Rainy River, and Thunder Bay

Publication Number: MDC013 Date: 1971

Author: Ferguson S.A., Groen H.A., Haynes R.

Publisher Name: Ontario Dept. of Mines and Northern Affairs

Location:

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For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Thunder Bay North Resident Geologist District Office