Details


SMDI #
0550
Current Showing Name
C-52 Pb-Zn-Au Showing
Historical Showing Names
C-52 Pb-Zn-Au Showing
Company Name
Project Name
UTM Easting (NAD83 Z13)
570491.3600
UTM Northing (NAD83 Z13)
6369325.6000
NTS Sheet
064E05
TRM (Township-Range-Meridian)
97-12-2
Primary Commodities
Iron
Associated Commodities
Arsenic, Gold, Lead, Mercury, Zinc
Discovery Type
Outcrop Grab
Status
Occurrence: Primary Exploration
Geological Details
The showing consists of pyrite and arsenopyrite mineralization which occurs in argillite at the southwest end of lake C-52, 1.29 km (0.8 mile) west of the north end of Souter Lake. The general area of the showing has been mapped by B. Scott as being underlain by the northeast-trending Compulsion River Belt or Courtenay Lake-Cairns Lake Fold Belt), part of the Wollaston Fold Belt. The area west of the north end of Souter Lake occurs on the south limb of the southwest-trending Spence Lake Synform. The core of the fold is occupied by the 400 m thick Causier Creek Formation or a pink, buff, or light grey arkose with local maroon and light grey colour bands. This is underlain by 1200 m of Spence Lake Formation or a series of calcareous and slaty to pyllitic pelites which are capped by a thick succession of mudstones with intercalated wackes and siltstones. The underlying, up to 550 m (1804.5 ft) thick, George Lake Formation, which outcrops on the west shore of Souter Lake, consists of a sequence of variably slaty, iron sulphide-bearing, laminated mudstones with minor intercalated siltstone and wacke. This is, in turn, underlain up to 1200 m (3937.0 ft) of Souter Lake Formation quartz arenites to sub-arkoses with intercalated grit, mudstone, and conglomerate. The Souter Lake Formation is separated for the Johnson River Inlier granites by a wedge of Courtenay Lake Formation conglomerates and arkoses with intercalated mafic volcanic-derived amphibolites and felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic derived quartzofeldspathic rocks. In the C-52 Lake area, disseminated mineralization is hosted within a northeast-trending series of thinly interbedded calacreous and noncalcareous meta-argillites, calc-silicates, and quartzites (Spence Lake Formation) which have been cross-cut by a northeast-trending shear zone. The showing mineralization occurs within a small outcrop of brecciated, dark grey, fine-grained, silicified meta-argillite. The main quartz vein (068° to 070°/80-85°SW) can be traced, intermittantly, along strike across a width that varies from 40 cm to 1.5 m (1.3 to 4.9 ft). Up to 5% tourmaline is present. The tourmaline occurs as fine-grained subhedral crystals along foliation planes. The mineralization consists of up to 3% pyrite, arsenopyrite and associated non-visible gold as fine to medium-grained (up to 3 mm) blebs and veinlets that are oriented parallel to both foliation planes and minor quartz veins. The bulk of the mineralization occurs at the contact between quartz veins and meta-argillite. Trace amounts of pyrrhotite, galena and sphalerite are present. In 1969, Falconbridge completed drill hole GL-34 to test the pyrite showing (AF 64E05-0026). A 23 m cored interval of silicified meta-argillite hosted 2 to 3% pyrite-pyrrhotite and 0.5% galena-sphalerite. Assays of this interval returned 0.35% Zn and 0.09% Pb. In 1982, SMDC took two grab samples of arsenopyrite mineralization that returned 460 and 636 ppb Au. A 1.0 m chip sample, taken across three quartz veins, returned 242 ppb Au. In 1983, SMDC took numerous grab samples from the showing which returned up to 0.042 oz/ton Au, 0.63% Zn, and 0.61% Pb. The better assays are as follows: SAMPLE PPB PPM PPM SAMPLE NUMBER AU PB ZN DESCRIPTION ____________________________________________________________________ WA30-012 85 2900 17 qtz vein: 5% asp, 2% py, 1% gn WA30-013 270 680 6300 qtz vein: 10% py, 5% po WA30-014 0.042 oz 75 240 qtz vein: 5% py, tr gn-cpy WA30-015 610 310 1100 qtz vein: 25% asp, 2% py, tr po-gn WA30-030 520 82 200 meta-argillite: 20-30% asp + py,po,gn WA30-031 80 6100 270 qtz vein: 10-15% asp + py,gn WA30-036 100 460 890 qtz vein: 5% py-gn + asp WA30-068 560 400 240 meta-argillite: 10-15% asp + py,po WA30-070 490 61 10 qtz vein in argillite: 1% asp,py,sf,gn WA30-072 35 950 480 sheared meta-argillite: tr-1% gn-asp-py WA30-073 30 5600 13 qtz vein: 1% gn + asp-py In 1988, Esso Minerals tested the showing with drill hole CR-001 which was collared 200 m (656.2 ft) southwest of hole GL-34. The better intersections of the same interval encountered in hole GW-34 are as follows: DRILLHOLE INTERSECTION WIDTH PPM PPM PPM PPM INTERSECTION NUMBER (M) (M) PB ZN CU NI GEOLOGY _____________________________________________________________________________ CR-001 79.50 - 81.00 1.50 1822 9093 26 4 shale and siltstone 85.30 - 85.70 0.40 714 6392 25 28 meta-argillite 85.70 - 86.80 0.50 1767 5238 20 23 meta-argillite 99.50 - 101.00 1.50 7 3423 13 15 siltstone, shale The drill hole encountered bedding parallel seams of pyrrhotite with later fracture infilling type pyrite and, stratigraphically above, 12.2 m of 0.1% Pb and 0.5% Zn in a meta-argillite. Both mercury and barium are anomalous in this hole. Adjacent Esso drill holes completed on the grid indetified a concordant quartz vein feeder zone, an iron-manganese rich exhalite, and a lithogeochemical base metal halo which contains rare stratiform sphalerite. These features are indicative of a mineralizing event related to SEDEX deposit formation.
Geological Domain
Wollaston
Host Rocks
Host Minerals
Arsenopyrite, Cinnabar, Pyrite
Indicators
Exploration History
8/16/1988 The area of the showing was first investigated in 1965 by E.F. Partridge who completed an aerial reconnaissance survey to check aeromagnetic highs, structural features and gossans. Subsequent prospecting of interesting areas lead to the discovery of SMDI 0549, 0554 and 0555. Follow-up work located a series of sphalerite-galena-bearing boulders and 2 sphalerite-bearing outcrops as far distant as the south end of George Lake. Reconnaissance prospecting along the northeast-trending Compulsion River Belt continued for the remainder of the season and resulted in the delineation of SMDI 0541. Detailed prospecting was completed over the George Lake sector of the Compulsion River Belt, which surrounds the bay at southwest end of George Lake and extends towards Souter Lake. SMDI 0663 was located as a result. 18 trenches were excavated but all were found to be useless due to the thickness of the overburden. Two x-ray drill holes totalling 366.3 ft (111.6 m) were completed in the area but no mineralization was intersected. Three claim blocks and 361 mineral claims were staked and subsequently optioned to Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd. In 1966, geological mapping and associated prospecting was carried out over the George Lake claims east, south and west of the southwest end of George Lake, parts of Permit No. 3 and the north half CBS 3, northeast of Courtenay Lake. The program delineated the showing detailed above. Ground magnetometer surveys were conducted to aid in mapping since most of the area is covered by glacial drift and/or muskeg. Ip and seismic surveys were done in selected areas. The IP anomalies outlined northwest of George Lake are coincident with mag highs and are found to be caused by pyrrhotite and magnetite associated with pyrite. Sulphides and sulphide stain are evident on the surface rocks near these anomalies. One of the 2 seismic profiles run southeast of George Lake indicated shallow overburden conditions. Diamond drilling of 4 holes totalling 11,033 ft (3362.9 m) was completed in the GEORGE LAKE Claim Group area as well as surficial mapping and a soil sampling survey. A geochemical anomaly was noted at the southeast end of George Lake. The anomalous area overlaps till known to contain large amounts of mineralized float carrying high Pb-Zn values. The shape of the boulder train indicates a nearby source immediately northeast of the boulder train. Diamond drilling of 3 holes totalling 2028 ft (618.1 m) was completed on CBS 3 (the lake C-76 area) to investigate magnetic highs found to be caused by minor pyrite-pyrrhotite in argillite and by garnetiferous biotite schist. The following year, geological magnetometer, surficial geology and soil sample surveys were completed to complete the coverage in areas not covered in the 1966 season. The magnetic surveys helped to trace the stratigraphy in the overburden-covered areas. The Compulsion River Mines Ltd. was incorporated on 1 November 1968 and acquired 235 claims in 3 groups including the George Lake deposit (SMDI 663). Diamond drilling was completed in 1969-70 to delineate the George Lake deposit. On 2 December 1980, a SMDC-Preussag Canada Ltd. partnership acquired MPP 1122 over the showing. In 1980, regional lake sediment sampling was completed in the showing area (AF 74A-0011). In 1981, the partnership completed geological mapping, ground EM and magnetic surveys and basal till sampling in the showing area (AF 64E-0012). In 1982, SMDC completed further mapping and sampling of the showing (AF 74A-0013). In 1983, SMDC completed geological mapping, prospecting, rock and soil sampling and a ground magnetic survey over the Lake C-52 area (AF 64E05-0029). Slightly anomalous gold values were returned when the showing was sampled. On 24 February 1984, SMDC staked the showing area as CBS 7557 (within MPP 1122) and allowed the rest of the MPP to drop. Between 1983 and 1984, SMDC completed overburden sampling over the showing area (AF 64E05-0030). On 27 May 1986, the showing was staked as CBS 8084. Esso Resources Canada flew an airborne EM and magnetic survey and completed follow-up mapping, prospecting and sampling (AF 64E-0011). Between 1987 and 1988, Esso completed further mapping, prospecting and rock and soil sampling on the claim block (AF 64E-0012). In 1988, Esso completed drill hole CR-001 in the immediate showing area (AF 64E-0013). The better intersections are reported above. In 1990, Falconbridge Ltd. flew an airborne EM, VLF-EM and magnetic survey which covered the showing (AF 64E05-0004). On 16 November, 1991, the showing was staked as S-104599 by Compulsion River Mines. The property lapsed on 6 September 1995. Between 1995 and 1996, No. 337 Sailview Ventures and Far West Mining completed bulk till and soil sampling which covered the showing (AF 64E-0017 and -0019). In the following year, a bulk till survey was completed (AF 64E12-0050).
Production History
Reserves and/or Resources
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