Overview

Mine Type	Open Pit
Status	Inactive / Suspended
Commodities	Iron Ore
Mining Method	Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life	...

Deposit type

• Banded iron formation

Summary:

The Lac Lamêlée iron deposit consists of magnetite Banded Iron Formation (“BIF”) of the Lake Superior type.

The Property area was subjected to high-grade metamorphism corresponding to the limit of upper amphibolite-granulite facies resulting from the Grenville Orogeny.

During metamorphism, the iron formation was recrystallized into a meta-taconite that contains coarsegrained specular hematite, granular magnetite and friable quartz. The grade of this type of iron formation is generally higher than in the un-metamorphosed taconite.

The iron mineralization on the Property is hosted in the Wabush Formation, within two major facies:
a) Iron Oxide Facies
The Iron Oxide member has been broken down into the following sub-units:
* Magnetite Iron formation (MIF)
* Hematite (specularite) Iron formation (HIF)
* Magnetite–hematite Iron formation (MHIF/HMIF)
The three sub-units differ in their ratios of magnetite to hematite but are geochemically and texturally similar. The units are described as well-banded, fine to medium grained rock with cm- to mm-scale beds of magnetite and/or hematite (typically specularite) alternating with quartz beds that usually contain disseminated magnetite and/or hematite. Locally, the bedding becomes diffused and the rock turns into a quartzite with disseminated magnetite.

b) Quartz-Pyroxene-Magnetite Facies (QPyrxM)
The QPyrxM unit is characterized by a significant proportion, up to about 50%, of pyroxene-rich bands alternating with bands of quartz and bands of massive or disseminated magnetite and/or hematite. The QPyrxM varies considerably in its iron oxide content but the average ranges from about 15 to 25% magnetite, with occasional hematite. The contacts between the two facies are often gradational.

In addition to these two facies, a Carbonate Iron Formation (CIF) unit was observed on the Property. The CIF is locally encountered within the QPyrxM. It is similar in appearance to the QPyrxM but contains light yellow-grey bands of iron-magnesium carbonate intercalated between the pyroxene-rich bands. This unit commonly occurs toward the base of the stratigraphy and may contain magnetite.

On the Property, the Wabush Formation is further subdivided into a Lower and an Upper Iron Oxide - Silicate member locally separated by an ultramafic rock (UMF), informally referred to as “Popcorn Rock” (M. Flanagan, 2013) that may contain a few percent of magnetite. Field observations suggest that the ultramafic suite was injected as sills.

Hematite mineralization predominates in the fold hinge zone in the southeastern portion of the Mountain Pond Zone, which is reflected by a lower magnetic susceptibility observed in the ground magnetic survey data.

The iron mineralization is hosted in a re-folded, plunging syncline located near the centre of the Property and extends over about 2.5 km in a general NE direction. The magnetic data strongly suggest that the eastern limit of the iron formation extends some distance from shore into Lac Lamêlée.

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Production