Summary:
The Labrador Trough contains four main types of iron deposits:
1. Soft iron ores formed by supergene leaching and enrichment of the weakly metamorphosed cherty iron formation; they are composed mainly of friable fine-grained secondary iron oxides (hematite, goethite, limonite).
2. Taconites, the fine-grained, weakly metamorphosed iron formations with above average magnetite content and which are also commonly called magnetite iron formation.
3. More intensely metamorphosed, coarser grained iron formations, termed metataconites which contain specular hematite and subordinate amounts of magnetite as the dominant iron minerals.
4. Minor occurrences of hard high-grade hematite ore occur southeast of Schefferville at Swayer Lake, Astray Lake and in some of the Houston deposits.
The Labrador Iron Mountain deposits are composed of iron formations of the Lake Superior-type. The Lake Superior-type iron formation consists of banded sedimentary rocks composed principally of bands of iron oxides, magnetite and hematite within quartz (chert) rich rock, with variable amounts of silicate, carbonate and sulphide lithofacies. Such iron formations have been the principal sources of iron throughout the world.
The Sokoman iron formation was formed as chemical sediment under varied conditions of oxidation-reduction potential (Eh) and hydrogen ion concentrations (pH) in varied depth of seawater. The resulting irregularly bedded, jasper-bearing, granular, oolite and locally conglomeratic sediments are typical of the predominant oxide facies of the Superior-type iron formations, and the Labrador Trough is the largest example of this type.
The facies changes consist commonly of carbonate, silicate and oxide facies. Typical sulphide facies are poorly developed. The mineralogy of the rocks is related to the change in facies durin deposition, which reflects changes from shallow to deep-water environments of sedimentation. In general, the oxide facies are irregularly bedded, and locally conglomeratic, having formed in oxidizing shallow-water conditions. Most carbonate facies show deep-water features, except for the presence of minor amounts of granules. The silicate facies are present in between the oxide and carbonate facies, with some textural features indicating deep-water formation. Each facies contains typical primary minerals, ranging from siderite, minnesotaite, and magnetite-hematite in the carbonate, silicate and oxide facies, respectively. The most common mineral in the Sokoman Formation is chert, which is closely associated with all facies, although it occurs in minor quantities with the silicate facies. Carbonate and silicate lithofacies are present in varying amounts in the oxide members.
The sediments of the Labrador Trough were initially deposited in a stable basin which was subsequently modified by penecontemporaneous tectonic and volcanic activity. Deposition of the iron formation indicates intraformational erosion, redistribution of sediments, and local contamination by volcanic and related clastic material derived from the volcanic centres in the DykeAstray area.
The consolidation of the sediments into cherty banded iron formation is due to diagenesis and low grade metamorphism which only reached the greenschist rank. The iron may be a product of erosion. It is unlikely that the Nimish volcanism made a significant contribution.
The Redmond mineral deposits occur in a northwest trending synclinal feature that runs from the Wishart Lake area in the north to beyond the Redmond 1 pit in the south.
The Redmond 2B deposit occurs in a northwest trending synclinal feature. A northwest trending reverse fault that runs through the centre of the deposit appears to have thrust older rocks of the Wishart Formation over the younger Sokoman Formation. Smaller faults and folds occur on the limbs of the syncline.
The ore occurs predominantly within the lower half of the Sokoman Iron Formation (including the Ruth Formation). Ore is mainly red with lesser yellow. The red ore occurs in the Ruth Formation. The yellow ore occurs in the SCIF (silicate carbonate iron formation). Some blue ore does occur and is possibly part of the MIF (middle Iron formation) or a blue component of the SCIF.
The Redmond No. 5 area is separated into three blocks by two major reverse faults striking in a north westerly direction (Daignault, 1976). The deposit occurs in the central block and consists of two second order synclines separated by an anticline (Orth, 1982a). Three northeast dipping normal faults occur along the south western side of the deposit. A normal sequence from Wishart Quartzite, Ruth Formation, SCIF (silicate carbonate iron formation), MIF (Middle Iron Formation) to UIF (Upper Iron Formation) occur in the deposit (Daignault, 1976). Ore occurs predominantly in the lower part of the MIF, the SCIF and some in the Ruth Formation.