Summary:
The mineral deposits type on the Property are the Algoma type.
Algoma-type iron formations occur throughout the geological record in marine depositional environments. They are distributed along the volcanic arcs, spreading ridges, grabens, fault scarps and fracture zones. They are generally interbedded with greywackes, turbidites, metalliferous sediments and volcanic rocks. Iron ore deposits in Algoma-type ironformations consist mainly of metamorphosed oxide and carbonate lithofacies, containing 20 to 40% iron.
Mineralization
Mineralization is open mostly in East-west directions and can be interpreted in the range of tens of kilometres. The strong anomalies of the Iron Hills correspond to the Iron Hills deposit and extend for more than 8 km with widths varying between 200 and 600 m. information from surface and from drilling suggest the mineralization is steeply dipping. Insufficient work has been done to ascertain any mineral potential on the Property other than the historical estimates and mineral resources done on the different projects within the Property.
The banded iron formation outcrops on the summit of the Iron Hills over a distance of more than 4 km, west of the Harricana River. The outcrops are located along the southern contact of the magnetic anomalies that coincide with the iron formation at this locality. This is the same iron formation with strong magnetic responses that extends into the Orvilliers and Adam River sectors, as confirmed by Barlow’s recent drilling. However, on these two (2) sectors, it rests under about 30 m of muskeg and overburden. The Adam River iron formation is formed of two (2) lineaments.
The principal lineament, the northern one, has been explored by Barlow over a distance of 1.5 km with six (6) additional drill holes in 2012. The banded magnetic iron formation is much similar to the formation of the Iron Hills, except for the presence of graphitic material that is locally abundant, as well as some strong hematitization of the BIF zones. The formation is sub-vertical with a true width (approximation) varying from 120 to 305 m. On the western extension of the Iron Hills formation, the ground magnetic survey shows also two (2) parallel and large iron formations, locally interrupted by north-striking faults. All together, the iron formations extend in an east-west direction over a distance of more than 35 km.
Iron Hills Deposit
The southern contact of the iron formations outcrops at several places in the Iron Hills area. Trenches for sampling purposes done by Atlin-Ruffner and Armore are still visible on these sites. Based on drill holes, the thickness of overburden above the rest of the deposit is estimated to average 8 m (26 ft) and it is thicker on the western and northern parts.
So far, the iron formation has been drilled over a length of 3 350 m. It is striking azimuth 285-295° with a northerly dip of 75-85° in the central and the eastern parts and southerly at 75-85° in the western part. Its width ranges from 200 to 600 m, with the western end being wider. Its northern contact is generally clean-cut with a sequence of andesites, argillites and greywackes. Its southern contact is with greywackes and andesites and is generally gradual; as the magnetite content diminishes, minor pyrite starts to appear. According to M. Taner, it is a “typical Algoma-type banded iron formation” (BIF). The rock is fine-grained and well-banded with millimetric to centimetric beds of iron-rich material alternating with millimetric to centimetric beds of light colour quartz-feldspar rich metasedimentary rock. Sedimentary facies are well preserved. The unit contains generally 50% oxide minerals, mainly magnetite with minor hematite as specularite, generally close to fault zones.
The BIF unit contains centimetric to metric layers of greywacke in which small amounts of disseminated magnetite are generally also present and some narrow barren horizons of andesite that are probably dykes. The magnetite-rich layers or horizons assay between 20 and 30% soluble Fe with the magnetic Fe content averaging 73% of the soluble Fe.
Adam River Deposit
The Geology of the Adam River deposit compares to the geology of the Iron Hills deposit with the exception that in the Adam River sector, the iron formation is more massive.
The BIF in the Adam River sector is generally very massive with an iron oxide content varying between 20% and 90%. The BIF has undergone strong hematitization. The quantity of hematite is estimated at about 50% of the iron oxide content, with the remaining being magnetite. The rock takes a red-brown colour and it is made of mm to dm alternation of beds rich in magnetite and hematite and of beds of metasediments generally barren. The iron formation is frequently crosscut by strongly altered zones with chlorite and carbonate showing sharp contacts and locally by deformed intermediate to mafic volcanics. The iron formation is frequently intruded by some strongly deformed gabbroic intrusions that can be defined as “flaser gabbro” and by narrow veinlets of white carbonate. Bedding is well defined, with locally some nice graded bedding textures. Locally, there are abundant graphitic schists mixed with the banded iron formation. It seems that there is a link between the hematitization that gives the reddish colour and the volume of the graphitic material.
Orvilliers Deposit
The Geology of the Orvilliers deposit compares with the geology of the Iron Hills deposit.
The detailed ground magnetic survey on the Orvilliers sector shows an E-W striking strong (16 000 to 26 000 nT) magnetic lineament that is interpreted as the response of banded iron formations. The lineament extends over a distance of more than 15 km across the property and is on the west extension of the Iron Hills iron deposit. At the western end, the width of the magnetic lineament is 100 to 200 m. In the central and eastern portion of the property, they are two parallel magnetic lineaments of about equal intensity; their widths vary from 100 to 200 m each. Northerly striking faults appears to disrupt the dyke-like bodies at irregular intervals.