Summary:
The Hislop deposit is felsic intrusive related and located in a broad deformation zone within the Destor Porcupine Fault Zone (DPFZ). Numerous gold deposits occur in the vicinity of the DPFZ and related structures, such as the Pipestone Fault.
Some of the DPFZ gold deposits extend from surface to over 1,000 m below surface, and some are blind deposits, in that they do not reach bedrock surface. The top of the Holloway deposit, for example, is over 300 m below surface.
The following description of potential gold deposit types on the SAS Timmins area claims is from Reid (2003). Deposit types and exploration models can generally be characterized as one of three main types, although they tend to merge with each other at times. The deposit types may have more to do with the different host rocks than a genetic difference. Proximity to the main break(s), associated splays, presence of hydrothermal alteration, Timiskaming sediments or high level porphyries are common to all. The three main types are as follows:
•Green Carbonate Hosted: Nighthawk Lake, Aquarius, Stock, West Porphyry, and Glimmer all fall into this classification. Gold is generally present as free gold in quartz veins or with disseminated sulphides associated with small intrusive rocks or albitic alteration in completely carbonate altered ultramafic flows. Carbonate alteration is up to 200 m wide and can be traced for thousands of metres discontinuously on strike. The gold is often in crosscutting or conformable features. Timiskaming conglomerates are often proximal or part of the package.
•Felsic Intrusive Related: Ronnoco, Pominex, parts of the Taylor Shaft and Hislop are examples of this type. The intrusive rocks vary from feldspar (plus or minus quartz) porphyry in the west to more syenitic in the east. Mineralization is characterized by both thin crosscutting to stockwork quartz veins to disseminated sulphides to more contact skarns or hornfels, depending on host rock. Carbonate alteration is still quite common in the host rocks with silica, sericite, and hematite more within the intrusive.
• Mafic Volcanic Hosted: Holloway, Holt, and Hoyle Pond are examples. Ubiquitous carbonate alteration with iron carbonate, albite, silicification and sericite more proximal to ore. Quartz veins and/or albitized variolitic mafic flows are often central to the zone and often found near the mafic/ultramafic contact.
Two settings and styles of gold mineralization are present at the Hislop property. Gold occurs on the south side of the syenite dike complex in the carbonate and carbonate breccia rock which separates the syenite dikes from the less altered ultramafic volcanic rocks to the south side. Gold also occurs on the north contact of the syenite dike complex in quartz veinlets, stockworks and fractures in hematite altered and syenitized mafic metavolcanic rocks.
The rocks and the associated mineralization strike northwest-southeast and dip steeply north to vertically. Later cross faults trend both east-west and northeast to southwest, and are steeply to vertically dipping. Gold mineralization occurs along the length of the syenite dike complex, but the gold-bearing zones tend to be wider and higher in grade where associated with these cross faults.
Several mineralized zones occur on the Hislop property. The mineralized zones occur along a strike length of approximately 1,200 m, following the fault contact between mafic flows to the north and ultramafic rocks to the south. Gold is associated with the margins of feldspar porphyritic syenite dikes that have intruded the mafic and ultramafic rocks. The dikes are generally conformable to the contact between the mafic and ultramafic rocks striking west to northwest and dipping steeply to the north.
The mineralized areas have been called from west to east, the West Zone, Shaft Zone and the South Area.