Summary:
Deposit Types
The Eastern properties, Stock, and Western properties are all located proximal to a 200 km central segment of the PDDZ which has generated approximately 100 Moz of gold since 1910. Over a hundred gold deposits are distributed along this major, compressional to transextensional, crustal-scale fault zone. Studies suggest a long-lived, multi-staged open/close orogenic system resulting in the emplacement of auriferous quartz-carbonate veins - a major component of the greenstone deposit clan (Dubé and Gosselin, 2007).
At the Black Fox and Froome mines, Stock and Western properties, gold-bearing veins are predominantly associated with:
• Structurally controlled dilatant zones (shearing, brecciation, offsets)
• Greenschist facies metavolcanic host rocks
• Crustal scale faults (i.e., the PDDZ)
• Syn-tectonic intrusive bodies
These characteristics are consistently seen at the Western properties, Stock and Froome sites and are classified as orogenic gold occurrences related to longitudinal shear zones. These greenstone-hosted quartz-carbonate vein deposits are a sub-type of lode-gold deposits (Poulsen et al., 2000) and correspond to structurally controlled, complex epigenetic deposits hosted in deformed metamorphosed terranes (Dubé and Gosselin, 2007).
Gold mineralization at the Grey Fox deposit (located 4 km to the southeast of the Black Fox Mine), is spatially associated with syenite, melanosyenite and quartz-feldspar porphyritic intrusive rocks, has a strong metal association with molybdenum-tungsten-arsenic (Kelly, 2018), is observed within narrow quartz-carbonate veins with crustiform and colloform textures, and is spatially associated with a sericite-albite-carbonate alteration. Thus, the Grey Fox deposit could be a series of low-sulphidation gold deposits.
The formational details for the Tamarack multi-metal deposit have not yet been thoroughly determined. Insights collected from two regional experts on volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits (Comba, 2018, personal communication, 26 February; and Riverin, 2018, personal communication) agree that Tamarack lacks the metal-flow indicators (stringer zones), gravitational-separation features, or paleo-volcanic metal phases that are typically associated with the VMS deposits in the Region.
Mineralization
Gold mineralization at both the Eastern properties and Stock is part of a metallogenetic domain, and shares similarities with ultramafic-hosted and associated deposits that occur along the Destor-Porcupine corridor between Nighthawk Lake and the Black Fox Mine to the east. This domain includes deposits such as those at Nighthawk Lake (Porcupine Peninsular Mine, Hopson Zone, Ronnoco deposit), the Aquarius Deposit, the Taylor Mine (West Porphyry, Shoot and Shaft Zones), and the Black Fox Mine. Similar ultramafic-hosted styles are also present along the Cadillac-Larder Lake corridor to the south, as is exemplified by the Kerr Addison Mine. In all these deposits, deposits occur in association with sets of reverse quartz shear veins and associated sets of gently to moderately dipping quartz-carbonate-albite extension vein arrays in areas where strong Complex rheological control influences the position of mineralization in areas of high strain.
Black Fox Mine
Gold mineralization at the Black Fox Mine occurs in several different geological environments within the main ankerite alteration zone. This mineralized envelope occurs primarily within komatiitic ultramafics and lesser mafic volcanic rocks within the outer boundaries of the PDDZ. The auriferous zones have several modes of occurrence, from concordant zones that follow lithological contacts and have been subsequently deformed, to slightly discordant zones associated with syenitic sills and quartz veins or stockworks.
Froome
Known mineralization at Froome is hosted within an intensely altered, steeply to the southwestdipping metasedimentary unit, up to 40 m true width, within the GKDZ. The upper 200 m of the unit is mineralized throughout, with mineralization becoming less predictable and more proximal (within 10 m) of the hanging wall contact.
Grey Fox
Zones of mineralization occur along and adjacent to the eastern end of the Timiskaming Sediment lens, which in the area of the mineralized zones trends northerly and dips steeply to the east.
Mineralization is associated with hematization which occurs in albite-carbonate dominant alteration assemblages often peripheral to mineralized zones, and also as outer envelopes to some veins. Pyritic carbonate-albite-sericite alteration generally overprints the hematite, suggesting that much of the pervasive hematite is early, although later structurally controlled hematite is suggested in vein envelopes as well. The presence of hydrothermal hematite and carbon in vein envelopes suggest that alternating redox states, potentially in response to fluid mixing or evolution, may have contributed to gold deposition.
Stock Property
The prospective PDDZ corridor tracks across approximately 7 km of Stock property. The Stock Mine deposits (N and M Zones; West and Central Zones), have a moderate west plunge defined by the lenticular to lobe-like shapes of hosting mafic volcanic rocks and surrounding carbonate alteration envelope. These are surrounded by lenses of highly strained, talc-chlorite ultramafic rocks (Siragusa, 1994). The quartz shear veins were often accompanied by disseminated pyritic mineralization in shear zones. Pyrite altered, albitized dykes formed additional areas of mineralization sometimes associated with the shear veins (Siragusa, 1994). Gold mineralization in the Stock East area appears to be related to enhanced gold-pyrite accumulation (often exceeding 10%), spread over a wide range of lithologies immediately south of the track of the PDDZ.
Fuller
Most of the mineralization found at Fuller is within the Contact Zone, which is located along the contact between massive and pillowed basalt rock units. Mineralization is characterized by numerous parallel to subparallel quartz-carbonate veinlets hosted within a suite of volcanic rocks. Pyrite is often abundant, both as very fine-grained disseminations and small pyrite trains roughly conformable to the stringers. The Contact Zone meanders along the contact between the pillowed and massive volcanic rock units, and frequently occurs entirely within one of the units. The boundaries of the zone are locally gradational.
A significant type of mineralization is porphyry gold-pyrite-quartz mineralization where the porphyry has been relatively strongly deformed, particularly near the core of the Fuller syncline. Underground drill holes outlined, around the 500-ft level, a possibly continuous zone of mineralization which may extend laterally for more than 122 m and vertically approximately 61 m.
Davidson-Tisdale
Two types of quartz veins were identified on the property (Brooks, 1987). Type 1 are continuous tabular veins striking generally east-west and dipping 15° to 55° to the north. Type 2 are discontinuous, irregular, sub-vertical and steep north-dipping to shallow south-dipping lenses of quartz stringers and veins, striking 040° to 070° azimuth.
Buffalo
Ankerite Studies indicate that mineralization is associated with tourmaline-quartz-carbonate breccia zones located within a narrow pillowed mafic volcanic flow unit of the Central Series, of the Tisdale Assemblage. Breccia fragments are comprised of ankerite-sericite altered pillowed mafic volcanic rocks within a tourmaline-ankerite rich matrix. The finer the size of the carbonatized mafic fragments within the vein, the higher the gold grade.
Paymaster
The main producing area of the Paymaster deposit is associated with the Paymaster Porphyry stock and other small porphyry bodies to the north and northwest with quartz ankerite veins occurring to the north, west and southwest of the porphyry.