RP 569(A) PRELIMINARY REPORT, GEOLOGY OF DRUMMONDVILLE AREA (EASTERN PART), ARTHABASKA, DRUMMOND AND RICHMOND COUNTIES
P.R. 569 GOUVERNEMENT DU QUÉBEC 4. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES ~ Honorable PAUL-E. ALLARD, Minister
MINES BRANCH
GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION SERVICE
GEOLOGY
of
DRUMMOND VILLE AREA (Eastern Parti
ARTHABASKA, DRUMMOND AND RICHMOND COUNTIES
PRELIMINARY REPORT
by
Yvon Globensky
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QUÉBEC
1969 P.R. 569 ~ GOUVERNEMENT DU QUÉBEC
l~ A DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
~3E Honorable PAUL- E. ALLARD, Minister
MINES BRANCH
GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION SERVICE
GEOLOGY
of
DRUMMOND VILLE AREA [Eastern Part)
ARTHABASKA, DRUMMOND AND RICHMOND COUNTIES
PRELIMINARY REPORT
by
Yvon Globensky
QUÉBEC 1969
P.R. 569
Preliminary Geological Report on DRUMMONDVILLE AREA* (Eastern Part)
Arthabaska, Drummond and Richmond Counties by Yvon Globensky
' INTRODUCTION
The Drummondville area, covering approximately 210 square miles, is 75 miles east-southeast of Montreal and 80 miles west-southwest of Quebec City. Bounded by latitudes 45°45' and 46000' and by longitudes 72000' and 72015', it cor- responds to the eastern half of the Drummondville Federal topo- graphic map (31 H/16E). The northern part of the area is in Arthabaska county, the central and southwestern parts in Drummond county and the southeastern part in Richmond county. The area includes Warwick and Kingsey townships, as well as parts of the following: Horton township in the northwest corner; Tingwick township at the eastern border; Cleveland township at the southern border; and Durham township in the southwest corner. Danville is the largest village in the area. It does not support any major industry, most of its labor force being employed in the mines at nearby Asbestos. Other villages * Translated from the French include Sainte-Clothilde, Sainte-Séraphine, Sainte-Elizabeth- de-Warwick, Kingsey Falls and Saint-Félix-de-Kingsey. Numerous gravel roads provide access to the var- ious villages. The main paved road, Highway No. 5, follows the eastern boundary of the area between Kingsey Falls and Danville to the south. The only other paved road, Highway No. 20, cross- es the northwest corner of the area and links Sainte-Clothilde with Victoriaville, which lies outside the area. A Canadian National railway line, along the south- east boundary of the area, joins Victoriaville to Richmond, passing through Danville. 'TOPOGRAPHY AND DRAINAGE Most of the area is of low relief, with an aver- age elevation of 350 feet above sealevel. The topography, how- ever, becomes more irregular to the south, where the tops of some of the hills are 500 to 900 feet above the surrounding terrain. Northeast of Kingsey Falls, a small height of land along the eastern boundary of the area is 750 feet above sea- level.
This elevated section covers only a small part of the boundary east of the map. Deposits of sand and clay, as well as some marsh- land, cover a large part of the area. Outcrops are rare, there- fore, particularly to the north of the Nicolet-Sud-Ouest river. This river crosses the area in a northwest direction and divides it into two unequal parts, the northern part being the larger. Francoeur creek flows into the Nicolet-Sud-Ouest river east of Kingsey Falls. The Landry river joins it north of Danville. The Nicolet river follows part of the northern boundary of the area, exhibiting, in one place on the south side of the river, a perfect example of an oxbow lake. The Saint-François river cuts through the extreme southwest corner of the area. The des Rosiers river, near the eastern boundary of the area, joins the Nicolet river to the north by means of a drainage canal. Streams of lesser importance include the Patate, Dubuc, Abercrombie and Gilchrist. Patate lake is in the northwest corner of the area; Perkins pond and Burbank pond are in the southeast corner. The waters of the area drain to the Saint-Laurent river, mainly by means of the Nicolet-Sud-Ouest river. 3 -
'GENERAL GEOLOGY The rocks of the area are Lower Paleozoic in age. Mostly of sedimentary origin, with some volcanic and intrusive rocks, they have been grouped as follows into 11 formations. Tibbit Hill Formation This formation, generally found at the base of the Oak Hill Group, and thought to be Lower to Middle Cambrian in age, is a gray-green schist of volcanic origin, made up of chlorite, epidote, albite and carbonate. These schists, con- taining amygdules of epidote and albite, are exposed in the southern part of the area. Call Mill Slate This formation, exposed in the southern part of the area, is made up of a pale gray phyllite containing quartz, muscovite, albite and chlorite. Pinnacle Sandstone This greenish gray, white weathering, well strat- ified (although massive-appearing) sandstone occurs at the southern limit of the map-area. Bonsecours Formation This formation, which outcrops in the southern part of the area, is a greenish gray muscovite-chlorite phyl- lite or schist, in places grading to a gray quartz-muscovite variety. Durham Dolomite and Scottsmore Sandstone The white to gray Durham dolomite and the light gray Scottsmore dolomitic quartzite occur as a long band in the southern part of the area; they could not be differentiated in the field. Sweetsburg Formation The rocks of this formation, generally placed at the top of the Oak Hill Group, outcrop in the south-central part of the area and along the eastern boundary. They include a gray muscovite-bearing phyllite with local interbeds of quartz- ite â-2 inch thick, a greenish gray quartzose phyllite con- taining muscovite and chlorite, and a greenish gray dolomitic schist containing quartz and sericite. - 4 .- Format'iori A This formation underlies most of the eastern part of the area and much of the central part. It is made up of gray-black argillaceous, calcareous and graphitic schists, with interbeds of gray to dark gray limestone. Numerous calcite veins cut the assemblage. Cooke (1952) included the limestone in the upper part of the Oak Hill Group; Osberg (1955) considered it as a member of the Sweetsburg Formation. In the western part of the Drummondville area, the author has grouped these limestone beds into one unit (Unit No. 1). Although they show certain similar- ities to the Melbourne limestone, they have been identified as belonging to Formation A, because a definite correlation with the type section at Melbourne could not be established. It is possible that the Melbourne limestones are in fault contact with the limestones of Formation A. It is also possible that we are dealing with the same limestone, but we prefer, for the time being, to place them in separate units. Caldwell Group Rocks of the Caldwell Formation, of Cambro - Lower Ordovician age (Caldwell Group, Cambrian?, Cooke, 1952), outcrop in the southeast corner of the area. They are made up essenti- ally of impure sandstone, with interbeds of gray or green phyl- lite. Lesser amounts of mauve, green or brownish gray phyllite have also been mapped, as well as a very narrow band of basic metavolcanic rock. Formation B Formation B, exposed in the northwest corner of the area, is made up of green and red sandstone, interbedded with red, green and gray slate and minor siltstone. This litho- logy is similar to that of the Charny Formation of the Quebec area and the Granby Formation of the Granby area. The medium to coarse grain gives the sandstone a lithic appearance compared to the other outcrops of the area. The distribution of the components of the rock varies considerably. Grains of quartz and fragments of dark gray slate predominate. At the base of the sandstone beds is a conglomerate made up largely of pea- sized grains of quartz and a few fragments of slate. Primary sedimentary features, such as grain gradation and load casts, are much in evidence where the sandstone overlies the slate. Rare exposures of red slate, in places grading into a siltstone of the same color, have been noted. - 5 - TABLE OF FORMATIONS
Stratigraphic Era Period Unit' Lithology Cenozoic Pleistocene Sand, gravel and erratic boulders Ordovician Dioritic gabbro Formation C Pyroclastic rocks Gray, bluish gray and green phyllite Gray and bluish gray phyllite, with frag- ments and beds of quartzite and sandstone Cambro- Gray to gray-green and red quartzitic Lower Formation B sandstone, interbedded with red, green Ordovician and gray slate Impure sandstone, with interbeds of gray Caldwell or green phyllite Group Mauve, green or brownish gray phyllite Basic metavolcanic rock Argillaceous, calcareous and graphitic Formation A schist, with interbeds of argillaceous graphitic limestone Mainly phyllite and light gray quartz- muscovite schist, with bands of quartz- ite, and minor greenish gray, quartzose muscovite-chlorite phyllite and schist Paleozoic Middle Mainly greenish gray dolomitic quartz- Cambrian Sweetsburg sericite schist, with minor greenish Formation gray quartzose muscovite-chlorite phyllite and schist Scottsmore Sandstone Light gray dolomitic quartzite Durham Dolomite White and gray dolomite Greenish gray muscovite-chlorite phyl- Bonsecours lite or schist with, in places, gray Formation quartz-muscovite phyllite or schist Lower Cambrian Pinnacle Greenish gray sandstone (white weather- Sandstone ing) with a massive appearance Call Mill Light gray quartzose phyllite, with Slate muscovite, albite and chlorite Gray-green chlorite-epidote-albite-car- Tibbit Hill bonate schist, with amygdules of epi- Cambrian? Formation dote and albite 6
Format'iori C This formation outcrops in the southern part of the area. It consists mainly of light to dark gray phyllite, with, in places, fragments and relic beds of quartzite, all somewhat distorted. Pyroclastic rocks also occur, forming a typical agglomerate around the dioritic gabbro on the east slope of Proulx mountain. These rocks are made up of numerous more or less rounded fragments, from a few millimetres to sever- al centimetres in diameter. Most of the fragments appear to be of volcanic origin. The matrix is made up essentially of a devitrified glass, typical of a tuff. It is probable that these extrusions are contemporaneous with the nearby dioritic gabbro intrusions, which are of possible Ordovician age. According to H.C. Cooke (1952), the rocks of Formation C belong to the Ordovician Stanbridge Group. The author, however, prefers to group them provisionally into a formation of possible Cambro - Lower Ordovician age. In the area to the west, these rocks have been grouped by the author as Unit No. 3. It is considered advisable to place these rocks in an independent unit, because, to date, no evidence has been found that they are the same as the rocks originally described as belonging to the Stanbridge Group. Intrusive Rocks Dioritic Gabbro In the Nicolet river, west of the village of Sainte- Clothilde, a small island of dioritic gabbro has been mapped at the contact between the Granby and the Melbourne Formations. A larger mass extends northwest along the east slope of Proulx mountain, to the southwest of Kingsey Falls. These intrusions are probably of Ordovician age. Pleistocene Unconsolidated material covers a large part of the area. It is mainly glacial drift, overlain by a mantle of Champlain Sea clay. The clay contains several shallow-water marine fossils, such as: Macoma balthica, Linné; Hiatella arctica, Linné; and Mytilus édul'is, Linné. Several moraines feature the topography in the southern part of the area. Glacial striations on exposed bed- rock trend S.300E. 7
STRUCTURE The northeast end of the Sutton anticlinorium extends into the area, appearing in two places — in the south and at the eastern boundary. A fault to the east separates the rocks of the anticlinorium.from those of the Caldwell Group. Evidence for the existence of this fault is provided by a stratigraphic break and by the very different structural appearance of the rocks. Northwest of the Sutton anticlinorium and the rocks of the Caldwell Group, considerable limestone belonging to Formation A is exposed. More or less horizontal, this limestone is overlain, in the south-central part of the area, by what appears to be a kiippe of Formation C; the fact that the Formation C rocks are much more deformed than the lime- stones suggests the presence of a low-angle thrust fault. A less probable alternative would be a disconformity. In the northwest corner of the area, although the nature of the contact is unknown, the limestones of Forma- tion A appear to underlie Formation B. Field observations indicate that Formation B, Formation C and the Caldwell Group overlie the limestones of Formation A. From this, we can conclude that at least two of these divisions, i.e. the Caldwell Group and Formation C, are in unconformable or fault contact with Formation A. In the. case.of..Formation B, it must be assum- ed, from. lack of evidence to the contrary, that the contact with the limestones .of Formation A is conformable. There is always the possibility,. however, that the contact is a fault or unconformity.
• ECONOMIC 'GEOLOGY The area contains considerable calcareous slate and argillaceous limestone. According to Faessler (1962), analyses 1236 and 1241, these limestones are composed of a high percentage of CaCO3 (78.39-87.14) and MgCO3 (1.52-1.90), making them of economic interest for the production of ferti- lizer. Moraines are prominent in the southern part of the area, and form a possible source of sand and gravel for use in construction of roads. 20.4.13A
Results of analyses in p.p.m Results of analyses in p.p.m.
Sample Code No. Sample Code No. No. on f N ' No. on of sample the 'T MT= Cu Zn Pb Mo U the in files of Cu Zn Pb Mo Ni U map Dept._ map Dept. 1 151 8 125 140 0 35 2 ç2_ 59 6 90 20 0 25 0.5 2 152 6 90 44 0 20 1 43 60 2 25 10 0 6 0 3 153 2 50 16 0 15 0.5 44 61 2 90 16 0 20 0.5 4 154 2 125 90 0 20 1 45 62 4 40 10 0 2 0 5 155 4 90 26 0 6 0 46 _6_3 4 50 10 0 10 0 6 156 2 40 10 0 6 0 47 6_4 4 40 16 0 10 1 7 157 2 65 30 0 15 0.5 48 65 6 20 8 0 6 0.5 8 158 2 40 10 0 20 0.5 49 66 6 50 10 0 11 0.5 9 159 2 50 6 0 15 0.5 50 67 4 40 16 0 13 0.5 10 161 2 40 8 0 8 0 51 68 8 75 16 0 15 0.5 11 160 2 40 4 0 12 0.5 52 69 2 40 8 0 4 0 12 162 2 60 24 0 6 0.5 53 70 2 90 10 0 30 0.5 13 163 2 40 14 0 5 0 54 71 6 20 6 0 5 0 14 164 2 40 14 0 7 0.5 55 72 4 25 8 0 5 0 15 165 2 50 10 0 16 0.5 56 73 4 25 6 0 8 0 16 166 6 90 20 0 15 - 57 74 4 40 6 0 6 0 17 167 , 2 50 16 0 6 0 58 75 2 25 8 0 5 0.5 18 168 2 40 6 0 8 0 59 76 4 25 8 0 5 0.5 19 169 2 40 6 0 5 0 60 77 6 50 10 0 7 0.5 20 170 4 40 12 0 10 0 61 78 4 25 4 0 6 0 21 171. 2 40 12 0 6 0.5 62 79 4 25 16 0 50 0 22 172 360 125 20 0 10 0.5 63 81 6 20 16 0 6 0 23 173 2 50 14 0 4 0.5 64 82 20 65 20 0 15 0.5 24 174 2 90 16 0 15 1 65 80 10 50 16 ~__16 0.5 25 175 2 50 _10 0 5 0 66 83 8 125 26 17 1 96 176 ? 60 16 0 15 0.5 67 84 6 75 20 0 12 2 27 177 2 90 14 0 15 0.5 68 85 36 250 50 0 20 2 28 178 2 90 16 0 17 0.5 69 86 30 300 50 0 17 2 29 179 9 175 16 0 16 0.5 70 2032 8 25 6 3 - - 30 180 2 25 12 0 2 0 71 ?031 10 20 24 2 - - 31 181 2 100 12 0 18 0.5 79 214 6 5f) 6 0 2 0 32 182 2 50 16 0 6 0.5 73 713 4 65 10 0 15 0.5 33 183 2 60 10 0 5 0.5 74 212 6 40 2 0 0 0 34 184 2 60 12 0 6 0.5 75 211 2 90 14 0 20 1 35 185 2 75 4 0 5 0 76 710 2 140 16 0 0 1 ___3_6______1_8_6 _2 90 18 0 16 0.5 77 209 2 90 6 0 8 0.5 37 187 2 90 16 0 13 1 78 .2 (LS 2 5 0 4 0 0 0 38 188 2 90 _._ 14 0 13 1 _7_9 207 2_ 60 R 0 ? - 39 189 2 50 4 0 4 0.5 _8.D ?06 2 50 6 0 12 0 40 58 4 15 8 0 5 - 81205_ 2 60 R 0 8 0 41 57 2 65 16 0 18 0.5 on 704 7 40 R 0 10 0
20.4.13A
Results of analyses in p.p.m Results of analyses in p.p.m.
Sample Code No. Sample No. on . f sample No. on the in files of the map Dept. map 124 114 4 20 8 0 13 0 202 125 115 16 60 30 0 44 0.5 201 126 116 4 15 4 0 8 0 200 127 117 0 10 0 128 118 6 29 6 0 17 — 198 125 179 119 6 40 10 - 17 0 197 125 130 120 4 29 4 0 8 0 196 60 131 n 8 0 60 337 n 17 n 133 0 18 0.5 93 193 90 10 16 134 124 94 192 60 20 14 135 125 95 191 50 12 13 20 10 96 190 60 10 10 41 16 97 87 40 30 20 138 90 16 98 88 40 15 139 99 89 40 10 13 140 100 90 40 10 18 0.5 141 101 91 50 10 20 0.5 142 50 2 40 10 102 92 90 16 32 0.5 143 51 4 40 4 103 93 25 8 17 144 49 2 25 2 10 1 104 94 40 10 20 145 41 4 40 6 35 1 105 95 25 13 146 40 2 15 4 7 0 106 96 40 23 147 39 4 65 16 32 0 107 97 40 16 148 38 2 40 4 10 0.5 108 98 25 20 149 37 4 50 4 109 99 25 15 350 36 8 50 10 110 100 40 22 1 51 35 8 65 10 11 101 20 13 152 3 8 65 10 102 153 33 4 25 4 2 4 60 6 40 20.4.13A
Results of analyses in p.p.m Results of analyses in p.p.m.
Sample Code No. Sample Code No. No. on of sample the on i n sample the in tiles of Cu Zn Pb Ma NI U the n files of Cu Z map Dept. map Dept. n Pb Mo Ni U 165 8 6 65 50 0 30 0 191 25 6 40 4 0 13 1 166 7 20 10 500 0 92 - 192 26 6 50 4 0 13 0.5 167 5 20 260 360 0 72 - 193 141 50 250 34 0 56 0.5 168 4 36 650 650 0 100 - 194 142 2 50 14 0 28 0 169 6 4 90 50 0 60 0 195 140 6 125 16 0 25 0.5 170 3 30 650 650 0 - - 196 143 4 50 12 0 28 0.5 171 2 2 260 560 0 60 - 197 139 36 180 20 0 100 0.5 172 1 30 650 650 0 100 1 198 144 8 90 16 0 50 0.5 173 9 30 360560 0 120 - 199 145 8 65 20 0 62 0.5 174 10 30 260 1000 0 - - 200 138 16 180 20 0 72 - 175 11 8 50 36 0 25 0 201 137 50 250 40 0 60 0.5 176 12 6 25 16 0 12 - 202 136 6 125 14 0 16 0 177 13 6 25 4 0 13 - 203 135 40 250 40 0 60 - 178 14 4 65 10 0 25 0.5 204 134 40 280 50 0 60 2 179 15 16 60 16 0 - - 205 133 36 250 32 0 52 1 180 16 8 25 • 4 0 13 0 206 132 50 250 36 0 68 1 181 17 10 65 4 0 25 0.5 207 131 88 50 8 0 30 0 182 18 8 90 20 0 60 - 208 130 30 250 8 0 - - 183 19 2 40 2 0 - - 209 129 30 300 26 0 25 0.5 184 20 8 65 10 0 44 1 210 127 6 40 8 0 40 0.5 185 21 6 50 16 0 10 0 211 150 10 100 26 0 72 - 186 22 2 65 50 0 25 - 212 148 6 90 24 0 32 0.5 187 23 8 50 16 0 28 - 213 147 4 65 12 0 30 0 188 24 6 40 10 0 10 0.5 214 146 6 90 16 0 30 0.5 189 28 6 25 2 0 10 0.5 715 128 6 50 1n n 30 n 190_, 27 4 15 4 0 8 0 716 149 10 75 74 0 36 0 5 •BIBL'IOGRAPHY CLARK, T.H. (1931) - Lowest Cambrian of Southern Quebec; Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 42, No. 1, pp. 225- 226, Abstr. CLARK, T.H. (1934) - Structure and Stratigraphy of Southern Quebec; Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 45, pp. 1-20. CLARK, T.H. (1936) - A Lower Cambrian Series from Southern Quebec; Trans. Royal Canadian Institute, No. 45, Vol. XXI, Part I, pp.135-151. COOKE, H.C. (1952) - Geology of Parts of Richmond and Drum- mondville Map-Areas, Eastern Townships, Quebec; unpublished report, Quebec Dept. of Mines. DRESSER, J.A. , (1946) - The Geology of Quebec, 2; G.R. No. 20, and DENIS, T.C. Quebec Dept. of Mines. ELLS, R.W. (1887) - Report on the Geology of a Portion of the Eastern Townships; Geol. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, Vol. II. ELLS, R.W. (1894) - Report on a Portion of the Province of Quebec; Geol. Survey of Canada, Annual Report, Vol. III. ELLS, R.W. (1896) - Report on a Portion of the Province of Quebec; Geol. Survey of Canada, Ann. Rept., n.s. 7, 1-97. FAESSLER, C. (1962) - Analyses of Rocks of the Province of Quebec; Quebec Dept. of Natural Resources, G.R. 103. LOGAN, W.E. (1863) - Geology of Canada; Geol. Survey of Canada, Rept. of Progress to 1863. OSBERG, P.H. (1965) - Structural Geology of the Knowlton-Rich- mond Area, Quebec; Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., Vol. 76, No. 2, pp. 175-192. SELWYN, A.R.C. (1883) - Notes on the Geology of the Southeastern Portion of the Province of Quebec; Geol. Survey of Canada, Progress Rept. 1880, 1881, 1882, Pt. A, pp. 1-7.