Preliminary Report, Geology of of the East Half of Daniel Township and of the West Half of Isle-Dieu Township, Abitibi-East County
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RP 503(A) PRELIMINARY REPORT, GEOLOGY OF OF THE EAST HALF OF DANIEL TOWNSHIP AND OF THE WEST HALF OF ISLE-DIEU TOWNSHIP, ABITIBI-EAST COUNTY P.R. NO. 303 DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES RENÉ LÉVESQUE, MINISTER P.E. AUGER, DEPUTY MINISTER Geology of part of the EAST HALF OF DANIEL TOWNSHIP and of the WEST HALF OF ISLE-DIEU TOWNSHIP ABITIBI-EAST COUNTY PRELIMINARY REPORT by John I. Sharpe 80° 8° 76° 74° 12° Eastmain 5_ —__— 52 G~~ _".---- _ - ------~/lR- T • R A I F. Rafe l A IIM R,S de ! Rnprrr l Baf'eds. Rupertlloure r ~ H nnah ~ R. de Raprrt L. NE^uxnu ~-_l' I ~ ! ~ • —~" L Asaa /~ 1 { .p - - -../t: ~ % ;.~ i ~~, '~~ 7 > ~•,_ ~ ~ i 'o.----..„.-41:~ I. hran° 1 ~ ` I' ~~ L. Albvne ~ ' I. ~ ~ 1-. ~~ H_HvulM~~ e7ij'Ji ~/iJiJ é / : _. ~ t.", ~ (fir L`y;,J ~ $ Z f-V L. .fi rv'n'~rn 7~ I Q U É B J E , % C . ..-.._ _ IWL; nirlu } so° ___ --- . ~ ~ ~ 1 ~ C. P~ _ . in ._ 50 Z 1508 .~Ly u rd ~i u- ~wo o~~ 1 L ( a~~L (..,llaw , .~ - Clûpau~ r~l ~ •.,,,,W Malaga ~f,M ~6 t • ~ L. ()18a a.m.r~.. 'r 4 ' S ~ i r L. Waru.alfp~1 . Y_.. ~ ? ~ é ' ~ ~ ~ ~ ,,..77~ ~ ~> ~ I I ~ jrt..Wfrac~~ L. Fnlnrr ~ I ~ ',i I.'QaGilion olB~e u y' Mu k iI rille ' ` . I ! du Male nt DL . fp L. .i64fbf ~Rrn1 Ÿ ~~1. 1y G ra 6 [ rrny. _ ~ ..~ St-FRbl„ J .~ Fand. nnetetrr~ ~ N - v,{ I• 1 ~ I L. Malnrr y 1`SFHV/1H , _ GOIIIN r m~ i Vdd'Or! L IHun _ - â 45 ' 48°..._ _. -~_. ~_ ... _._. -- i 4H ( T~ . .. ...N _..__. Mlei . aT ;_~', BO° '78 ° 76° 74° 72° QUÉBEC P.R. NO. 503 1964 P. R. NO. 503 QUEBEC DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES RENÉ LÉVESQUE, MINISTER P.-E. AUGER, DEPUTY MINISTER MINERAL DEPOSITS SERVICE PAUL-E. GRENIER, CHIEF GEOLOGY OF PART OF THE EAST HALF OF DANIEL TOWNSHIP AND OF THE WEST HALF OF. ISLE-DIEU TOWNSHIP ABITIBI-EAST COUNTY PRELIMINARY REPORT BY J. 1. SHARPE QUEBEC 1964 P. R. NO. 503 PRELIMINARY REPORT on PARTS OF DANIEL AND ISLE-DIEU TOWNSHIPS ABITIBI-EAST COUNTY by John I. Sharpe INTRODUCTION Daniel and Isle-Dieu townships are located 80 miles north of the town of Amos and in the Matagami Lake region of northwestern Quebec. A large-scale search during the last four years has led to the discovery of several copper-zinc deposits in the region. The Quebec Department of Natural Resources has undertaken this mapping project so as to provide detailed geological information on the district, including an integration of the data gathered by private companies during the past few years. The area studied covers ranges T to VII in the west half of Isle-Dieu township and ranges I to VII in the east half of Daniel township; this area of 70 square miles is bounded by latitudes 49043'56" and 49°50'06" and longitudes 77°39'l7" and 77°52'36". The new, 110-mile-long Matagami Lake road extends from Amos to the Matagami townsite near Bell river. A road leading to Allard river and New Hosco.Nines_ branches from the main road some 5 miles southwest of the town- site and crosses the southeast part of the map-area. Chartered air-transportation is available at Senneterre, Amos and Noranda and float-planes land on Allard and Bell rivers and Lalanne lake. The geologic mapping involved field traverses at intervals of 400 feet, logging of most of the drill core in the area and the integration of these data with the detailed ground magnetometer surveys carried out by mining companies. The writer is indebted to the companies and individuals who provided aid in gathering this information. The area lies within the region once inundated by. the glacial lake Barlow-Ojibway and exhibits a characteristic flat topography subdued by deposits of silt and varved clay. Rock knolls and ridges of glacial debris, oriented north-south, provide local relief of 50 to 150 feet. Outcrops are scarce except in the vicinity of Ouabassi, Hatagami and Lalanne lakes. - 2 - Drainage is provided by numerous small and swampy brooks which drain into Allard or Bell rivers or Matagami lake and thence into James bay via Nottaway river. GENERAL GEOLOGY The map-area is underlain mainly by folded vol- canic and intrusive rocks of early Precambrian age. These rocks constitute part of an important volcanic and sedimentary assem- blage within the Superior Province. This assemblage extends east- ward to the Chibougamau region and westward across the Ontario- Quebec provincial boundary. The volcanic rocks of the area range from meta- morphosed rhyolite to thick flows of relatively fresh dacite and andesite-basalt. Intercalated with these rocks are thin bands of tuff and agglomerate. Gabbroic and anorthositic rocks are intrusive into, and folded with, the volcanic sequence, all of which is cut by small masses and dykes of granitic rocks. The youngest intru- sive rocks are Keweenawan=type diabase dykes which traverse trie area in a northeast direction. The predominant structure is believed to be a large anticlinal fold that plunges west and whose axial zone ex- tends west-northwest across the map-area. 3 Table of Formations RECENT AND Fluvial and paludal deposits PLEISTOCENE glacial-lacustrine clay and silt, boulder deposits LATE Keweenawan-type gabbro-diabase dykes PRECAMBRIAN Younger Hornblende granite, aplite, Intrusives quartz feldspar porphyry dykes-, syenite. porphyry Intrusive dykes* Rocks Bell River complex and related Older rocks; gabbro, anorthosite, Intrusives amphibolite, diabase, perido- EARLY tite, diorite, lamprophyre dykes* PRECAMBRIAN Dacite- Andesite-basalt lavas andesite Volcanic Group Dacite, trachyte, rhyolite lavas, tuff, agglomerate, chert Rocks Spherulitic Metarhyolite, spherulitic Rhyolite rhyolite, intermediate lavas, Group tuff, agglomerate, chert *Age relations uncertain. Volcanic. Rocks The volcanic rocks form two distinct assemblages. The older group consists of metamorphosed rhyolite, rhyolite and inter- mediate lavas dnd pyroclastics. These rhyolitic rocks are charact- erized by spherulitic textures and "quartz-eyes" and will be termed the "spherulitic rhyolite group". The second unit overlies the first and consists of thick flows of dacitic and andesitic or basalt- ic composition. These will be termed the "dacite-andesite group". Many of these rocks exhibit low-grade metamorphism of the green- schist facies. There is some intermixing of the rhyolitic rocks in the dacite-andesite group, and vice-versa, which results in considerable uncertainty regarding exact stratigraphie relations over much of the area. For these reasons, only lithological di- visions are shown on the preliminary map. Spheruiitic Rhyolite Group The spherulitic rhyolite group occupies a tongue-shaped area extending from the southeast corner of the area to the south part of the New Hosco Mines property. The position of the contact shown on the map is based on scanty data, but the distinctiveness of the rock types and marker horizons in the overlying dacite- andesite group allows a liberal interpretation to be made. The contact extends northwest from Lalanne lake and towards the large bay in Allard river where it turns ând extends eastward for several miles. The least altered rocks of this group occur near the periphery of the unit such as at the Bosada Syndicate property near Lalanne lake. The drill core here consists of massive, hard and grey spherulitic rhyolite which grades into normal light-grey rhyolitic rocks. The spherulitic rocks consists mainly of light- coloured and spherical to ovoid masses measuring from less than 1 mm. to 6 mm. in size and having selvedges of chloritic and seri- citic material. Vitreous grains of quartz are also present. Iden-. deal rocks are present east of New IIosco Mines property; here,. however, the spherulitic lavas are admixed with texturally lacy siliceous rocks containing pyroclastic material and flows of dark green andesite. Discontinuous bands of fine-grained laminated tuff, coarser tuff, agglomerate and chert commonly occur near or at the contact between the spherulitic group and the overlying dacite- andesite group. The metamorphosed equivalents of the spherulitic rocks outcrop north of Lalanne lake and on the Norvalie property in the central part of the map-area. These rocks are mainly sericite- chlorite schists characterized by numerous quartz grains or"eyes" up to 1 cm. in diameter. Outcrops have a rough pitted surface owing to protruding quartz grains and etched clots of chlorite. The broken surface of the rock is a nondescript dull grey, whereas the weathered surface shows an aggregation of fine siliceous spher- ulitic grains in a matrix of secondary micaceous minerals. Other rock types in the spherulitic rhyolite group are poorly exposed. North and east of Lalanne lake there are outcrops of fine-grained, dark-green chlorite rocks with, in some places, numerous civartz-eyes and spherulitic zones. These are associated with massive, dense and even-grained grey rocks which are believed to be intermediate lavas. No estimate of the thickness of this rhyolitic group is possible due to the folded nature of the unit and the intercalation of gabbroic sills. Dacite-andesite Group A thick assemblage of relatively fresh lavas is present a tratigraphically above the spherulitic rhyolite group. These rocks,which underlie most of the southwest corner of the map-area, 5 are seen in outcrops along Allard river and extend easterly to underlie Matagami lake. Thus the group constitutes the outer zones of an anticlinal structure the core of which is occupied by the older spherulitic rhyolite group. The lower portion of the group consists mainly of hard and dense, light-green pillowed lavas. A characteristic feature of these lavas is an abundance of amygdales filled with quartz and rosettes of a yellowish green mineral of the clinozoisite-epidote series.