GM 24160 MAGNETIC SURVEY OF THE NATASHQUAN IRON-, NORTH SHORE OF THE SAINT-LAWRENCE MAGNETIC SURVEY PU VI C 1

Ministère des Richesses Naturelles, Ruébec

OF SERVICE DES GÎTES Tv1INÉRAUX No GM- :2...1//60

THE NAT ASHQUAN IRON—SANDS

NORTH SHORE OF THE SAINT-LAWRENCE TABLE OF CONTENTS F.ge INTRODUCTION 1 General Statement 1 Location of the area 2 Means of access 3 Previous exploration work 4 Acknowledgments 6 DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA 7 Topography 7 Drainage 8 Natural resources and climate 8 Settlements 10 GEOLOGY 11 Consolidated rocks 11 Unconsolidated deposits 12 OUTLINE OF THE.1951 FIELDWORK 13 Airborne survey 13 Ground magnetometer survey 15 SAMPLING 21 TONNAGE ESTIMATION 25 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND COMPOSITION OF THE IRON-SANDS 27 Granularity ...... ,, 27 Chemical composition 28 Mineralogical composition 28 Concentration of the 29

Concentration of the ilmenite ...,,...... p•.••.• 29 Radioactivity and concentration of the monazite 30

Conclusion ...... • . , . ,F 30 -II- Page ORIGIN OF THE IRON-SANDS 30 OTHER ECONOMIC POSSIBILITIES 32 Peat 32 Clay 33 Ochre 33 Cement _ 3+ CONCLUSION 31f BIBLIOGRAPHY _ 36

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Map A.' Airborne Magnetoneter,Survey,Area, from,Natashquan To Kégashka Bay ... (in pocket) ►' t wAAUL eit.iirov. Map B.'- Map of the Drilling done by Mackenzie-Parsons in 1912-1912 ... (in, pocket) t.".-4- ‘Qa4).6 Map C.- Ground Magnetometer Magnetic Profiles.... (in,pocket) Map D: - Ground Magnetomeer Magnetic Contours of part_of the Deposits ... (in pocket) 1"1=k000' Map E. Ground Magnetometer Magnetic Profiles ... (n p ocket € avloia Map F." - Airborne Magnetometer Pr•lesofi over lain Deposits ... (in pocket) 1"1-,°°°' I'' (acs verges nod' ) Map G:"- Airborne Anomalies verified by Ground Magnetometter Survey ....(in pocket) 1" =- o o®pi+eds Map H. - Deposit outlined by Magnetometer Survey .., (in pocket);"ziooe' Map I.' - Dip Needle Sûrvey Profiles ... (in pocket)t"=to®o' ue"ti Map J« - Airborne Magnetometer Contours over the Main Deposit ... (in pocket) t"Moon° A. - Part of Natashquan village, south of Petite Natashquan river. 1- B. - Na t shquan harbour. 11- A. - Tractor used by the writer's party for travelling along the beach. 11- B. - Mont-Joli, two, miles east of Natashquan lighthouse. 111- A. - Typical peat bog area. 111- B. - Thick, short: and even-topped forest. 1V- A. - Forest destroyed by Insects. 1V- B, - Montagnais Indians of Natashquan post. V- A,.- Natashquan lighthouse. V- B. .. Cross-bedding in sand dunes. V1- A. - Channel sample in iron-sand. V1- B. - Black sand beds near Mont-Jolt. Vil- A. - Vieux Poste point. Viii- - Aerial photograph mosaic of the vicinity of the mouth of Natashquan river, THE NATASRQUAN IRON.-SANDS by Jean Dugas

INTRODUCTION Gànéral Statement Black sands containing iron have been known to be present along the north shore of the lowerSt-Lawrence since the early days of mining in•. Some'of the largest occurrences of them have been described such as those at Betsiamites, , St-John river, and Natas'hquan x (MacKenzie 1912). There has been from time to time serious

References to bibliography (et the end of the report) are given by the author's or authors' names and the year of publication, but if the author's or authors' names appear in the text, the year only is given. moves to work out some of those deposits and, in fact, iron was successfully extracted and shipped to the United States from The Moisie River occurrence, near Seven Islands, between the years 1867 abd 1875 (Mackenzie 1912) until a higher duty on foreign iron ore imported into that country forced the operators out cf the market.. Considerations have also been given to work out some of the other occurrences, especially the deposits of the region of Natashquan which seem to be the largest of the whole north shore of the St-Lawrence. The present need for steel and the high price offered for iron ore increase the interest in these occurrences. The magnetic survey of the Natashquan iron bearing sands which is described in this report was undertaken in 1951. by the Department of Mines to check the extension of the kwnon deposits and the possibility of the presence of other occurrence in the sandy area in which, they lie.

Location of the Atea The area covered by the survey (Map A ) extends along the north shore of the gulf of St-Lawrence between longitudes 0 61 510 and 61° 30' W. It covers, from west to east, the ground included between the village of. Natashquan and Ile Verte, about one mile east of the village of Vgashke. It is roughly trape- ziform in shape being 10 miles wide at Natashquan and only 3

miles at K4geshka. It extends about one and a half miles into the sea and includes the whole of Duval and K4gashka townships. nine-tenths of Natashquan, and one-third of Musquaro township, all in Saguenay county. The village of Natashquan itself (Plate l-A) is situated about 530 and 72 miles respectively downstream from the city of Quebec and Havre St-Pierre, the loading point of the Allard Lake Ilmenite ore. It is also approximately 55 miles due north of the eastern extremity of Anticosti islands

Means of Access A weekly or semi-weekly boat service, maintained by the Clarke Streamship Company Ltd.9 connects the area with the cities of Quebec or Montreal. There is a good deep water harbour at Natashquan (Plate 1-.B3). During the winter, a bi-weekly plane mail and passenger service is maintained to the area by Canadian Pacific Airlines. The area can also be reached in the summer by chartered hydroplanes or flying hosts but landing is only possible by quiet sea and in well sheltered bays. A project of landing ground near the village of Natashquan is, however, presently being studied. The rest of the region, save in exceptionally quiet ,'ays, is accessible by small boat only both shores of Natashquan and K4gashka rivers and at the village Kégashka. Telegraph offices are maintained at the villages of Natashquan and Kegahska. A very rough road joins Natashquan harbour and village to the Village du Poste, along the northern IMF

shore of Natashquan river. A tractor road on the southern shore of the river joins the Vieux Poste to the light-house. The road section between the harbour and the village of Natashquan vas

being repaired for `ate by motor vehicule during the fall of 1951. Previous Exploration Work Richardson visited the present area prior to 1863 (Logan 1863) but does not appear to have considered the economic possibilities of the black sands of this part of the North Shore. S.T. Iluht (1870) studied in 1869 the magnetic sands of the mouth of Natashquan river and presented analyses of smaples he

_collected from then. De Puyjalon (1899. and 1900) also did some geological work in the area at the turn of the century and Obalski (1901) mentioned the Natashquan sands in his paper on the North Shore magnetic sands. He figured out a tannage of one and half mill ions tons of 'pure ore' a mile for a distance of 20 miles along the coast. Dulieux ,(1911) wrote a brief report on the black sands of the North shore with special reference to the Moisie and St-John River deposits. In 1911, the Mines Branch of ttte Ottawa Department of Mines undertook a thorough study of the Natashquan sands and Mackenzie and Parsons made a three year investigation of them. Mackenzie (1912) first outlined, by drilling, a deposit on the south shore of the mouth of Natashquan river containing approximately 500,000 tons of magnetic iron ore at 68 per cent - 5 - iron. The section drilled is included within a zone 12,000 feet long along the sea shore and from 500 to 1.,000 feet wide. The drilling was done by auger drill to an average depth of about 15 feet and not beyond the water level. During the following summer, the ground of the point was tested again with an Empire drill to a depth of about 30 feet and the area explored was appreciably extended ( cf. Map B). In 1913, Parsons (1914) examined an area stretching from Natashquan point to Mont-Joli, a distance of about two miles, and discovered by drilling a deposit of iron-bearing sands larger and richer than the one previously known. The two deposits were explored by drilling on a grid pattern and the area was blocked out into squares of 500 foot sides with drill holes at each corner and one in the centre of eachsquare. The depth of the holes varied between 20 to 40 feet and averaged 23i feet. Theaverage specific gravity of the material was determined, t`-,o sand was assayed and concentrated in the laboratories of the Department of Mines in Ottawa and the tonnage of the deposits was calculated by the prismoid or prism formula depending upon the shape of the blocks (Mackenziel9.15). x This three year investigation :indicated that 27,384,890 tons of iron-bearing sands, averaging 6.54 per cent magnetite, were present between the mouth of Natashquan river and Mont-Joli.x x From a blue-print issued by the Department of Mines, Ottawa.

IMMENIMIANRIF This would yield 1,776,195 tons of magnetic concentrated: 490'812 tons west of Natashquan point and 1,285,383 east of it. Claveau (1950) mapped geologically the section of the north shore of the guld of St-Lawrence between the village tif Aguanish and Washicoutai bay thus including the present area. He collected 14 samples of the iron-bearing sands and had them assayed in the laboratories of the Quebec Department of Mines. Tests made in the same laboratories also showed that a magnetic concentration of the sands was easily feasible. Acknowledgments

The writer is grateful to C.S. Parsons and W.N. Goodwin of the Mines Branch, Ottawa, for premitting the use of all the federal government's records on the Natashquan sands. Thanks are iï Jso extended to C. Landry and W. Landry,, lighthouse keepers at Natashquan point, for their innumerable s rvices including the providing of a tractor (Plate 11.-4) for- travel ing on the beach, a fact that saved much time to the writer's party. T. Vigneault, P.A. Vigneault, M. Laporte, all of Natashquan, were very good and pleasant workers and A. Carbonneau, also of Natashquan' was an excellent cook. For the last six weeks of the field season, the writer's party enjoyed the appreciated help of M. Latulippe, assistant to the resident geologist in Val d'Or. IMO

The writer also wishes to thank W'.Hounsell, G. Hounsell and R. Cromier of Natashquan, J. Court and D. Icing of Icegashka, for boat transportation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE &RE& Topography

The North Shore of the lower-St-Lawrence generally has a high relief and the coast line is usually indented by a great abundance of small bays with numercus islands lying off shore. Sandy terraces generally containing sand dunes occupy, however, large sections of the coast especailly in the vicinity of large river outlets. One of those is the Natashquan terrace which occupies a large southerly bulge along the co-, st, at the mouth of Natashquan river, lust south of the village of the same name, The Natashquan terrace extends downstream for a distance of about 20 miles to terminate one tile west of the outlet of K4gashka river. It covers about 60 square miles of the shore and its surface is generally very flat in sand dunes areas. It increases in altitude northeast- ward. At the immediate shore line, it averages 25 feet in height with a local higher point of more than 50 feet at Mont-Joli (Plate

il-I3). Another smaller terrace occupies a short stretch of the, shore behind the village of Kégashka, just west of the eastern. limit of the present map-area. This terrace is generally low and flatter then the one to the west. Drainage The drainage of the terrace areas here under study is very poor. About 80 per rent of the ground is covered by peat bogs( Plate 111-A) which contain innumerable ponds and small lakes, some of which lie a very short distance from the sea--line and stand at an elevation of many feet above sea level. The larger river of the area, Natashquan river, flows southerly in the northern part of the area but turns southwestward about two miles north of the coast line and flows almost parallel to the latter for about 10 miles. The river which is narrow and deep,. upstream from the sandy area of the Natashquan terrace becomes wide and shallow upon reaching the terrace and is hardly navigable at low tide even by canoe on account • of the abundance of shifting sand bars. The youth of Little Natashquan rivers at Natashquan village, is also very shallow and, at low tide, small boats are easily grounded even over its deeper parts. Natural Resources and Climate Forests do not occupy than 20 per cent of the area and are mostly located in dune sections or along the river banks. They consist of dense growths of black spruce and balsam fir (Plate 111-B) with birches and populars in restricted parts. Few trees, however, exceed 20 feet in height and the only ones that can be used for timber are those growing along the shores of Natashquan river, especially along its northern shore. -9-

A small mill ;s in operation at Village du Poste which supplies the needs of the local ; opulation but a larger scale operation would not be possible. A large area of forest south. of the ri':er has been completely destroyed by insects (Plate1V-A). On sand dunes, the growth is very slow and the writer has seen trees ten feet high and six inches across which are over 100 years old. .On account of the high winds the trees tend to spread out laterally rather than grow in height (Plate III-B) . The peat bog area are devoid of vegetation except for shrubs (Plate III-A). A berry called "chicoutai" or "plaquebiére" grows abundantly over them and a kind of cranberries are very abundant in dryer areas. The principal natural resource of the area lies in the abundance of both sea and fresh water fish including cod,_ halibut and salmon. Throughout the greatest part of the summer, cod fishing is good on the Natashquan banks, off Natashquan point, and both Natashquan and K4gashka rivers are excellent fishing ground for salmons. There has been,however, a decline in the fish population in recent years. A well equipped, fashionable, private fishing club has been built on the first rapid of Natashquan river. Agriculture is almost none-existent and only a very small amount of common vegetables are grown by the local population. The sandy soil is generally poor and the climate is too ;ool and damp for a good growth of agricultural plants. The summers -10 - are cool although the influence of the sea makes the winters more moderate than farther inland. The precipitation is high, fogs are frequent, and the wind is strong especially during the fall season. This and the absence of suitable shelters along the coast makes the navigation along the shore somewhat hazardous.

Settlements

The main settlement of the area is the village of Natashquan (Plate I-A) at the western boundary. It has a population of about 300 Franch-speaking inhabitants. Another 100 live at the Village du Poste together with 75 Montagnais Indians (Plate IV-B). KÉgashka, at the eastern boundary of the map-area, has a population of about 100 inhabitants, all English-speaking. There are two fairly well supplied general stores in the village of Natashquan and groceries at the Poste and at the village of Kégashka. The lighthouse at Natashquan point (Plate V-A), about nine miles slightly east of south of Natashquan village., 1Û equipped with a radio beacon and fog siren,

GEOLOGY Consolidated Rocks

As stated above in the section on previous work, the geology of the bedrock of the area is described at length by Claveay (195C) who mapped, in 1944, for the Quebec Department of Mines a stretch of the coast extending from Aguanish to Washicoutai tay thus including the present area. All the .consolidated rocks of the area of Precam- brian age and consist of gneisses and granitic intrusives. South and immédiately west of the village of Nateshqu-an, the ttcko is a microperthite granite. The same type of rock was found by the writer to crop out along a creek two miles east of the village and along the shore and on the islands of Natashquan river, about two miles east of the village. In the eastern part of the map-area, a gneissic quartz diorite crops out in the vicinity of Anselme river. It is followed downstream by gneissic granite to Oysters bay and then by banded gneiss extending beyond the eastern limit of the map-area. K4gashka, Green, Black and the adjacent islands are underlain by a gneissic quartz diorite similar to the one cropping out farther west in the vicinity if Ansalme river and on the islands lying offshore. Nona of these rocks are normally very magnetic. The strike of the gneissic structures of the different types of rock is generally close to parallel to the shore and their dip is about 300 towards the north. — 12 —

Unconsolidated Deposits

A thick blanket of unconsolidated or only slightly indurated Pleistocene and Recent deposits cover almost ml1 of the bedrock of the area here considered. As mentioned above in the description of the topographical features of the area, those deposits consist almost exclusively of sand, clay and peat. The most common surf.cial deposit consist of a layer of peat up to about 10 feet thick generally underlain by a dark brown partly indurated sand from one to two feet thick and called _' tuf' by the local poulation. Underlain this indurated sand and in the remainder of the area where peat is not present, there is a layer of sand of variable thickness which is underlain by a very fine, bluish grey, plastic clay is exposed at various places throughout the area such es al'ng the shores of Natashquan river, six miles from its mouth and farther upstream; at the mouth of Grand Ruisseau, slightly east of the central part of the map—area, and all along its shore; about half a miles upstream from the where coast, along the Grand Ruisseau, 25 feet of clay are exposed and covered with about 5 feet of sand. Many fossils vere found at this rlace and trees may be seen lying between the clay and the sand. The occurence of trees within the unconsolidated (probal:ly Champlain) deposits is also mentioned by Legget (1945) and Claveau (1950). Clay is also exposed underneath the sand near ~. 13 - Anselme river, about two miles west of Kêgashka harbour, and it is reported by the local people that drilling at the 'mouth of Natashquan river has revealed a thick layer of clay lying only a few feet under the river bed. The layers of clay seem to dip gently towards the

OUTLINE OF THE 1951 FIELDWORK The survey of 1951 consisted of an airborne magneto- meter survey sup lemen.ted by ground magnetometer work. Airborne Survey

The initial part of the field season was devoted to an airborne magnetometer survey of the whole of the coast from Natashquan to Ile Verte. North-south lines were first flown at an altitude of 300 feet above mean ground level at quarter mile intervals over the coast and for a distance between one and a helf to two and a half miles over the sea (cf. Map A). When this general east-west lines of flight at one eight of a rile intervals were flown over an area about seven miles long and two miles wide within the limits of which are located the iron-sand deposits already known. The profiles obatined by the airborne survey were next studied and compared and it was found that the iron bearing sands of the already known deposits were reflected on the aeromagnetic maps as small anomalies superimposed upon the broader pattern of the variations due to changes in the character of the bedrock. This was to be expected, as the depths and volumes of the super- ficial formations containing the iron-sand deposits are very limited compared to those of the bedrock formations and the effects recorded by the instruments are proprotional to the mass. Further - more as the magnetic grains in the sand have been mechanically arranged, it is probable that they are not magnetically oriented and the polarity of the grains is certainly not wholly additive and thence the total intensity of the field created by the masse is not the sum of the fields of e.ech individual grain. It is remarkable that nowhere over the deposit is there any appreciable deviation of the compass. The dip needle is only very faintly affected but reflects the result of the ground magnetOmeter as shown by a comparison of profiles with both instruments (cf. Maps C and I). Very small deposits of massive magnetite or rocks with I per cent magnetite would undoubtedly give much more striking effects. The resolving power of the ground magnetic field 'decreases rapidly with an increase in altitude of the airborne iastrument. It is generally admitted that an air survey= is ap- proximately equivalent to e ground survey in -which the distance between the stations Would be equal to the altitude of the plans. . As all the anomalies of the ground are less than 100 feet wide a distance of 300 feet would obvienuly miss numerous details. NalgalinfilESSZEINWEIMINSIIIMESTMEMBEISKINIMINFAIMINERIENInsownw

If we add altogether the two factors of sharp decrease in • absc7 ute value of magnetic intensity and in resolving power, we can expect by air survey end overall faint picture of the magnetic conditions on the ground. A rich concentration and low flying is therefore necessary to pet appreciable results by the airborne survey. The anomalies caused by the iron—sand deposits are perhaps more easily distinguished on the original profiles from which the map is compiled. Maps F shows typical examples of the anomalies recorded as the lines of flights crossed the main deposits. Thus, there ere sharp anomalies from the point of Vieux Poste eastward to about 4,000 feet west, of the lighthouse, I. e,, over the deposit at the point (Mackenzie—Parsons deposit). The deposit east of the lighthouse is also indicated by sharp but less regular ancma1ies and its shape is only roughly suggested

with magnetic lows within the deposit (cf. Map J).~

Ground Na txnetorneter Survmy

The first ground magnetometer work consisted in a detailed survey of the eastern psrt cf the already known and sampled deposit lying immediately east-northeast of the lighthouse, The purpose of this survey was to test the effects of the various known concentrations of magnetic sands on the instrument so as to be able to interpret more accurately the magnetic ground

profiles over unknown and untested areas. -16-

Fourteen lines which had been traced at 500-foot intervals for the 1913 drilling end sampling by Parsons (191+) were surveyed (Map C, lines 0 to 12) with re^dings recorded at least every 100 feet. Where air profiles showed a single large anomaly, ground profiles indicated a series of small sharp anomalies, generally less than 100 feet apart, corresponding to the location of sand dunes, with the maximum magnetic intensity on the top of the dunes. Where those topographic features are absent, the magnetic variations were found to be much smaller as if the dunes were loci of concentration of magnetic sand. As soon as the boundaries of the iron sand deposit,. were transgressed by the survey, the magnetic variations decreased sharply in intensity (Map C). Some of the lines of survey were pro] ongated inland beyond the deposit, two of them up to tata sh- quan river (Map C). A contour map of the ground magnetic variations of the area of the deposit (Map D) shows that the elongation of the patterns of anomalies is parallel to the orientations of the sand dunes and that the concentrations of iron sands are more consider- ab?e in the eastern part of the deposit. By superposing the drilling

reeults over these contours (Maps B and D), a correlation is easily established between the anomalies and the concentrations of iron in the sands: magnetically flat areas correspond to low concentrations iron ore whereas regions of high magnetic disturb- ances are higher grade ore. It would be, however, misleading to attempt a determination of the grade of the ore only by means of

ifilSILISSESTABIENSTIE ..17— the relative intensity of the magnetic variation because of the other factors which enter into the picture such as the effects of the topographical features of the area, the character of the under]ying bedrock, and the irregular distribution of the iron ores as to depth and compactness. Some 22 lines of survey were made outside the known deposits to test the ground for other concentrations of iron sands, ,The position of those lines (Map A) was governed:partly'by the position of some magnetic anomalies revealed in the airborne magnetometer survey, partly by the topographical features of some sections of the area. All the sharp anomalies similar to the ones occurring over the known deposits in the air survey and especially those oriented across the general strike of the under- lying rock formationsmations were surveyed. from the ground, together with other places where magnetic anomalies coincided with some topographical features. A sharp anomaly (line 35 south, Map G) revealed in tkie air survey as crossing the general strike of the underlying bedrock .formations between four and five and a half miles east of the P,atashquan lighthouse was investigated by three ground survey lines (J.K.L. ,. Nap A). The magnetic profiles produced by this survey (Map E) show that the magnetic let ,r'ba rca the is due to a bedrock anomaly since, its intensity is only about twice as considerable as the one shown on the air survey profile (those due to the overburden were found in the known iron sand deposits to be some 20 times greater on the ground than in the air:) and it has a regular shape. No important black sand concentrations were observed at the sea cliff at that place. Another very sharp anomaly revealed in the air survey (line l+, Map G) to exist from about two miles east of the village of Natashquan and in a continuous northeasterly trending zone e-xtending to the northern boundary of the surveyed area. One ground survey line (A-1, Maps A and E) put across the anomaly revealed there also the characteristic features of a bed rock anomaly probably caused b.y an elongated intrusive body some 800 feet wide. A grounf cehck (line U, Maps A and E) on a third anomaly (line 66, Map G), half a mile west of Grand Ruisseau, showed the same characteristic features of a bedrock anomaly. A series of small, superposed anc.malies (line 75 north , Map G) north of Natashquan river, were 'also tested by one ground survey line (A-7, Maps and A and E). The ground magnetic'anomalies were found to be small and the ones of the northern two-thirds of the line are probably from bedrock formations whereas the one farther south et the top of small ridges are possibly due to small concentrations of irc_.n 5,,ands.

The position of the other lines was governed mainly by topographical features combined with small humps on the profiles of the iar survey. A series of elongated sand dunes, parallel to those of the main iron sand deposit of Natashquan point and - 19 located along the shore about five miles east of Mont =Jolt, were thoughout to deserve a careful ground investigation on account of the torographical simnilnrity between the two places. The aero- magnetic profiles showed a small hump over the dune area (line 43, Map G) and a serie of six north- ;oath ground lines (cf. Map A ) were surveyed by ground magnetometer across the dune area. The anomalies shown on the resulting ground profiles indicate the presence at that place of a elongated small deposit of iron-bearing sand (Maps H and ?) of possible economic value. Another area of send dunes slightly over two miles north of Mont-Joli was tested by ground survey but the small magnetic anomalies of the profiles indicate only a low tenor of magnetic sand in the dunes. A three miles long, east-west line wes also surveyed slightly less than a mile north of Village Du Poste, along the north shore of the mouth of I'Jata shquan river, to test the possible inland extension of a seven foot layer of iron-rich sand visible along the northern bank of the river about three miles upstream from the sea shore. The ground magnetometer survey indicated that the concentration of iron rich sands extends at least 2,000 feet inland but probably not much farther north since there is no indication on the air profiles but a banding of magnetite contour lines along the shore of the river. A few magnetic readings were also tek.en at Kégashke river, where one foot of almost pure magnetite sand is exposed, and at a few places from the vicinity of Kégashka to the eastern limit of the surveyed area to test the possible inland extension of beds of iron sands exposed along the shore. The readings obtained from the survey indicated only small areas of concentra- tion of iron sands. Other parts of the area (Map A) were also tested by ground magnetometer survey; more could have been tested but the work done by the writer is plainty indicative of what may be expected throughout the whole area. It is obvious that any deposit comparatle in size and richness with the known Mackenzie-Parsons deposits would have been discovered in the course of this survey. Many magnetite anomalies of relatively large areal extent were riot tested but these are not believed to be related to sand deposits, as indicated by their elongation parallel to the general trend of the bedrock formations and theit cross cutting relationships. with topographic features. Some large anomalies were found over the sea particularly in the eastern part of the area. These could not Obviously be tested but their extension . inland without break or deviation on the shore line indicate that they are due to bed- rock formations and not to concentrations of magnetic sands. Some anamolies would have definitely been tested by ground survey had they not been over areas underlain by rock or clay covered with,- a trin layer of sand and peat. Such was the case east of Kégashka river, where rock is almost continuously exposed, and in the northern part of the area, which is mostly underlain by clay. All topographic features suggestive of black sand concentrations were tested and, futhermore, the scarps along the - 21 - rivers and the sea, which are only sparsely covered with vegetation, were examined and any other major concentration over the sea level would have been plainly visible. Some of the lakes have sand beaches but no appreciable concentration of black sand could be observed in them. We may then affirm with reasonable certainty that no major concentrations of magnetic sand exist in this area which are not mentioned in this report.

SAMPLING Outside the deposit, where sand cliffs are exposed, mnetic grains or stringers may be seen and it is possibel with a hand mac-net to draw magnetite. Small magnetic anomalies detected by the ground magnetometer on many small dunes or ridges indicate minor concentrations. It was, therefore, thought advis- able to do a preliminary samp.ing of those sands wherever good sections were exposed, at regular intervals of about i mile along the river and sea shores.

The samples were of the ordinary channel type (Plate VI-A) and many of them were not taken across the whole section such as in the cases where sand has accumulated at the base of the cliff or where an appreciable amount of clay underlies the sand. All samples were cut in 100 grams portions by the Jones sampler and the magnetite was separated with an Alnico hand magnet and purified from ilmenite and gangue lttachments by holding the magnet about half an inch away from the concentrate. The accuracy of the • - 22 OOP

results obtained could not be chacked, but the percentage of error cannot be very great. In 1911-13 field samples separated with hand magnet checked fairly well with laboratory analyses. The results of the sampling are listed below and the location of samples is indicated on the accompanying map A.

SAMPLE NO. LENGTH OF CHANNEL TOTAL THICKNESS % MAGNETITE REMARKS (Feet) OF SECTION(Feet ) ~ 16.5 16.5 1.5 Dunes 9 0.6 5' clay not sampled 3 12 12 0.6 4 9 9 0.8 5 9.5 11.5 1.5 2' clay, not sampled 6 12.5 12.5 0.8 clay at river level 7 8.5 8.5 0.3 8 15 15 0.9 6.5 6.5 0.2 10 9.5 9.5 0.8 11 11.5 11.5 1.5 12 17.5 20 1.1 13 10 12 0.3 14 h 19 0.2 15 18 23 0.3 16 30 35 0.6 17 28 35 2.9 71 rich in black sand. 18 7 7 0.4 19 18 20 0.4 clay at river level; 500 ' up; 3' clay. 20 17 24 0,6 21 18 21 0.8 22 18 36 2.9 2" beds black sand at surface. 23 4o 55 1.0 24 50 50 1.2 0 0 26 35 0 ô.8 27 34 1.4 0.4 ~ 28 35 '.2 1.0 23 SAMPLE NO. LENGTH OF CHANNEL TOTAL THICKNESS % MAGNETITE REMARKS (Feet) OF SECTION(Feet) a 29 40 50 1.2 36 35 35 0.4 few clay beds. 31 26 31 0.5 5' clay, not sampled. 32 ;8 22 1.6 4' clay, not sampled. 33 23.5 23.5 . 1.9 clay at river level 34 5.5 5.5 0.4 Dune. 35 5.5 5.5 0.8 3â 4 4 1.0 37 14 17 0.1 *clay sam- pleca, 38 17 17 .0.2 39 21.5 25 0.8 3~' clay not sampled. 40 27 28 .1.2 27 42 32 Q.5 43 39.5 39.5 1...9 44 11 11 1.6 46 17.55 17.5 1.0 47 25.5 31.5 .0.6 48 16.5 21.5 .4.8 rich, non re- presentative section. 49 11.2 16.2 0.4

Sample no. 48 was taken from the richest section along the west shore of the Kégashka peninsula arrï is not considered . the -fore to he representative. The average magnetite content of the whole of the sands of the area is thus near 1 per cent and t maybe seen that magnetite is universally present, though, in places, in very small amounts. It would undoubtedly be possible to eliminate some very low tenor areas and to improve the grade slightly, As there is probably more than one billion tons of sand in the area, low - 24 grade ore of this order could possibly economically treated if very cheap methods of mining could be used. The 1913,13 drilling and sampling is shown on map B. More drilling has been done before or after that period but there are no. records of:i'it.• In addition, Mackenzie drilled a test hole down to bedrock, half a mile above the first fall of Natashquan river, but no black sand was found within 12 feet from the surface. Thin concentrations of black sand are, however, common on the banks of the river. Two 14 foot holes, 5 and 9.miles upstream from the mouth of the river, were reported to have shown that the sand contains there an average of about 1.5 per cent magnetite. A sample (A) has been collected for mineralogical analysis, 250 feet east of the lighthouse, on a small cliff of recent formation, and assayed 29.9 per cent F2 and 4.8 pe.r. cent Tî02. A few holes were drilled here and there in the area during the fall of.1951 by interested companies but no results of this drilling were available in the spring of 1952. TONNAGE ESTIMATION

Any estimation of tonnage without drilling and detailed sampling is certainly hazardous since figures on the tickness of the deposits and on tenors are only approximate and the following results should not.be accepted without restriction. However a compilation may present some intere:-:t as to tonnage approximation. Parsons' calculations can be fairly well accepted. His work is certainly quite complete and detailed thus the figures he presents on the area surveyed by him are the most accura#Pe that-we possess. A zone of grassy dunes extending along the sea from about 1,500 feet west of Petite Riviére to about 2,000.feet west of the lighthouse,which was drilled and sampled by Mackenzie in 1911, does not seem to be included in Parsons' tonnage. This zone is quite rich and, from Mackenzie's figures, the average tenor in magnetite would be 10.4 per cent magnetite for its eastern section and 1000 per cent west of Petite Riviére, for an average depth of 14.E feet. The whole zone Would thus contain 156,000 tons of magnetic concentrate from 1,532,000 tons of crude sand. This may be a conservative figure since theequlpment used at the time of the drilling could not be operated in wet ground, below water level. Along the whole length of the beach, at the base of . the terraces, there is a rich concentration of black sands produced by the erosion of the deposits by the sea. The black sand is -26- reconcentrated by the waves and tides and this type of deposit was classified as "tidal sand" by Du]:ieux (1911) in opposition to "terrace sand". Beds of almost pure magnetite, some of a thickness reaching one foot, are visible et the base of the cliff opposite the main deposits and, from a few shovel borings on the beach, it was found that the beach concentration there ervten6s for a distance of about l5 :miles along the shore over an averege width of about 20 feet and a mean thickness of possibly 5 feet. This would thus possibly represent 404,000 tons of sand of probable 10 per cent grade giving about 40,000 tons of magnetite concentrate. A rough tonnage estimate of the area of iron sand concentration discovered by the lErter about 5 miles east of Mont-Joli can also be made from the little information we have. We may, from the drilling of the deposits farther west, suppose. an average thickness of 10 feet for the deposit and judging by the intensity of magnetic anomalies it seems that the richest part of this deposit contains approximntely 4 ppr cent magnetite. If we take an average of 2 per cent and, assuming a specific gravity of 100 lbs/ cu. ft., we reach a total of about 200,000 tons of magnetic concentrate. Finally, if we suppose that shore of Natashquan river extends 3 averages 25 feet in depth and 3 per cent magnetite, it produce 20,000 tons of magnetite concentrate. -27- Thus the total tonnage of the iron bearing sands would be: ~r~~metite coni:ent Crude sand Mackenzie-Parsons deposits 1,776,000 tons from 27,395,000 tons

Zone.o_f grassy dunes 156, 000 It It 1,532,000

Beach concentration 40,000 n It 400,000

Dune area east of Mont-Joli 200,000 f1 It 11, 000, 000

North shore of Mata shquan 20,000 It ft 7041,000 TOTAL 2,182,000 41,027,000 The average percentage would be close to 5 per cent magnetite. To this, we could add 1.0,000,000 tens of concentrate from 1 billion tons of sand at 1 per cent magnetite. It could undoubtedly be possible to reduce the tonnage and improve the tenor by selective mining of the sands. P? YSICf4L PROPTRTIFS \ND COMPOSITION OF THE IRON-SODS

Studies have been made at the laboratories of the Quebec Department of Mines f Cla is se and Girault 1951) on a natural iron ore concentrate from Matashquan asJ to granula- rity chemical and mineralogical composition, concentration of the manazite. The results of this study are summarized. below. Granularity Granulometric analysis proved that 80 per cent of the sand grains have diameters between 0.15 and 0.25 mm. and 98 per cent between 0.10 and 0.30 mm.

-NERICEMS -28 -

Chemical Composition Spectographic analysis lead to the recognition of the following elements in the sand: Fe,Ti,Si, \1,Mg', Zr, Na, Ca, Mn and V. By chemical methods the proportion of elements Was determined as follows:- Fe a 60.94 per cent S- 0.042 per cent Ti¢ 6.91 " " P- 0.004 si M 0.89 " " Pt - 0.00. Oz/T. V - 0.09 " " Au 0.000 "

.Mineralogical Composition The smaple to be analysed iras divided in. decreasingly magnetic portions and analyses were made on each portion on a chemical basis, by diffraction of X-rays and by microscope. The concentrate was found to contain the following minerals. Magnetite: 47.3 per. cent Iltnenite: 22.2 Hematite: 24.5 " : 1.8 " f® a Amphibole: 0.63 " a t Rutile: 0.05 " a 3.28 e Andhyt.?rite: 0.05 " a Plagioclase: 0.09 " a a Zircon: 0,66 " Quartz: 0.07 " -29-- Concentration of the Magnetite A concentration of the magnetite was done by Alnico magnet on crude and by a Davis separator on sand pulverized to 150 mesh. in both crises, the recuperation of the magnetite was almost 100 per cent,. I seems, however, that gangue attach- ments are more numerous in crude sand. A sample (A) collected 250 feet east of the Natashquan lighthouse was found to contain 7.5 per cent Sio . after magnetic separation. Grinding would 2 lower this percentage. The concentrate contains about 6 per cent ilmanite-hematite with the Davis separator and 8 per cent with the Alnico magnet. It is possible also to arrive at a fair con- dentration by mere sieving, magnetite grains being, as a rule, much. finer than gangue minerals. A concentration would also be possible by gravity processes, as it is done in nature, but the concentrate is soiled by other heavy minerE-ls such as zircon, garnet, ilmenite end hematite. Concentration of Ilmenite

A concentrate obtained by means of the Alnico magnet and Frantz Isodynamic separator was pulverized to 270 mesh and separated by a Davis separator into a highly magnetic and a para- magnetic portion. The paramagnetic portion contalned ilmenite and hematite. The latter non magnetic mineral, if free, would have been separated easily from paramagnetic ilmenite in the Frantz separator. However, the best concentration obtained was 39 per cent ilmenite. A microscopic study has proved that free ilmenite -30- and hematite grains are very rare, that both minerals are finely intergrown, and that an extremely fine, very expensive grinding of the order of 1,600 mesh would be necessary to liberate ilmenite. Radioactivity and Concentration of the Monazite The radioactivity of the sand is extremely faint. Measurements on beta radiations have lead to the detection of a radiactive mineral identified as monazite by X-rays and optical methods. A separation• was first made by sieving at 60 mesh and then, by the Frantz separator, to a concentration of 3 per cent . It is estimated that the original sand contained 0.002 per cent Th. Conclusion

It was thus found that the essential condltuent minerals of the iron-sands are: magnetite, ilmenite, and hematite. Ilme nite cannot be, at the present time, economically extracted. Magnetite can be easily concentrated to a pure product. ORIGIN OF THE IRON SANDS The normal succession of sands overlying clay and the occurrence of marine fossils within the clay constitute good evidence that these found in the sand of the terraces but they are abundant in the sand of the present beach at the water line. -31-

The physiographic history of Natashquan river which carried the sand from inland to the shore is obviously very complicated. , A study of the topography from air photographs ' is however very instructive (Plate Vlll): We note, first, that successive beach deposits occur as semicircular ridges, parallel. to the present day shoreline, between Natashquan village and post., Those north-south trending topographical features are cut off at about right angle by Natashquan river to the south of which the topographical features are elongated almost due east-west,, parallel to the course of the river.. It is probable that the river flowed at one time almost straight southward instead of bending to the west at the islands., The shoreline .:-t the former. mouth of the river is visible near Duval tower, where a concen- tra.tion of block sand is present. Due possibly to a change of conditions of some sort in the marine currents or to an uneven uplifting of the land, the river gradually shifted to the west, till the magnetite deposit east of the lighthouse came to ,be on the e-st bank of the river. That former ned is there indicated by low ground and a still more recent bed is visible parallel to the present 'wed of the river. It seems from the very straight shoreline from the lighthcuse to Kégashka river and the cutting of sand ridges that uplifting is not taking place at the present but, on the contrary, the sea waves -re eroding the ,shore. Natash- quan Point is no: under wave action at high tide and is being slowly crunched. This results in a weaker current at the mouth of the river and consequently the stream is aggrading its bed. The changes are relatively slow, however, and air photos taken 20 years apart show only slight changes such as tc the shape of sand bars and spits. Recent erosion cut into the black sand deposits and this black sand was carried and concentrated along the beach to form the tidal sand derosits. The elongation and continuity of sand ridges in the three main deposits, a little south of east across the general sand structure, is remarkable. It could be due only to wind action et to the combined effects of sea and river currents. Wind does not seem to be a very efficient way of concentration because the higher gravity of magnetite is compensated by the greater fineness of the grains. Separation tests with the Utrillo tubes proved entirely unefficient. Sone dunes, obviously formed by wind, like those south east of Natashquan, do not show any significant concentration. Wind dunes are also liable to be discontinuous. The ridges forming t e deposits are,, on the contrary, very continuous and have thick black sand beds, that reasonably could be concentrated only by water section. It is probable that the concentrations were due to favorable combined effects of sea and river action. It is noticeable that all black sand deposits are close to a river. OTHER ECONOMIC POSSIBILITIES

All the unwood area, which constitutes at least 80 per cent of the total area, is covered by peat. A thickness of 1 to 5 feet is exposed along the sea shore but drilling some -33-

49006 feet west of Mont-Joli has indicated thickness of 10 feet. It is obvious that there is a tremendous amount of peat within the area. Peat may be used as a fuel also for isolation, sound-proof boards, pannel boards, etc. It is also used in the extraction of magnesium from brucite as a mean of increasing the porosity of the melt. Peat bogs also constitute ideal ground for the cultivation of cranberries. The peat contains fragments ' of. wood and no study has been made as to its quality. Clay Clay, Underlying the sand, is exposed particularly in the northern section of the area. It is a grey to bluish, apparently very pure material and could probably be used in the fabrication of bricks. Ochre Some open swamps are covered with a thinlayer of red-brown ochre which in places escape through brooks. One of these, on the north shor4 of Natashquan river, has been called "Ruisseau â peinture" because local people once used the ochre it contains as paint. This iron oxide was probably formed by the leaching of ferromagnesian minerals in the upper layer of the sand. A sample taken from the surface of a swamp along survey line No.4 (Map A) was found to contain 42 per cent iron. X-rays revealed that the. substance which is amorphus in a natural state can be easily transformed into well crystallized

~., • -3~ hematite by calcination. It vas also shown by thereto-balance that the substance registers a loss of 22 per cent in weight. between 12.5 and 2508 C. The main ochre swamp area, en the south bank of the Great Natashquan River, is about one mile wide and four miles long. The swamps elongated parallel to the river shore have a reddish tinge and, were concentration seems good, they form farily solid ground. ot walk on. Ochre is thought to cover about 10 per cent of the area and the thickness of the deposits is unknown: It is doubtful that the ochre could be economically worked cut. Cement sand Sand is never coarse enough to be used as gravel but could probably be used in the making of cement. CONCLUSION

There is evidently, in the Netashquan area, at least close to 2,000,000 recuperable tons of pure magnetite, from about 40,000,000 tons of crude sand. This tonnage could possibly be increased by testing deeper horizons. The average magnetite content of the sand outside the known concentrations is close to 1 per cent. A complete financial study of the problem would be necessary for any one interested in mining these sands.. It will suffice here to bring in a few considerations. The extraction of the sand could be cheaply done by dredging but we must INEVEREEMBEEMINV-

consider the fact that a 'redge would have first to mine low- grade sand in order to reach the richer deposits. The problem of disposal of the barren sand is an embrassing one. Natashquan harbour is situated 6 miles from the nearest irlportant black sand concentration and cannot he reached by land on account of Natashquan river w?'ich is not navigable except by very small boats. The cost of construction of a• new dock would probably be prohibitive. It rust also be considered that the working season is about 7 months a year. Two alternatives should be studied: either mine small tonnage with high grade, which could probably be more than 15 per cent magnetite, or large tonnage with low grade. A financial study of the operation could solve the problem in both cases but is beyond the scope of this report. -36- BIBLI0GRAPHY Claisse,F., and Girault, J.P. (1951); Etude des sables noirs du Québec, Partie I, Ninist6re des Mines, Québec. Claveau, Jacques (1950); North. Shore of the Saint-Lawrence from Aguanish to Washicoutài Bay, Saguenay County; Quebec Dept. Mines, G.R. No. 43. De Puy jalon, Henri (1899) ; Monograph of. the Minerals of the North Shore of the Gulf of St-Lawrence; Report of the Commissioner of Colonization and Mines of Quebec for 1898, pp. 269-270. De Puyjalon, Henri (1900); Annexe to the Report of the Inspector- General of Fisheries; Report of the Commissioner of Lands, Forests, and Fisheries of. Quebec for 1900,pp. 86-87. D' .eux, E. (1912) ; The Magnetic Sands of the North Shore of the Gulf of St-Lawrence; Que. Dept. Col. Mtn. Fish., Rept. Min. Oper., 1911, pp. 135-159. Hunt, T.S. (1870)• Report of Progress from 1866-1869; G.S.C., pp. 265-267. Legget, R.F. (19+5); Pleistocene deposits of the Shipshaw area, Quebec; Royal Soc. Can., Proc. Trans., ser. 3, Vol. 39, sec. 4, pp. 27-39. Logan, (Sir) W.E. (1863); Geology of Canada; G.S.C., pt. IV. MacKenzie, G.C. (1912); The Magnetic Iron Sands of Natashkwan, County of Saguenay, Province of Quebec; Canada Dept. Mines, Mines 7. ranch, No. 145. MacKenzie, G.G. (1913); Investigation of the Magnetic Iron Sands at Natashkwan, Quebec; Summ. Rept., Canada Dept. Mines;. Mines Branch, No. 224, pp. 69-71. MacKenzie, G.C. (1915); The Magnetic Iron Sands, Natashkwan, Saguenay County, Quebec; Summ. Rept., Canada Dept. Mines, Mines Branch, No. 346, pp. 124-130. Oba iski, J. (1901); Notes on the Magnetic Iron Sand of the North Shore of the St.Lawrence; Can. Min. Inst. Jour., Vol. 4,pp. 91-98. Parsons, C.S. (1914); Investigation of the Magnetic Iron Sands at Natashkwan, Quebec; Summ. Rept., Canada Dept. Mines, Mines Branch, No. 285, pp. 90-96. PLATE I

A.- Part of Natashquan village, south of Petite Natashquan ricer.

~

B. Natashquar. harbour. PLATE II

A.- Tractor used by the writers party for travelling along the beach

B.- Mont-Joli, two miles east of Natashquan lighthouse PLATE III

•

~•® Typical peat bo,7, area. •

B.— Thick9 short and even—topped forest. PLATE IV

Forest destroyed by insects.

B Montagnais Indians of Natashquan post. PLATE V

C v

Natashquan lighthouse,

If

t.

B°- Cross-bedding in sand dunes. PLATE VI

e

A.- Channel sample iron-sand

B.- Black sand beds near Mont-Joli.

`.1fiPO'

1 a • PLATE VII VO!

A.- Vieux Poste point.

ECWEL:l..E HORIZONTALE I" = 10° :. rAa it•I I'.ts_ i/t•[9"1'tr.A t'.L t t) .. ttaliiilt tlsi'iCLt.r. , V tvpaa..G t ~ tur.rv ESPACEMENT MAXIMUM DES LECTURES 1 fJC'►'

.:N .4TJaS ti ® U-A-N C 0: S A► .t.13.E.NAY,.-•

552 feuillet "I