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RG 082(A) DOLLIER - CHARRON AREA, ABITBI-EAST AND ROBERVAL ELECTORAL DISTRICTS PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, CANADA DEPARTMENT OF MINES Honourable W.M. COTTINGHAM, Minister GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS BRANCH GEOLOGICAL REPORT 82 DOLLIER - CHARRON AREA ABITIBI-EAST AND ROBERVAL ELECTORAL DISTRICTS by E.R.W. NEALE QUEBEC REDEMPTI PARADIS PRINTER TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN 1959 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 General statement 1 Location and access 1 Previous work 2 Field work and acknowledgments 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA 3 Timber, game, and fish 3 Drainage 4 Topography 4 GENERAL GEOLOGY 5 Table of formations 6 "Keewatin-type" volcanic rocks 7 Andesites and basalts 8 Metadiorites 9 Diorite porphyry 9 Andesite breccia 9 Tuff 9 "Temiskaming-type" sedimentary rocks 10 Feldspathic sandstones 11 Greywacke 11 Hornblende schists and garnetiferous hornblende schists 12 Hornblende schists 13 Garnetiferous hornblende schists 14 Contacts with the southeastern gneisses 15 Metamorphic grade 16 Garnetiferous muscovite schists and gneisses 16 Muscovite schist 17 Garnetiferous biotite-muscovite schist r. 17 Garnetiferous biotite-muscovite gneiss 18 Hornblende-muscovite schist 18 Garnetiferous hornblende gneiss 19 Staurolite-kyanite.schist 19 Metamorphic grade 20 Chibougamau intrusive complex 20 Anorthosite 21 Gabbro 22 Granite rocks 22 Metamorphic grade 23 Garnetiferous conglomerate 23 Page Conglomerate on the Dollier-Lemoine line 25 Conglomerate on Conglomerate lake 26 Metamorphic grade 27 Southeastern gneisses 28 Biotite orthogneisses and composite gneisses 29 Pink muscovite granite gneiss 31 Aplite and pegmatite 32 Gabbro dykes 32 Pleistocene and Recent 33 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY 34 Bedding, schistosity 34 Folds 35 Lineation 36 Shear zones and faults 37 Structural interpretation 38 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 39 Recommendations 40 BIBLIOGRAPHY 41 APPENDIX 43 ALPHABETICAL INDEX 44 MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Map No. 1235 Dollier-Charron Area (In pocket) PLATES I - Barrière Boisvert, at Mile 112.4, St. Félicien-Chibougamau highway. II - Pillowed andesite; south end of Pillow lake. III - Cross-bedded, feldspathic sandstone; island in Stella lake. IV - Garnetiferous conglomerate, Dollier-Lemoine township line. V - Garnetiferous conglomerate, Dollier-Lemoine township line. VI - Augen pegmatite; St. Félicien-Chibougamau highway. VII - Swirly gneissosity in composite gneiss. VIII - Stella lake. DOLLIER-CHARRON AREA ABITIBi-EAST AND ROBERVAL ELECTORAL DISTRICTS by E.R.W. Neale INTRODUCTION General Statement Geological mapping of the Dollier-Charron area was carried out during the 1953 field season. This was part of a systematic mapping program in the Chibougamau region initiated by the Quebec Department of Mines after completion of the St..Félicien-Chibougamau highway. The location of the map-area adjacent to the Lake Chibouga- mau gold-copper belt, and the fact that it is underlain in part by simi- lar rock-types, point to potential economic possibilities. Of more theoretical interest is the fact that a segment of the postulated bound- ary between the Grenville and Superior provinces is included in the area. Location and Access The Dollier-Charron map-area is part of the Chibougamau Sheet, East Half (Map 397A),of the Geological Survey of Canada. It is bounded by latitudes 49030' and 49045', and by longitudes 71+°00' and 74°15', comprising about 200 square miles. It includes Dollier town- ship, almost all of Charron township, and small parts of Queylus, La Dauversière, Lemoine, Vimont, Mance, Obalski and Rinfret townships. The St . Félicien-Chibougamau highway crosses the southwest corner of the map-area and makes it easily accessible by automobile or autobus from all points in the Lake St— Jean region. The southern boundary of the map-area is 112 miles from St.... Félicien. Travel in the eastern and central parts of the area is facilitated by Boisvert river which offers a canoe-route from the high- way bridge at Charron lake to the northeast corner of the area. Good portages connect this river with the large lakes of the region. - 2- The chain of lakes extending north-northeast of Lake Du- fresne, used in conjunction with the old winter road, affords an ardu- ous, but convenient, canoe-and-portage route from the highway to the northwestern part of the area. This part is also accessible from the southeasternmost bay of Chibougamau lake, at the terminus of the old winter road, in the extreme northwest corner of the area. Wynne creek, which flows north through Lake Cinq Milles to Lake Chibougamau, provides easy access to the north-central part of the area during periods of high water. Overland travel is pleasant in the southern part of the area, for the terrane is dry and there is little undergrowth. In the northern part of the area, particularly the eastern half of Dollier township, wet, treeless swamps are numerous and local patches of alders are obstacles to easy travel. Short flights to any of the larger lakes of the area can be scheduled from aircraft bases on Caché and Chibougamau lakes. Previous Work Branch lake, Malo lake (1) and Hauteur lake, in the southwest corner of the area, formed part of a historic canoe route from Lake St-Jean to lakes Chibougamau and Mistassini. James Richardson (1872) surveyed this route in 1870 when travelling north to Lake Mistassini. He noted the presence of grey biotite and hornblende gneisses of the "Laurentian System" in the present map-area. Many geologists and prospectors followed this route in later years, chiefly to explore the mineral deposits discovered around Chibougamau lake in 1903. They contributed little to the geology of the Dollier-Charron area. An excellent summary of this early history of exploration is contained in the Report of the Chibougamau Mining Commission (Barlow, Gwillim, and Faribault, 1911, pp 27-63). (1) The name Poisson Blanc lake (Whitefish) originally referred to the small lake here called Three-Mile lake. The lake now named Malo lake was originally called Narrow Ridge lake - the name referring to an esker on the southern shore of the lake (Richardson, 1872, p. 284; also Faribault, Gwillim, and Barlow, 1911, p. 86). - 3 Work in the Chibougamau region by J.B. Mawdsley in 1927 and 1930 and G.W.H. Norman in 1935 culminated with the publication of the Chibougamau Sheet, East Half (Geol. Surv. of Canada, 1938). The distribution of the major rock-types in the Dollier-Charron area is accurately shown on this reconnaissance map. Mapping on the scale of one inch to a mile has been car- ried out in the adjacent area to the north by Mawdsley and Norman (1935), in that to the west by Imbault (1959), and in those to the southwest and northeast by Gilbert (1959) and Longley (1958). Field Work and Acknowledgements The base map was compiled from various surveys of the Department of Lands and Forests, Quebec. Minor additions and correc- tions were made with the aid of vertical aerial photographs. Rock outcrops along navigable lakes and streams were examined and the intervening ground was covered by pace-and-compass traverses spaced 1,500 to 2,000 feet apart. Segments of adjacent map- areas were examined to compare rock-types and strengthen correlations. André Laurin of McGill University, Pierre Crépeau of Ecole Polytechnique, and Hugh Wynne-Edwards of the University of Aberdeen were excellent geological assistants and cheerful field companions. Marcel and Clément Siméon were capable canoemen. J. Armand Lapointe served as cook. Mr. and Mrs. Phydime Simard, employees of the Depart- ment of Game and Fisheries at Barrière Boisvert, on the Chibougamau highway, showed many courtesies to the party during the field season. DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA Timber, Game, and Fish Except in its swampy northern part, the area is heavily wooded. Black spruce, rarely measuring more than 12 inches through the butt, is the dominant growth. White spruce, jackpine, and balsam are common. Birch, tamarack, and poplar are relatively rare, although stands of large birch are abundant on the drumlinoid ridges northwest of Stella lake, in the northwest corner of the area. Cedar was seen only in the northwest corner of Charron township. Wild life is abundant throughout the area and moose, bear, otter, muskrat, wolf, fox, rabbit, and ruffed grouse were seen during the field season. Pike and pickerel are the common game fish;trout are rare. Two ouananiche were taken from Charron lake in July, 1953. The northern gate, Barrière Boisvert (Plate 1), of the Chibougamau Park and Game Preserve is located at Mile 112.4 of the high- way, on the outlet of Charron lake. The Department of Game and Fisheries maintains guides, boats, and excellent tourist accommodations on this lake. Drainage The northeast-trending boundary line between Abitibi-East and Roberval counties is located along the height-of-land separating the St. Lawrence and James Bay drainage basins. Three-quarters of the map-area lies east of the county line and drains southwestward through Boisvert river. This river enters the northeast corner of the area at an elevation of approximately 1,300 feet and flows to Charron lake, elevation 1,190 feet near the southern border of the area. Charron lake drains via Branch lake into Nicobau lake and from here southeast to Lake St..Jean and the St. Lawrence. The land west of the county line drains northward to Chi- bougamau lake, elevation 1,152 feet, and westward to La Dauversière lake and thence, by devious routes, to James Bay. Topography The map-area has an average elevation of about 1,250 feet. The highest point is Patrick mountain (1), a bedrock ridge immediately west of Lake Malo. It has an elevation of 1,700 feet, 500 feet above that of the lake. Bald mountain, near the southern boundarÿ of Dollier township, and several rock ridges east of Boisvert and Coquille lakes have comparable elevations but less pronounced local relief. (1) Named after Patrick Cleary, a fur-trader in the region during the early part of this century (see Faribault, Gwillim, and Barlow, 1911, p.

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