DEPNO | COUNTRY | LOCATION | ALLNAMES | COMMODITIES |
40025 | Canada (Saskatchewan) | 59.18.23 N -- 107.10.05 W | Fond-du-Lac Deposit; Fond-du-Lac Radioactive Boulder Train | U |
Database name: | Uranium Deposits, Athabasca Basin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Custodial agency: | Geological Survey of Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compilers: | Sunil S. Gandhi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Release date: | 2007-03-02 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deposit name(s): | Fond-du-Lac Deposit (occurrence name); Fond-du-Lac Radioactive Boulder Train (occurrence name) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political location(s): | Canada; Province or state: Saskatchewan; Nearest community: Fond-du-Lac Settlement (2 km SE) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NTS map data: | 074O06 (Fond-du-lac) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deposit clan (type): | Unconformity-associated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deposit (sub) types: | Unconformity-associated - Proterozoic - clay-bound; deposit mainly in basal Athabasca sandstone; high grade core of pitchblende veins extends into basement; surrounding lower grade zone of disseminations in clay-goethite matrix; outer clay-rich halo; Reference: Homeniuk, L. A.; Clark, R. J. M., 1986: North Rim Deposits, Athabasca Basin; Chapter 4, Section Saskatchewan Unconformity-associated and Sedimentary-hosted Deposits of Helikian Age, In Uranium Deposits of Canada, Edited by Evans, E. L., Special Volume, The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 33, 323 p., p. 230 - 240 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deposit status: | drilled showing; Size category: small; Status comments: first drilled in 1974; more detailed drilling in 1977-'78 outlined a small deposit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Geologic province: | Churchill - Rae Craton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Geologic subprovince: | Beaverlodge Domain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Geologic district: | Athabasca Basin (North Rim) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deposit object located: | outcrop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commodities: | U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mineralization styles: | fracture-filling and associated dissemination; dissemination in goethite; coating; cavity - fill; remobilized ore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Geological ages: | Middle Proterozoic (host rocks) Late Mesoproterozoic - Phanerozoic (mineralization) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tectonic setting: | continental basin-intracratonic; stable; Formal name: Athabasca Basin (host rocks) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coincident features: | fracture(s) (higher grade zone controlled mainly by stockwork of fractures; surrounded by lower grade zone of mainly disseminated, and in part remobilized uranium); Coincident feature name: northeast-trending fracture zone paleoregolith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regional tectonic structure: | fracture zone (mineralization in a stockwork of steeply dipping fractures comprising a zone trending 050°; in the sandstone; a few fractures extend into the basement) Tectonic structure name: steep northeast fracture zone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Host rocks: | (1) metamorphic; metasedimentary schist (meta-arkose and metapelites); Depositional setting: platform-shelf; Metamorphic grade: granulite; Component: basement at unconformity
(2) surficial; laterite (10-15 m thick; thin bleached clayey zone at top, thick red hematitic and green chloritic zones below); Host series: paleoregolith; Depositional setting: subaerial; Metamorphic grade: unmetamorphosed; Component: basement at unconformity
(3) sedimentary; sandstone-conglomerate (30 m thick at the deposit; mainly sandstone with minor siltstone, shale and basal conglomerate); Depositional setting: fluviatile; Metamorphic grade: unmetamorphosed; Component: main mineralized zone
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Country rocks: | (1) granitic gneisses; (ca. 3.05 Ga old granitoids; uncoformably overlain Archean Murmac Bay Group); Country rock name: Archean Basement Complex; Metamorphic grade: amphibolite
(2) metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks; (rift-type dominantly sedimentary sequence; formerly part of the Tazin Group); Country rock name: Murmac Bay Group; Metamorphic grade: amphibolite (upper) - granulite
(3) conglomerate-sandstone; (flat-lying, undeformed, siliciclastic strata); Country rock name: Athabasca Group; Metamorphic grade: unmetamorphosed
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Metallogenic signatures: | U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alteration signatures: | hematization: hematite; What was altered: iron oxides, mafic silicates carbonate alteration: calcite; What was altered: calcic minerals hydration: goethite; What was altered: iron oxides silicic alteration: quartz, replacive and open space fillings; What was altered: host rocks kaolinization: kaolinite; What was altered: silicate minerals oxidation: secondary yellow uranium minerals; What was altered: pitchblende reprecipitation by ground water: extension of low grade zone to the west; What was altered: pitchblende, earlier uranium cncentrations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mineralogy: | (veins and disseminations / main mineralized zone): pitchblende (veins and disseminations / mineralization zone): coffinite, uraniferous goethite (veins and disseminations / mineralization): hematite (veins and disseminations / mineralization zone): calcite, quartz - secondary (veins and disseminations / main mineralized zone): carbon buttons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radiometric ages: | Object dated: Mineralogy(1); Age - Ma: 1,200; -100; Dating method: U-Pb; Concentrate: whole ore; Source rock: uranium ore (high grade); Event dated: mineralization (early); Interpretive comment: initial mineralization age range: 1200-1100 Ma; remobilization or recrystalliztion at 215 and 80 Ma; Reference: Homeniuk, L. A.; Clark, R. J. M., 1986: North Rim Deposits, Athabasca Basin; Chapter 4, Section Saskatchewan Unconformity-associated and Sedimentary-hosted Deposits of Helikian Age, In Uranium Deposits of Canada, Edited by Evans, E. L., Special Volume, The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 33, 323 p., p. 230 - 240 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deposit shape: | lens, high grade core
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Qualified comments: | (Applies to: discovery and development) An airborne radiometric survey was conducted by Mokta (Canada) Limited for Famok Limited in 1967. Followup ground work in 1968 led to the discovery of uraniferous boulder train 10 km long, about 1 km wide, trending 255° in 10 m thick till. Its bedrock source was found in 1969. Deposit was outlined in 1970 by 2245.5 m drilled in 35 drill holes on a 650 m grid. Resources were reported in 1970 based on the detailed drilling: 381 t U in 180000 t ore averaging 0.212 % U at a cut-off grade of 0.05 % U. Furtherr exploration in the area was undertaken by Eldorado Nuclear Limited during 1975-1978. The company carried out detailed drill program of 350 holes spaced every 10 m along lines 20 m apart. The inner high grade zone trends about 235°, and is approximately 390x75m in plan and up 10 to 40 m in height. The surrounding low grade zone is about 30 m wide, but to the west it is as much as 150 wide. (Applies to: mineralization) A relatively hig grade core is surrounded by an irregularly shaped low grade mineralization. The core zone has pitchblende veins along steeply dipping fractures that form a stockwork trending northeast. A few of the veins extend into the basement. The veins are commonly less than 1 mm wide, and contain gangue minerals quartz, hematite, limonite (goethite) and carbonate (siderite). Some coffinite and pyrite are present. The altered host sandstone is dark red and silicified.Toward the edge of the core zone it is grey to white, porous, clay altered, and contains rare carbon buttons. In the low grade zone uranium favours coarse, porous and cross-bedded parts of sandstone that are rich in interstitial clay. A weak white-clay alteration present locally at the unconformity in chloritic paleosol may be related to mineralization. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Links to other databases: | SMDI; Key value: 1572 GSC U-Th File (Prasad); Key value: 2883 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References: |
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Resource data: |
Percent weights allocated to deposit: 100.0% Generated 2007-03-02 2:36:14 PM with GQuery -- 3.7 ADO (3.19/3.20/3.21 -- 2006-02-24) |