Database name: |
Uranium Deposits, Athabasca Basin |
Custodial agency: |
Geological Survey of Canada |
Compilers: |
Sunil S. Gandhi |
Release date: |
2007-03-02 |
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Deposit name(s): |
Collins Bay B Uranium Deposit (occurrence name); Collins Bay B Zone (mine name) |
Political location(s): |
Canada; Province or state: Saskatchewan; Nearest community: Rabbit Lake mine-mill complex (8 km N 27° E) |
NTS map data: |
064L05 (Cunning Bay) |
Deposit clan (type): |
Unconformity-associated |
Deposit (sub) types: |
Unconformity-associated - Proterozoic - clay-bound; Polymetallic deposit with significant amounts of Ni, Co and As; hosted almost entirely by the basal Athabasca Group siliciclastic strata along the Collins Bay thrust with 40 m vertical displacement ; Reference: Ruzicka, V., 1986: Uranium Deposits in the Rabbit Lake - Collins Bay Area, Saskatchewan; 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. 144 - 154 |
Deposit status: |
past producer; Size category: large; Status comments: Exhausted. Size category applied collectively to the B and D zones. |
Geologic province: |
Churchill - Hearne Craton |
Geologic subprovince: |
Wollaston Domain (Fold Belt) |
Geologic district: |
Eastern Athabasca Basin |
Deposit object located: |
drillhole |
Commodities: |
U; Ni; Au; Co; As; Gf; Pb; Fe |
Mineralization styles: |
massive (mineralization in basement slivers); fillings - intergranular (mineralization in sandstone); coatings (mineralization in sandstone) |
Geological ages: |
Middle Mesoproterozoic (mineralization) |
Tectonic setting: |
continental marginal deformation zone-fold belt; convergent; Formal name: Wollaston Fold Belt (mineralization) continental marginal fault zone-reverse faulting; convergent; Formal name: Collins Bay Fault Zone (mineralization) |
Coincident features: |
fault zone (North-trending thrust fault, extends into hanging wall of paragneiss; vertical displacement 15 m); Coincident feature name: Collins Bay Fault unconformity (NE-trending reverse fault in basement; dip 40-45° SE; step-like offsets; total 60-80 m vertical displacement of strata above unconformity ); Coincident feature name: Sub-Athabasca unconformity |
Regional tectonic structure: |
fold belt (south limb of tight to close, NE-trending anticline in Paleoproterozoic metasediments, with core of remobilized Archean basement granitoid rocks) Tectonic structure name: Wollaston fold belt thrust fault (NE-trending reverse fault of Paleoproterozoic age reactivated in post-Athabasca time; dip 40° to SE) Tectonic structure name: Collins Bay Fault Zone |
Host rocks: |
(1) metamorphic; metasedimentary schist (graphitic metapelite); Depositional setting: platform-shelf; Metamorphic grade: amphibolite (upper) - granulite; Component: basement at unconformityExternal host rock forms: | beds and lenses | Host rock protoliths: | pelite and semipelite (in fault contact with Collins Bay granitoid dome to the west; elsewhere disconformably overlies granitoid basement); Host rock protolith name: unit of Upper Wollaston Supergroup | Internal host rock structures: | foliated | Individual lithologies: | biotite gneiss (biotitic quartzo-feldspathic gneiss on the hangingwall of the Collins Bay thrust; includes small pegmatitic bodies) | Host rock stratigraphy: | Upper Wollaston Supergroup |
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Country rocks: |
(1) granitoid gneiss; (reactivated Archean granites); Country rock name: Collins Bay Granitoid Dome; Metamorphic grade: amphibolite - upperCountry rock protoliths: | granitic plutons (Archean granitic plutons; in fault contact with paragneisses to the east in northeast-trending tight folds); Country rock protolith name: Collins Bay Granitoid Dome | Individual lithologies: | granitoids (mainly granite to granodiorite) |
(2) metasedimentary rocks; (folded and metamorphosed sediments; deposited in late foreland basin of the Trans-Hudson orogen; Hidden Bay assemblage of earlier literature); Country rock name: Upper Wollaston Supergroup ; Metamorphic grade: amphibolite (upper) - granuliteCountry rock protoliths: | sandstone-mudstone-carbonate (deposited in shallow, marine, near-shore environment of late foreland basin of Trans-Hudson orogen); Country rock protolith name: Upper Wollaston Supergroup | Individual lithologies: | quartzitic, pelitic, mafic gneisses (includes graphitc metapelites) |
(3) sandstone-conglomerate; (continental siliciclastic sediments ); Country rock name: Athabasca Group; Metamorphic grade: unmetamorphosedCountry rock protoliths: | conglomerate-sandstone (basal conglomerate and sandstone units; deposited on lateritic paleosol); Country rock protolith name: Manitou Falls Formation | Individual lithologies: | conglomerate-sandstone (basal conglomerate, overlain by massive conglomerate with sandy layers and shale partings) |
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Metallogenic signatures: |
U-Ni-Co-Cu-As |
Mineralogy: |
(massive ore): pitchblende - massive, pitchblende - sooty, coffinite, skutterudite |
Radiometric ages: |
Object dated: Mineralogy(1); Age - Ma: 1,384; Dating method: U-Pb; Concentrate: pitchblende; Source rock: uranium ore; Event dated: mineralization (early); Interpretive comment: high grade sample from clay in mineralized zone several tens of metres north of B-zone; oldest phase; Reference: Jones, B., 1980: Geology of the Collins Bay Uranium Deposits; Bulletin of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Volume 73, p. 84 - 90
Object dated: Mineralogy(1); Age - Ma: 466; Dating method: U-Pb; Concentrate: pitchblende; Source rock: uranium ore; Event dated: mineralization; Interpretive comment: high grade sample in clay from the north portion of B-zone; oldest phase with a possible U loss; Reference: Jones, B., 1980: Geology of the Collins Bay Uranium Deposits; Bulletin of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Volume 73, p. 84 - 90
Object dated: Mineralogy(2); Age - Ma: 85; Dating method: U-Pb; Concentrate: pitchblende; Source rock: uranium ore; Formal name: uranium remobilization event; Event dated: mineralization, remobilized; Interpretive comment: sample from south part of B zone; crushed and concentrated by heavy liquids; late stage pitchblende; Reference: Jones, B., 1980: Geology of the Collins Bay Uranium Deposits; Bulletin of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Volume 73, p. 84 - 90
Object dated: Mineralogy(1); Age - Ma: 1,350; Dating method: U-Pb; Concentrate: pitchblende; Source rock: uranium ore; Event dated: mineralization (early); Interpretive comment: pitchblende intergrown with Ni sulpharsenide; 3 discordant points; age approximate; > 50 % Pb loss; Reference: Cumming, G. L.; Krstic, D., 1992: The Age of Unconformity-Related Uranium Mineralization in the Athabasca Basin, Northern Saskatchewan; Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Volume 29, p. 1623 - 1639
Object dated: Mineralogy(1); Age - Ma: 573; +7; -7; Dating method: U-Pb; Concentrate: pitchblende; Source rock: uranium ore; Formal name: uranium remobilization event; Event dated: mineralization, remobilized; Interpretive comment: grab sample from mine working; a two-point line; age close to 480 Ma for pitchblende from north part; Reference: Cumming, G. L.; Krstic, D., 1992: The Age of Unconformity-Related Uranium Mineralization in the Athabasca Basin, Northern Saskatchewan; Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Volume 29, p. 1623 - 1639 |
Deposit shape: |
cigar-shapedDeposit dimensions: | length: 915 metre width: 122 metre thickness: 17 metre |
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Qualified comments: |
(Applies to: discovery and development) Collins Bay B zone was discovered in 1977; open pit mine started in 1984, and was mined out in 1991; it produced 15750 t U from 2.582 Mt of ore averaging 0.61 % U. Collins Bay D zone, 320 m north of B zone and similar to it, was discovered in 1979; it was mined by open pit during 1995-'96, and produced 2150 t U from 0.13 Mt of ore averaging 1.66 % U; zone 195 x 30 x 24 m . Collins Bay E and F zones are located 120 m and 670 m north of the north tip of the B zone; they are small pods similar in character to the B and D zones; no resource figures are available on the pods.
(Applies to: property geology) North-trending fault curves 30-40° to NE at north end of deposit where ore zone extends into hanging wall of paragneiss; vertical d-isplacement 15 m. |
Links to other databases: |
SMDI; Key value: 0621 GSC U-Th File (Prasad); Key value: 9682 GSC U-Th File (Prasad); Key value: 3768 |
References: |
Bennett, R. W., 2002 |
Geological Atlas of Saskatchewan, Version 5 (2002) |
Government of Saskatchewan, CD-ROM |
Jones, B., 1980 |
Geology of the Collins Bay Uranium Deposits |
Bulletin of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Volume 73, p. 84 - 90 |
Prasad, N., 2002 |
Uranium File: Canmindex |
Geological Survey of Canada, Canadian Mineral Occurrence Index (Canmindex), CD-ROM |
Ruzicka, V., 1986 |
Uranium Deposits in the Rabbit Lake - Collins Bay Area, Saskatchewan |
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. 144 - 154 |
Saskatchewan Geological Survey, 2003 |
Geology, and Mineral and Petroleum Resources of Saskatchewan |
Miscellaneous Report, Saskatchewan Industry and Resources, Publication code 2003-7, 173 p., 4 maps. |
Saskatchewan Industry and Resources, 2001 |
Saskatchewan Mineral Deposits Index |
Government of Saskatchewan, Geological Atlas of Saskatchewan, Internet |
Thomas, D. J.; Mathews, R. B.; Sopuck, V., 2000 |
Athabasca Basin (Canada) - Unconformity-type Uranium Deposits: Exploration Model, Current Mine Development and Exploration Directions |
In Geology and Ore Deposits 2000: the Great Basin and Beyond; May 15 - 18, 2000 Symposium Proceedings (CD-ROM), Edited by Cluer, J. K.; Price, J. G.; Struhsacker, E. M.; Hardyman, R. F.; Morris, C. L., Symposium Proceedings, Geological Society of Nevada, Geological Society of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, 647 p., p. 103 - 126 |
Thomas, D. J.; Jefferson, C. W.; Card, C.; Yeo, G.; Sopuck, V., 2002 |
Introduction: the Eastern Athabasca Basin and its Uranium Deposits |
Chapter 1, In Field Trip A1: the Eastern Athabasca Basin and its Uranium Deposits, May 24-26, 2002, GAC-MAC Saskatoon 2002, Edited by Andrade, N; Breton, G.; Jefferson, C. W.; Thomas, D. J.; Tourigny, G.; Wilson, S.; Yeo, G. M., Field Guide Book, Geological Association of Canada - Mineralogical Associationof Canada, Geological Association of Canada, 102 p., p. 1 - 22 |
Tremblay, L. P., 1982 |
Geology of the Uranium Deposits Related to the Sub-Athabasca Unconformity |
Paper, Geological Survey of Canada, Publication code 81-20, 56 p.. |
Ward, D. M., 1989 |
Rabbit Lake Project - History of Exploration and General Geology |
Bulletin of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Volume 82, p. 40 - 48 |
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Production data: |
Report period: from 1985 until 1991; 2.582 million metric tons ore; Provisional entry?: yes; Yearly or summary?: SGrade-commodity information: | U: 0.61 percent | weight-commodity information: | U: 15,750 metric ton | Reference: Saskatchewan Geological Survey, 2003: Geology, and Mineral and Petroleum Resources of Saskatchewan; Miscellaneous Report, Saskatchewan Industry and Resources, Publication code 2003-7, 173 p., 4 maps. Percent weights allocated to deposit: 0.0% |
Associated mine(s): |
Collins Bay B Uranium Mine (40003), Collins Bay D Uranium Mine (40004) |