MINERAL
INVENTORY FILE NO.
458
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
PRODUCT
GOLD
NTS AREA
63J13SW
REF.
AU 4
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
NAME OF PROPERTY
BALLAST, MOOSEHORN
OWNER OF
OPERATOR ADDRESS
1985 - Peter Dunlop
P.O. Box 1920
The Pas, Manitoba
OBJECT LOCATED
Centre of Ballast M.C.
MINING
DIVISION
The Pas
Latitude
54° 46.07’
Longitude
99° 47.20’
Uncertainty
(m)
300 m
UTM Zone
_____
Easting
_______
Northing
_______
L.S./Quarter
Section
___
Section
___
Township
67
Range
16 WPM
DESCRIPTION OF
DEPOSIT
Visible gold occurs in a quartz-filled shear zone in a biotite
lamprophyre dyke that intrudes Archean quartz-feldspar porphyry. Estimates of
the length of the vein vary from 46 m to over 92 m. It strikes 035°/65° SE and
averages 0.45 m in width, reaching a maximum of 0.61 m.
Tourmaline is
abundant, sometimes associated with visible gold. Arsenopyrite is prevalent in
the hanging wall and occurs irregularly on the footwall. Minor pyrite,
chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite are found in the white coarse-grained
quartz. Petzite, a rare, soft, steel grey gold telluride was found surrounding
gold particles (Bruce, 1917).
ASSOCIATED
MINERALS OR PRODUCTS OF VALUE
Silver
HISTORY OF
EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The deposit is located on the E shore of Wekusko Lake, a few meters
south of the south end of Herb Lake settlement. Provincial Road 392 is
approximately 11.5 km to the west, across Wekusko Lake.
In 1914 R.A.
Hazelwood and H. Vickers staked adjacent claims, Ballast (21198) and
Moosehorn (21217), respectively, over the deposit. One year later Moosehorn was
assigned to Robert Kerr. Northern Manitoba Mining and Development Company,
Limited was organized in 1915 to develop the property, though it was not
incorporated and the claims were not assigned to it until 1916. High gold values
were reported. The veins were trenched and the sinking of an inclined shaft
began on Ballast.
Early in 1917, 26 tonnes of non-handpicked ore was
shipped to Trail, B.B. It yielded $2 323.60 in gold (gold price $20/oz).
According to Alcock (1918) and the Kiskoba Mining Company, Limited Corporation
File the ore averaged $89.95/tonne or 139.89 g/tonne (4.08 oz./ton, gold price
$20/oz.). Channel samples taken from the shaft when it was 15 m deep assayed
$187/tonne or 290.79 g/tonne (8.48 oz/ton, $20/oz. gold). A mining plant was
installed. By the end of 1917 the shaft was 26 m deep. A 18 m shaft was sunk on
Moosehorn.
The Makeever brothers optioned the property in 1918. The
Ballast shaft reached its final depth of 31 m with about 15 m of drifting
done at that level. Ore sent to the Rex mill yielded 1.6 kg (52 oz.) of gold
(Robinson, 1935). Northern Canada Exploration Corporation Limited optioned the
claims in 1919-20. A 3 m shaft was completed on Moosehorn in 1919. The Makeever
and Northern Canada options were subsequently dropped. Shaft sinking, stripping,
and sampling were reported on Moosehorn in 1921. The following year a 6 m shaft
was mentioned on that claim (Manitoba Mines Branch d).
Kiskoba Mining
Company, Limited was formed in 1924 to consolidate Northern Manitoba Mining and
Development Limited and the Kiski Mining Company Limited. The claims were
assigned to Kiskoba that same year. Ballast and Moosehorn were leased in
1925 as L. 566 and L. 567, respectively.
Robert Kerr mined 16 tonnes of ore
in 1931. It was treated at Trail, B.C., producing 1.06 kg (34.0 oz.) of gold
(Manitoba Mines Branch a).
In 1944 the claims were optioned to Wekusko
Consolidated Limited. That company diamond drilled to 46 m but did not find an
ore shoot. The vein was calculated to average 44.57 g/tonne (1.3 oz/ton) gold
across a 0.31 m width for a length of 30.5 m. More drilling may have been done
before the option was dropped in 1945 (Manitoba Mines Branch b). The Leases were
renewed in 1947 and again in 1967.
The property was assigned to McKenzie Oil
and Gas Company Limited in 1961. Four years later, in 1965, McKenzie changed its
name to Petromines Limited. The claim was cancelled in 1971.
Donald Kish
staked W 45289 over the deposit in 1976. Cash payments were made in lieu of work
requirements until the claim lapsed in 1981.
Peter Dunlop staked CB 13300
over the property in 1984.
HISTORY OF
PRODUCTION
Year Tonnes Mined Tonnes Treated kg (oz.) Au kg (oz.) Ag
*1917 25.9
25.9 3.36 (108)
*1918 1.62 (52)
+1931 16.0 16.0 1.06 (34) 0.28
(9)
*Robinson, 1935
+Manitoba Mines Branch a.
REFERENCES
Alcock, F.J., 1918: Wekusko Lake Area, Northern Manitoba; Geological
Survey of Canada, Summary Report, 1917, Part D, p. 15.
Alcock, F.J., 1919:
Wekusko Lake Area, Northern Manitoba; Geological Survey of Canada, Summary
Report, 1918, Part D, p. 10.
Alcock, F.J., 1920: The Reed-Wekusko Map-Area,
Northern Manitoba; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 119, p. 35-6.
Alcock,
F.J., 1924: The Pas Mineral Belt; Canadian Mining Journal, July 25, 1976, Annual
Report; Manitoba Mines Branch 4th, p. 40.
Bailes, A.H., 1971: Preliminary
Compilation of the Geology of the Snow Lake-Flin Flon-Sherridon Area; Manitoba
Mines Branch, Geological Paper 1/71.
Bruce, E.L., 1917: Schist Lake and
Wekusko Lake Area, Northern Manitoba; Geological Survey of Canada, Department of
Mines, Summary Report, 1916, p. 168-9.
Campbell, J.A., 1917: Northern
Manitoba; Province of Manitoba, Community of Northern Manitoba, p. 10,
16.
Campbell, J.A., 1918: Manitoba’s Northland, Province of Manitoba,
Community of Northern Manitoba, p. 17, 21.
Davies, J.F., Bannatyne, B.B.,
Barry, G.S., and McCabe, H.R., 1962: Geology and Mineral Resources of Manitoba;
Manitoba Mines Branch, p. 72-82, 91.
Galley, A.G., Ziehlke, D.V., Franklin,
J.M., Ames, D.E., and Gordon, T.M.,
1986: Gold mineralization in the Snow
Lake-Wekusko Lake region, Manitoba; in Gold in the Western Shield (L.A. Clark,
ed.); Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Special Volume 38, p.
379-398.
Manitoba Mines Branch: Annual Report on Mines and Minerals; 4th, p.
40.
Corporation Files; Kiskoba Mining Company Limited, Wekusko Consolidated
Limited.
Mining Engineering Files; Northern Manitoba Shaft, 63
J/SW13.
Mining Recording Files; Moosehorn, File 510.
Robinson, A.H.A.,
1935: Gold in Canada, 1935: Mines Branch, Ottawa, Publication 769, p.
54-7.
Russell, G.A., 1957: Structural Studies of the Snow Lake-Herb Lake
Area; Manitoba Mines Branch, Publication 55-3.
Sabina, A.P., 1972: Rocks and
Minerals for the Collector, La Ronge-Creighton, Saskatchewan; Flin
Flon-Thompson, Manitoba; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 71-27, p.
56.
Stockwell, C.H., 1937: Gold Deposits of Herb Lake Area, Northern
Manitoba; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 208, p. 31, 2.
Wallace, R.C.,
1919: Mining Development in Northern Manitoba; Canadian Institute of Mining,
Transcripts v. XXXII, p. 338.
Wallace, R.C., 1920: Mining and Mineral
Prospects in Northern Manitoba; Province of Manitoba, Community of Northern
Manitoba, Northern Manitoba Bulletin, p. 35.
Wright, J.F., 1931: Geology and
Mineral Deposits of a Part of Northern Manitoba; Geological Survey of Canada,
Summary Report, 1930, Pt. C, p. 77-8.
MAP REFERENCES
Map 63 J/13, Herb Lake (Topographic), Scale 1:50 000, Surveys and
Mapping Branch, Ottawa.
Map 2566G, Herb Lake (Aeromagnetic), Scale 1:63 360,
Manitoba Mines Branch, and Geological Survey of Canada.
Map 376A, Herb Lake
(Geology), Scale 1:12 000; accompanying Memoir by Stockwell (1937), Geological
Survey of Canada.
Map 665A, Wekusko Lake (Geological), Scale 1:63 360;
accompanying Marginal Notes by Armstrong (1939), Geological Survey of
Canada.
Map 1801, Reed and Wekusko Lakes Region (Geology), Scale 1:126 720,
Geological Survey of Canada, 1920.
Map 1, Geological Compilation of the Snow
Lake-Flin Flon-Sherridon Area (Geology), Scale 1:253 440; accompanying Paper by
Bailes (1971), Manitoba Mines Branch.
Maps, 63 J/13 SW, (Claim), Scale 1:31
680, Circa 1976 Claim Map Series, Mining Recording, Manitoba Mines
Branch.
URL
N/A
REMARKS
The original claim ledger records the claim as “Moosehorn”. Most
authors combined the two words and called the claim “Moosehorn”. The name as
written in the official register is used in the mineral inventory.
NOTES
N/A
Compiled/Revised
by:
SMH JR
Date
02-73 04-76 09-85
