Geology of the Kakinagimak Lake Area, Northwestern Flin Flon

Domain (part of NTS 63M/01)

Ralf O. Maxeiner

Maxeiner, R.O. (2007): Geology of the Kakinagimak Lake area, northwestern Flin Flon Domain (part of NTS 63M/01); in
Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources,
Misc. Rep. 2007-4.2, CD-ROM, Paper A-3, 18p.

Abstract
As part of the Flin Flon Targeted Geoscience Initiative III project, geological bedrock mapping of a 150 km2 area
centred on Kakinagimak Lake (part of 63M/01) was carried out at 1:20 000 scale. This work represents the
northward continuation of mapping by the Saskatchewan Geological Survey between 1991 and 1995. The project is
integrated with an airborne radiometric and magnetic survey that was flown over a 3141 km2 area in late August
and early September of 2007.
Supracrustal and plutonic rocks in the Kakinagimak Lake area, metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies,
represent a continuation of the Amisk Collage of the Flin Flon Domain, exposed 40 km to the southeast. About 50%
of the area is underlain by granodioritic to tonalitic foliates and gneisses inferred to be circa 1.86 Ga old. The
remainder is made up of about 30% migmatitic, generally graphitic sedimentary rocks, and about 20% mafic to
felsic volcanic rocks inferred to be >1.87 Ga old. All of these rocks were affected by five ductile deformation events.
Primary features are not preserved in the sedimentary or volcanic rocks, but the latter contain abundant evidence
of metamorphosed hydrothermal alteration zones, now preserved as garnet-anthophyllite assemblages. Minor
amounts of chalcopyrite and Fe-sulphides were encountered in several outcrops. South of Keep Lake, the volcanic
succession hosts the Schotts Lake deposit, an approximately four million tonne volcanogenic massive sulphide
deposit grading 0.41% Cu and 1.26% Zn. The Keep Lake area is dominated by garnetiferous intermediate to felsic
volcanic rocks exhibiting garnet-anthophyllite alteration and local sulphide occurrence. Based on the low ratio of
mafic to felsic-intermediate volcanic rocks, the Keep Lake volcanic succession has more similarities to the West
Amisk and the Hanson Lake arc assemblages, than the Flin Flon arc assemblage.

Keywords: Paleoproterozoic, Flin Flon Domain, Kisseynew Domain, Schotts Lake deposit, volcanogenic massive
sulphide deposit, syngenetic alteration, garnet-anthophyllite.

1. Introduction
This project represents a continuation of the government-funded lithotectonic (e.g., Ashton and Leclair, 1991;
Ashton et al., 1993, 1995) and structural studies (e.g., Lewry et al., 1991; Lewry, 1993) carried out in the region
between 1991 and 1995. Some of these mapping projects fell under the umbrella of the NATMAP Shield Margin
Project, which was initiated in 1991 and was designed to foster an interdisciplinary approach to conducting bedrock
and surficial mapping with a primary focus on studying the exposed and sub-Phanerozoic portions of the Flin Flon
Belt (Lucas et al., 1999).
This study forms part of the Targeted Geoscience Initiative III project (TGI-3), a joint federal-provincial geoscience
initiative that strives to use geoscience as a tool “to help sustain the reserves of base metals in vulnerable established
mining communities in Canada” (http://ess.nrcan.gc.ca/tgi/). To date, most of this work has been focused in the
immediate Flin Flon area (e.g., MacLachlan, 2006; Simard, 2006). As part of TGI-3, and to complement bedrock
mapping, an airborne radiometric and magnetic survey was flown over an approximately 80 x 40 km area between
the Tabbernor Fault and the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border in late August and early September of 2007 (dashed
line in Figure 1).
The 2007 study area is centred on Kakinagimak Lake, a narrow, river-like, 25 km-long lake with its long axis
oriented parallel to the north-trending geological units. It is located about 40 km east of Pelican Narrows and 45 km
northwest of Flin Flon. The lake can be accessed via float-equipped aircraft from Pelican Narrows, which can be
reached via the Hanson Lake Road (Highway 106) and Highway 135 (Figure 1). Fieldwork using an inflatable boat
was carried out from a base camp in File Bay at the south end of Kakinagimak Lake. Relief varies from lake level of
Kakinagimak Lake, at about 330 m above sea level, to about 410 m on some of the granitoid ridges. Bedrock
mapping of the approximately 150 km2 area was carried out by a three-person crew between the beginning of June
and the end of August 2007 and consisted of GPS-assisted compass traverses and shoreline mapping. Magnetic

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 1 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

 RAE LEGEND
HEARNE ORDOVICIAN Supracrustal Rocks
Orr Red River Formation Fw Fwn Psammopelite
ATHABASCA PALEOPROTEROZOIC Fv Volcanic rock
BASIN Missi, Ourom Groups
Fva Felsic volcanic rock
Fr, Kr Arkosic rocks
Intermediate volcanic
Burntwood Group Fvi rock
Kwg Diatexitic psammopelite Fvb Mafic volcanic rock
HEARNE Kwn Migmatitic psammopelite Fh Fm Amphibolite
Flin Flon Kh Km Amphibolite Fs Schist
REINDEER Domain Plutonic Rocks Supracrustal and
Fsg
ZONE FJ Jan Lake granite orthogneiss
Kgg GranodioriteSandy Bay
ARCHEAN (Sask Craton)
Fgd Granite, granodiorite, Az Mylonite
SASK Craton tonalite
Detail Ap Migmatitic pelite
Fbb Gabbro (diorite)
AS Sahli granite
Fbq Tonalite, diorite
0 5 10 20 30 AQ “Q Gneiss”
Kwg
Kilometres Kr Kr

Kgg Kh
Fr Fm
55° 15’ Fh

Pelican
Fm Pelican
Narrows Fsg
Lake
Mirond Figure 2
AS Lake

Kr
Fv AQ
Km
55° 00’
Az 135
Fwn
Kwn
Deschambault Jan FJ Km
Lake Lake
Fgd 106
Fs
Ap
911 Fgd
Fva Fr
Fbq
Fvb
Creighton
54°45’
Fvi
Hanson
Fvi Lake Fbq Fw Fvi Amisk Denare
Beach
103°30’ Orr 103°15’ Lake Fbb102°

Figure 1 - Location map showing outlines of Kakinagimak map area (solid line; Figure 2) and the airborne geophysical
survey (dashed line).

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 2 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

susceptibility measurements were collected at all outcrops, whereas ground gamma-ray spectrometric measurements
were only taken on selected shoreline outcrops.

2. Previous Work and Regional Geology

Earliest geological investigations of the larger Pelican Narrows area date back to the early 1900s (McInnes, 1914;
Bruce, 1918). Systematic mapping of the area did not commence until the early 1950s (Byers and Dahlstrom, 1954;
Cheesman, 1956; Kirkland, 1957; Pyke, 1961) and was accompanied by a considerable amount of base metal
exploration activity (e.g., Ministry of Energy and Resources Assessment File 63M01-SE-0042R and summary
therein; Coombe, 1991). As part of the 1984 to 1989 Canada-Saskatchewan Mineral Development Agreement, the
Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) began a transect across the transition between the southwestern Kisseynew
Domain and the northern Flin Flon Domain (e.g., Ashton et al., 1987, 1992). This work was continued by the
Saskatchewan government as part of the Wildnest-Tabbernor lakes transect between 1991 and 1996 (Ashton and
Leclair, 1991; Ashton et al., 1993; Ashton and Shi, 1994; Ashton et al., 1995) under the Canada-Saskatchewan
Partnership Agreement on Mineral Development 1990 to 1995. This transect extended across the south end of
Kakinagimak Lake. Simultaneously, LITHOPROBE and Flin Flon NATMAP projects were conducted over large
parts of the Flin Flon Domain, most of this work being summarized by Syme et al. (1998 and refs. therein).
Base metal exploration dates back to the 1950s and saw a revival in the early 1990s due to the work by the
Saskatchewan Geological Survey (e.g., Ashton et al., 1993). The area, then known as the ‘Attitti Sheet’ of the
‘Hanson Lake Block’, became recognized as a high-grade extension of the Flin Flon Domain. This resulted in a
revision of the domainal framework of the province (Saskatchewan Geological Survey, 2003). Recognition of
garnet-anthophyllite alteration in the area and reinterpretation of many of the high-grade gneisses as equivalents of
the volcanic assemblages of the Flin Flon Domain, led to renewed interest. Companies such as Aur Resources and
BHP Minerals started exploration projects in the southeastern Kakinagimak Lake area and applied modern
geochemical exploration principles to the search for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits. The Schotts
Lake deposit, a 4.5 million tonne (M t) VMS deposit grading 0.41% Cu and 1.26% Zn, originally discovered in the
1950s, is the most advanced exploration target in the area.

The Flin Flon Domain contains 1.92 to 1.87 Ga tectonostratigraphic assemblages, which were amalgamated to form
the accretionary ‘Amisk Collage’ (Lucas et al., 1996), prior to emplacement of younger granitoid plutons and
deposition of sedimentary and volcanic successions. Work by Ashton and Leclair (1991) and Maxeiner et al. (1995)
has shown that lithotectonic assemblages in the Attitti Lake and Hanson Lake areas are similar to parts of the Amisk
Collage and likely represent the western extension of the Flin Flon Domain (Ashton, 1999 and refs. therein;
Maxeiner et al., 1999b). A foliated to gneissic leucotonalite collected at the south end of Kakinagimak Lake yielded
a U-Pb zircon age of 1852 +6/-4 Ma (Heaman et al., 1993), which was interpreted as a crystallization age. This is
temporally similar to successor arc plutonism, which affected the 1.92 to 1.87 Ga Amisk Collage (Syme et al.,
1998). A sample of a “syn-volcanic(?) tonalite” (Heaman and Ashton, 1996, p109) collected within a larger felsic
subvolcanic unit at the southwest end of Kakinagimak Lake yielded 207Pb/206Pb ages of 1835 Ma and 1864 Ma, the
older of which was interpreted as a minimum crystallization age (Heaman and Ashton, 1996). During the 2007 field
season, we collected another sample of a feldspar-porphyritic felsic volcanic rock from the same unit and submitted
it for age dating utilizing the GSC’s sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP). The Missi Group, an
alluvial-fluvial succession of conglomerate and sandstone unconformably overlying the volcanoplutonic
assemblages of the Flin Flon Domain, has been bracketed in the Flin Flon area between 1847 Ma (Ansdell, 1993)
and 1842 Ma (Heaman et al., 1992).
A deformed and sheared pegmatite from within the Sturgeon-weir Shear Zone yielded a U-Pb zircon age of 1806
±2 Ma (Ashton et al., 1992), which was interpreted as a syntectonic emplacement age. A U-Pb zircon age of 1807
+3/-2 Ma from a felsic volcanic rock sampled on southern Attitti Lake was interpreted as a metamorphic age
(Heaman et al., 1992). The 1.85 Ga Kakinagimak Lake leucotonalite also provided a titanite cooling age of 1789
±3 Ma (Heaman et al., 1993).
A metamorphic pressure-temperature study in the Attitti Lake area (Ashton and Digel, 1992) constrained peak
metamorphic conditions to about 6.6 to 7.9 kbar and 630° to 725°C using three independent thermobarometric
techniques. This is consistent with mineral assemblages and partial melting within pelitic rocks observed in the
field, all suggesting upper amphibolite facies conditions (Ashton et al., 1995). Granite and granite pegmatite of the
ca. 1770 Ma Jan Lake Granite Suite (Macdonald and MacQuarrie, 1978; Bickford et al., 1987; Ashton and Shi,
1994) are widespread in the region.

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 3 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

3. Description of Main Units 1
The area is predominantly underlain by granodioritic to tonalitic gneisses exposed along the shores of central
Kakinagimak Lake (Figure 2). In the south, particularly in the File Bay, Gifford Bay, and Keep Lake areas, the map
pattern is dominated by felsic to intermediate volcanic2 rocks, with subordinate graphitic sedimentary rocks. North
of the granodiorite gneisses, in the Cornell Bay to Scott Lake area, calcic and aluminous pelitic to psammopelitic
gneisses are most prevalent. North and west of Grindley Lake, mafic volcanic rocks are complexly infolded with the
sedimentary rocks.

Since the map area borders recent maps by Ashton and Leclair (1991) to the west and Ashton et al. (1995) to the
south, their lithological units were largely adopted. Where possible, we mapped into the areas of the previous
workers to keep ‘map boundary faults’ to a minimum.

a) ‘Amisk Collage’ (1.90 to ~1.87 Ga)

Volcanic and Associated Rocks

A “metamorphic colour index” based on the percentage of mafic minerals in a rock was used in the field to
distinguish between mafic (>35), intermediate (35 to 15), and felsic (<15) variants; the term rhyolitic was used for
rocks generally having an index of <5, unless they were altered. In general, primary features other than
compositional layering have not been preserved within the Kakinagimak volcanic succession due to the upper
amphibolite-facies metamorphic overprint and the strong structural transposition. Evidence for syngenetic alteration
is characterized by the presence of abundant garnet (regional alteration), garnet-anthophyllite (localized Fe-Mg
metasomatism), calc-silicate layers and lenses (quartz-epidote alteration), and extraordinarily high quartz content
(silicification).

Dark green to greenish-black mafic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks (Mv) form thin units north of Gifford Bay,
where they appear to be intruded by granodiorite. More extensive units of the mafic volcanic rocks can be found
south of Keep Lake hosting the Schotts Lake VMS deposit, and northwest of Grindley Lake, where a shallowly
northeast-dipping unit covers several square kilometres. The rocks are generally fine grained and layered on a
decimetre to metre scale (Figure 3). They contain approximately equal amounts of plagioclase and hornblende, with
local enrichment of garnet or clinopyroxene (Figure 4). Hornblende is locally altered to biotite. Trace amounts of
sulphides are near ubiquitous. The magnetic susceptibility generally varies between 0.4 and 0.6 (10-3 SI), but
generally has higher values between 0.6 and 0.8 (10-3 SI) with increasing amounts of garnet. Garnet locally reaches
10% of some rocks and helps define metre-scale layering.

With increasing clinopyroxene content, mafic volcanic rocks grade into mafic calc-silicate rocks (Cm) such as
those east of Dezort Lake. Light greenish grey, dusky green and greenish black mafic calc-silicate rocks are fine
grained to rarely medium grained and characteristically heterogeneous, strongly foliated and layered on a 2 to 5 cm
scale. They are distinguished by lenses and layers rich in diopside, Ca-rich amphibole, plagioclase and carbonate,
within an otherwise homogeneous upper amphibolite facies mafic volcanic rock. Other common minerals include
garnet, epidote, and minor quartz. As suggested by Pyke (1961) and Ashton and Leclair (1991), the metre-scale
layering observed within the mafic volcanic and calc-silicate rocks likely represents transposed primary layering.
The more tightly-spaced laminations defined by calc-silicate minerals are, however, more likely resulting from
tectonic transposition of pre-metamorphic quartz-epidote alteration, commonly observed in pillow cores of mafic
volcanic flows near Flin Flon (e.g., MacLachlan, 2006).
Intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks (Iv) form 100 to 500 m thick units extending for several
kilometres along the east side of Gifford Bay and east of Keep Lake (Figure 2). The rocks are grey to greenish grey,
very fine to fine grained and equigranular, containing 15 to 35% combined hornblende and biotite, with variable
amounts of garnet and clinopyroxene, as well as minor sulphides. The sulphides are commonly associated with
some of the larger poikiloblastic garnet grains. The rocks are layered on a centimetre to decimetre scale and are
locally interbedded on an outcrop scale with their felsic or mafic counterparts and with minor epiclastic rocks. West
of Dezort Lake, the interbedded nature of volcanic and epiclastic rocks of intermediate composition is so complex
that a separate unit was created (As). For the most part, these rocks are thought to represent the high-grade
equivalents of andesitic volcaniclastic rocks. In a few locations, intermediate volcanic rocks are more homogeneous
and locally feldspar porphyritic (Figure 5) suggesting that they represent massive flows, sills or minor subvolcanic
intrusions.

1
Only selected units and important observations and relationships are described in detail in this paper. For comprehensive and systematic
descriptions of all units, the reader is referred to the legends on the accompanying maps. Description of rock units follows the IUGS
classification of igneous rocks (Streckeisen, 1976) and the classification of metamorphosed clastic sedimentary rocks (Maxeiner et al., 1999a).
2
The prefix ‘meta-‘ is not used, as all of the rocks have been metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies conditions.

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 4 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

 670000 mE 675000 mE
Legend Legend (cont’d)
Syn- to Post-tectonic Plutons Arc and ‘Successor’ Arc Plutons
P Granite pegmatite Ga Gabbro, microgabbro
Lgd Leucogranodiorite, leucogranite Qmz Quartz monzonite
Qdi Quartz diorite, diorite, and diorite gneiss
?Missi Group
Ms Feldspathic psammite and derived diatexite Gd Gneissic to migmatitic granodiorite-tonalite
Gdb Homogeneous biotite granodiorite
Gdh Homogeneous hornblende granodiorite
?’Amisk Collage’
Sedimentary Rocks
Pp Migmatitic Pelite / derived diatexite
Psp Migmatitic psammopelite-(pelite)
Ps Migmatitic psammite-(psammopelite)
Mbl Impure marble, quartzite
Qz Quartzite
Cornell Bay Pc Migmatitic calcic psammopelite

Volcanic and Associated Rocks

As Heterogeneous calcic psammopelite, psammite,
and intermediate volcanic tuff
Ar Altered felsic volcanic, volcaniclastic rocks
6120000 mN

Fv Felsic volcanic, volcaniclastic, subvolcanic rocks

Iv Intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks
Cm Mafic calc-silicate rock
Grindley Mv Mafic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks

trace of early fold axes

Lake trace of F3 folds
trace of F4 folds

Kakinagimak Scott
Lake
Lake
6115000 mN

McCall
Galbraith Lake

Lake

Keep

Lake
McWilliams
Lake Cawsey
6110000 mN

Dezort Lake
Gifford
Lake
Bentz Bay Bay
(Attitti Lake)

Schotts Lake
deposit

0 1 2 File Schotts Lake

Bay
Kilometres

Figure 2 - Simplified bedrock geology of the Kakinagimak Lake area.

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 5 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

 Fine-grained volcanogenic rocks of dacitic to
rhyodacitic composition (Fv), including volcanic,
volcaniclastic and subvolcanic varieties, are
interlayered on a map scale with intermediate volcanic
rocks east of Gifford Bay and east of Keep Lake
(Figure 2). Layering is not as prevalent as in the
intermediate rocks and is on a decimetre to metre scale.
Rare felsic fragmental rocks (Figure 6) were noted at
the north end of Gifford Bay. The dacitic rocks are buff
to light grey and contain 5 to 15% combined biotite and
hornblende with abundant garnet (Figure 7) and local
sulphides. The rocks have locally been affected by Fe-
Mg metasomatism and these zones are now
characterized by enrichment in garnet and anthophyllite
representing the equivalent high-grade mineral
assemblages. The magnetic susceptibility of the dacitic
volcanic rocks typically varies between 0.1 and 0.35
Figure 3 - Heterogeneous, possibly pillowed mafic volcanic (10-3 SI).3
rock with poorly defined folded layering; northwest of
Cornell Bay. Station RM07-55-ST18 at UTM 3 669573 m E,
6123574 m N.

Figure 4 - Calc-silicate alteration pod in mafic volcanic Figure 6 - Heterogeneous felsic volcanic rock; possibly a
rock; note large crystals of garnet (red), diopside (pale rhyolitic tuff breccia; rock has also been affected by
green), and hornblende (dark green); north of channel silicification and calc-silicate alteration (note dark-coloured
between Gifford Bay and Kakinagimak Lake. Station RM07- calc-silicate lenses); north Gifford Bay. Station RM07-22-
27-ST07 at UTM 671122 m E, 6110797 m N. ST08 at UTM 671954 m E, 6110192 m N.

Figure 5 - Feldspar-porphyritic intermediate volcanic rock; Figure 7 - Highly garnetiferous, altered felsic volcanic rock;
east Gifford Bay. Station RM07-22-ST04 at UTM Keep Lake area. Station RM07-48-ST19 at UTM
672409 m E, 6109851 m N. 676265 m E, 6111989 m N.

3
All UTM coordinates are in NAD 83, Zone 13.

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 6 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

A more homogeneous unit of felsic volcanic rock occurs between File Bay and the main part of Kakinagimak Lake,
and was interpreted as a subvolcanic intrusion (Ashton and Leclair, 1991). A geochronology sample of this unit
collected in 1991 yielded small colourless zircons that provided two multi-grain fractions, which gave 207Pb/206Pb
ages of 1835 and 1864 Ma (Heaman and Ashton, 1996), the older of which was interpreted as the minimum age of
emplacement.

The central part of Gifford Bay is dominated by several 100 to 300 m thick and up to 3 km long units of white to
pink, fine-grained felsic gneiss, interpreted as altered felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rock of originally rhyolitic
composition (Ar). The rocks are strongly foliated to gneissic and locally extremely siliceous with up to 50% quartz.
Mafic minerals, including ubiquitous biotite and local enrichment of garnet, generally account for less than 5% of
these rocks. Sillimanite, forming up to 30 cm long lensoid pods, may locally reach up to 30% (Figure 8).
Transposed centimetre-thick quartz lenses and ribbons can be found in most outcrops and medium- to coarse-
grained granitic leucosome is present in some exposures of the sillimanite-bearing altered rock. Retrograde
replacement of sillimanite by muscovite occurs locally. Other minor constituents include sulphides, anthophyllite,
and hornblende. Presence of near-ubiquitous sulphides, irregular unit distribution, and the lithological association
with other volcanic rocks suggest that the felsic rocks are not sedimentary in origin.
A small unit of very siliceous sedimentary rocks (If) is exposed along the west shore of File Bay, in the area
previously mapped by Ashton et al. (1995), who interpreted them as a succession of chert and minor oxide facies
iron formation. The rocks are white, buff to brown, fine grained and bedded on centimetre to metre scale (Figure 9).
They are dominated by quartz, with minor amounts of plagioclase, magnetite, graphite, and/or garnet. The unit
structurally overlies felsic to intermediate volcanic
granitoid leucosome rocks.
sillimanite-rich An approximately 300 m-thick heterogeneous unit of
material grey to brown calcic psammopelite, psammite, and
intermediate volcaniclastic rock (As) extends for
about 15 km from Cawsey Lake to the north end of
Kakinagimak Lake. The rocks are fine to medium
grained, granoblastic and commonly layered on
decimetre to metre scale; generally rocks within this
unit have not been affected by partial melting, except
for the calcic psammopelite, which commonly contains
tonalitic leucosome. The mixed sedimentary rocks
differ from the more homogeneous sedimentary rocks
(e.g., units Psp, Pp) by containing significant amounts
of hornblende which, together with biotite and
cummingtonite, forms 15 to 25% of the rock. Garnet,
diopside, and graphite are present in minor amounts.
Figure 8 - Rhyolitic felsic volcanic rock with strong This unit is interpreted to represent a transition from
enrichment of sillimanite (grey) and development of a predominantly volcanogenic to predominantly
granitic leucosome; sillimanite lens was affected by tight F3 epiclastic depositional processes.
folding; Station RM07-35-ST09 at UTM 671294 m E,
6113521 m N.
Migmatitic Sedimentary Rocks

In addition to the heterogeneous sedimentary-

volcaniclastic unit (As) east of Kakinagimak Lake,
epiclastic rocks have been identified throughout the
area and are intercalated with the volcanic rocks. The
sedimentary rocks predominate at the north end of
Kakinagimak Lake and between the volcanic
successions of Gifford Bay and Keep Lake. Aluminous
pelitic to psammopelitic units have been distinguished
from a predominantly calcic unit. Most are graphitic
and characterized by the presence of 10 to 40%
tonalitic to granodioritic leucosome. According to
Ashton and Leclair (1991) these ‘aluminous wackes’
are similar to rocks making up much of the southern
flank of the Kisseynew Domain and are in part equated
with the synvolcanic Welsh Lake assemblage (Ashton,
1990; Ansdell and Connors, 1994). Some of the
Figure 9 - Laminated to thinly bedded cherty sedimentary components may belong, however, to the <1.85 Ga
rocks; northwest side of File Bay. Station RM07-23-ST01 at Burntwood Group (e.g., Zwanzig, 1990; David et al.,
UTM 668421 m E, 6107305 m N. 1996), a deep-water facies equivalent of the Missi

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 7 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

Group making up much of the central parts of the
Kisseynew Domain. Earlier attempts to differentiate the
two pelitic successions in the Belcher Lake area
(Hartlaub et al., 1996), immediately northwest of the
current study area, proved difficult and, it was thought,
that the synvolcanic volcaniclastic rocks passed
gradationally into Burntwood Group rocks.
Incidentally, the aluminous rocks are also similar in
terms of their composition and structural setting to the
ca. >1.867 Ga Levesque Bay Assemblage (Corrigan et
al., 1999; Maxeiner et al., 2005), exposed on southern
Reindeer Lake, structurally sandwiched between
>1.86 Ga volcanoplutonic assemblages of the La Ronge
Domain and the Burntwood Group of the Kisseynew
Domain.
Grey- to brown-weathering migmatitic pelite and
derived diatexite (Pp) are exposed at the north end of
Kakinagimak Lake (Figure 2), where they are Figure 10 - Close-up of garnet and plagioclase
porphyroblasts in pelitic diatexite; Cornell Bay area. Station
interlayered with, and similar to, migmatitic RM07-28-ST03 at UTM 671963 m E, 6121959 m N.
psammopelite (Psp). The rocks are generally gneissic,
compositionally variable from pelitic to psammopelitic,
and layered on a decimetre to metre scale. The
paleosome is generally fine to medium grained,
whereas the tonalitic leucosome is medium to coarse
grained. The presence and relative abundance of the
partial melt component is determined by primary
composition of the rock, with pelitic components
having more partial melt than their psammopelitic
counterparts. The pelitic components have locally
succumbed to complete anatexis and the resultant
pelitic diatexite is a coarse-grained homogeneous rock
with abundant garnet, graphite, and neoblastic
plagioclase (Figure 10). Garnet, biotite, and graphite
make up between 25 and 35% of the rock, with
sillimanite and tourmaline present as local minor
components. The magnetic susceptibility is consistently
very low, generally varying between 0.2 and 0.3 (10-3
SI).
Figure 11 - Migmatitic psammopelite with boudinaged calc-
Grey to brown, migmatitic psammopelite-pelite (Psp) silicate layer; north end of Kakinagimak Lake. Station
is by far the most widespread of the epiclastic rock, RM07-52-ST21 at UTM 671200 m E, 6125331 m N.
types. In the Cornell Bay area of Kakinagimak Lake, it
forms units up to 1 km thick that extend for several
kilometres along strike. Thinner units of migmatitic
psammopelite are intercalated on a scale of hundreds of
metres with mafic volcanic rocks north and southwest
of Grindley Lake, where together they define complex
fold interference patterns (Figure 2). On outcrop scale,
they are intercalated with minor pelitic and psammitic
layers, varying in thickness from 5 to 50 cm. Calc-
silicate lenses, up to 20 cm thick and 40 cm long, occur
sporadically north of Cornell Bay (Figure 11) and may
represent metamorphosed calcareous concretions or
boudinaged calcareous layers. The psammopelitic rocks
are very similar in appearance to their pelitic
counterparts (Pp), but contain less combined biotite,
garnet and graphite, generally making up about 15 to
25% of the rock. They also contain less leucosome,
generally around 20% (Figure 12).
Figure 12 - Migmatitic psammopelite with 20 to 30%
Migmatitic psammite-psammopelite (Ps) is found in tonalitic leucosome; note isoclinal folding of leucosome and
two small units, one northwest of Grindley Lake and later refolding; north end of Kakinagimak Lake. Station
one between Keep Lake and Schotts Lake. These grey RM07-52-ST19 at UTM 671328 m E, 6124779 m N.

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 8 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

to brownish grey, fine- to medium-grained
quartzofeldspathic rocks are of uncertain origin, due to
their relatively homogeneous nature, their lack of
graphite and sulphides, and their granoblastic texture.
Mafic mineral content in these quartz-feldspar-biotite
rocks is generally less than 10%. They were interpreted
as being of sedimentary origin, as they are locally
compositionally layered, associated with graphitic
psammopelite, and may contain minor amounts of
garnet. Magnetic susceptibility of the psammitic
gneisses is generally between 0.15 and 0.2 (10-3 SI).

An approximately 500 m-thick unit of grey, greenish-

grey to brown weathering, migmatitic calcic
psammopelite (Pc) extends for 15 km from the north
end of Kakinagimak Lake to Schotts Lake (Figure 2) in
the south. It structurally overlies a more heterogeneous
unit of intercalated calcic psammopelite, psammite, and Figure 13 - Abundant hornblende and garnet in migmatitic
intermediate volcanic tuff (As). The rocks are fine to graphite-bearing calcic psammopelite; southwest of Grindley
medium grained and layered on centimetre to decimetre Lake. Station RM07-50-ST16 at UTM 666733 m E,
scale. They are locally interbedded with more 6117388 m N.
aluminous sedimentary lithologies (Pp, Psp), with
which they have much in common, including abundant
tonalitic leucosome and ubiquitous graphite and garnet.
They are distinguished from them by the presence of
abundant hornblende (Figure 13), and variable amounts
of diopside, carbonate, titanite, K-feldspar, and/or
scapolite. Leucosome within the calcic psammopelite
commonly contains diopside (Figure 14).
A 20 to 40 m thick unit of quartzite (Qz), extending
for a strike length of about 7 km, is interbedded with,
and separated out from, the calcic psammopelite (Pc).
These white to light greenish grey rocks are fine
grained, laminated to thinly bedded, and contain >70%
quartz and locally up to 90% quartz, with minor
amounts of plagioclase, biotite, as well as local
graphite, hornblende and/or diopside. Individual beds
of quartzite are between 0.4 and 4 m in thickness. In
one location, a quartz-eye–bearing, more feldspathic Figure 14 - Amphibolitized diopside in leucosome of calcic
variant is intercalated on a metre-scale with sillimanite- psammopelite; north Kakinagimak Lake. Station RM07-52-
garnet rich pelite and calcic psammopelite; it may be of ST02 at UTM 671620 m E, 6122524 m N.
igneous origin.

One outcrop of impure marble and quartzite (Mbl) in

the central Kakinagimak Lake area is exposed along the
contact between intermediate volcanic rocks and the
larger mass of granodioritic intrusions to the east. The
outcrop weathers dark grey, and comprises a thinly
bedded carbonate-rich succession with 1 to 5 cm-thick
intercalations of white-weathering quartzite (Figure
15). The moderately east-dipping unit is at least 4 to
5 m thick and is capped by a granitic pegmatite, which
has preserved this otherwise recessively weathering
carbonate-rich unit. Similar rocks are also locally found
as minor layers within the migmatitic calcic
psammopelite (Pc).

b) Arc and ‘Successor’ Arc Plutons (?1.88 to

1.85 Ga) Figure 15 - Interbedded succession of impure marble and
By far the most abundant rock type consists of gneissic thin quartzite layers; note tight z-folds in quartzite possibly
related to regional F3 synform located to the west; east shore
to migmatitic granodiorite-tonalite bodies (unit Gd), of central Kakinagimak Lake. Station RM07-40-ST05 at
occurring as large masses in the central part of the area UTM 671767 m E, 6114513 m N.

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 9 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

(Figure 2). A leucocratic variety of this inferred >1.85 Ga plutonic suite (Ansdell and Kyser, 1991; Ashton et al.,
1995) yielded an ID-TIMS U-Pb zircon crystallization age of 1852 +6/-4 Ma (Heaman et al., 1993) from a sample
collected at the south end of Kakinagimak Lake. Farther west, a similar tonalitic gneiss collected 4 km northeast of
Pelican Narrows yielded an upper intercept age of 1856 ±3 Ma, which was interpreted as the time of emplacement
(Ashton et al., 1999). Based on these ages, it appears as though many of the granitoid plutons in the larger Pelican
Narrows area are part of the 1.87 to 1.85 Ga main period of calc-alkaline granodiorite-tonalite-gabbro plutonism
commonly observed in the Flin Flon area, where such intrusions are referred to as successor arc plutons (Syme et
al., 1998). Some of the more mafic granodioritic rocks may, however, represent older arc plutons.
Light grey to light pinkish-grey, gneissic to migmatitic granodiorite-tonalite (Gd) is heterogeneous because of
variable amounts of leucogranodioritic to granitic leucosome, abundant inclusions and schlieren of intermediate to
mafic rocks (Figure 16). Some of the mafic ‘inclusions’ within the granodiorite-tonalite likely represent folded and
boudinaged mafic dykes; others are xenoliths of mafic volcanic rocks. Heterogeneous granodiorite-tonalite is
generally medium to coarse grained and well foliated with centimetre-scale gneissic layering defined by variation in
mafic mineral content and grain size (Figure 17). Hornblende and lesser biotite characteristically account for 10 to
15% of the rock. The heterogeneous gneisses commonly grade into more homogeneous biotite granodiorite (Gdb)
and hornblende granodiorite (Gdh), as well as quartz-diorite gneiss (Qdi) and leucogranodiorite (Lgd).

Light pinkish-grey to buff-weathering, homogeneous hornblende granodiorite (Gdh) is exposed in a number of

localities northwest of Kakinagimak Lake and has gradational contacts with neighbouring heterogeneous migmatitic
varieties (Gd). The rocks are medium to coarse grained, weakly to moderately foliated and contain about 10%
hornblende with minor amounts of biotite. Units of
homogeneous biotite granodiorite (Gdb) are identical
in outcrop appearance, but contain 10% biotite instead
of hornblende. Grey- to buff-weathering quartz
monzonite (Qmz) is also spatially related to the
gneissic granodiorite-tonalite and contact relationships
between the two are gradational. The quartz monzonite
is medium to coarse grained and characteristically
homogeneous, with 10 to 15% coarse-grained
hornblende porphyroblasts and 5 to 10% fine-grained
biotite. Mafic inclusions and schlieren are locally
present. Magnetite is a common constituent in all the
granitoid rocks.

Quartz-diorite gneiss (Qdi) forms 200 to 300 m-thick

units within the granodiorite complex (Gd) that are
traceable along strike for several kilometres. Contacts
with neighbouring granodioritic rock are gradational.
The rocks are relatively heterogeneous, typically Figure 16 - Typical migmatitic gneissic granodiorite-tonalite
containing fine-grained mafic inclusions and schlieren with layered mafic volcanic xenoliths; island in central
(Figure 18), as well as injected granitoid material. They Kakinagimak Lake. Station RM07-43-ST05 at UTM
are grey, with a salt-and-pepper texture on weathered 672350 m E, 6117136 m N.
surface, medium to coarse grained, and moderately
foliated to gneissic. Quartz diorite contains between 5
to 15% quartz, 15 to 25% hornblende > biotite, and
minor titanite and magnetite. The unit also includes
homogeneous dioritic and quartz-dioritic rocks.
Gabbro and microgabbro (Ga) are exposed as
relatively small bodies around McWilliams Lake and
north of Gifford Bay. The gabbroic rocks are mottled
black and white, fine to coarse grained, and
homogeneous to gneissic, with injected granodioritic
melt material. Typical samples contain approximately
equal proportions of hornblende and plagioclase, with
variable amounts of clinopyroxene and biotite. They are
likely derived from dykes and minor mafic intrusions,
but may include some minor volcanic components.
The gabbroic and dioritic rocks are likely part of the
>1.85 Ga plutonic suite as they appear to be closely Figure 17 - Granodiorite-tonalite with well-developed
gneissic layering; west shore of Kakinagimak Lake just
associated with the granodiorite complex, typically south of Cornell Bay. Station RM07-45-ST21 at UTM
displaying gradational contacts and locally exhibiting 672077 m E, 6120368 m N.

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 10 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

well developed foliation and/or gneissosity that is
isoclinally folded in places. Cross-cutting relationships
between the gabbroic and granodioritic rocks were not
observed.

c) ?Missi Group (~1.85 Ga)

A few small units of grey to light pinkish-grey
magnetite-garnet bearing quartzofeldspathic rocks are
exposed between Bentz Bay of Attitti Lake and the
central part of Kakinagimak Lake, and tentatively
interpreted as feldspathic psammite and derived
diatexite (Ms) of the Missi Group. In the Flin Flon
area, the group was bracketed between 1847 Ma
(Ansdell, 1993) and 1842 Ma (Heaman et al., 1992).
Exposures of Missi Group ‘meta-arkoses’ can be found
10 km to the east and 30 km to the northwest, and are
also speculated to exist in the Galbraith Lake area Figure 18 - Heterogeneous quartz diorite gneiss with
immediately to the west (Ashton et al., 1995). By hornblende-rich quartz dioritic leucosome and mafic
inference, some of the pelitic and psammopelitic inclusions; west of Scott Lake. Station RM07-08-ST25 at
migmatites (units Pp and Psp) may equate with the 1.85 UTM 673689 m E, 6114882 m N.
to 1.84 Ga Burntwood Group (Zwanzig, 1990; David et
al., 1996), rather than representing synvolcanic detritus.

Two circular units of these quartzofeldspathic rocks

can be found west of McWilliams Lake. They are
gradational from minor fine- to medium-grained
layered quartzofeldspathic gneiss into relatively
homogeneous, coarse-grained to pegmatitic, igneous-
looking rocks of leucogranodioritic to granitic
composition containing ubiquitous garnet (~2%) and
magnetite (~2%), with variable amounts of biotite,
hornblende, tourmaline, and apatite. Quartz
predominates and may locally reach 50% (Figure 19),
with K-feldspar and plagioclase each accounting for up
to 30% of the rock. Their strongly magnetic nature, the
presence of garnet in the predominantly granitic
leucosome, and their overall heterogeneous nature with
enclaves of layered gneissic rock grading into coarser-
grained granitoid, suggest they are diatexites that were Figure 19 - Magnetite-garnet-quartz–rich diatexite, possibly
possibly derived via partial melting of feldspathic derived from Missi Group feldspathic psammite; northwest
psammites of the Missi Group. of McWilliams Lake. Station RM07-12-ST02 at UTM
668161 m E, 6112337 m N.
d) Syn- to Post-tectonic Plutons
A relatively extensive suite of white to pink leucogranodioritic to leucogranitic rocks (Lgd) underlies large parts
of the area west of Kakinagimak Lake and also comprises up to 20% of most gneissic granodiorite outcrops (unit
Gd). Leucogranodiorite is medium to coarse grained, homogeneous, and weakly to moderately foliated, grading
locally into granitic pegmatite (unit P) and gneissic granodiorite (unit Gd). The main mafic mineral is biotite,
generally making up less than 5% of most rocks, and magnetite is a common accessory. Based on the overall
homogeneous nature of the leucogranodiorite, the generally weakly developed northeast-dipping foliation, and their
low colour index, they are interpreted as syntectonic anatectic melt sheets, possibly similar in age to sheared
pegmatite dated at 1806 ±2 Ma (Ashton et al., 1992) south of the study area.

Weakly deformed to massive pink granite pegmatite forms concordant sheets and small irregular masses throughout
the area (see accompanying map separate). They also occur as numerous conformable transposed dykes about one
metre thick. Typical rocks are coarse to very coarse grained and contain several percent biotite, local garnet and rare
tourmaline. They may correlate with the ca. 1770 Ma Jan Lake Granite Suite (Macdonald and MacQuarrie, 1978).

4. Metamorphism
Based on fieldwork by Ashton et al. (1995) and P-T studies by Ashton and Digel (1992) several kilometres to the
south, metamorphism in the region reached upper amphibolite facies conditions with estimated pressures of 6.6 to

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 11 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

7.9 kbar and temperatures of 630° to 725°C. A U-Pb zircon age of 1807 +3/-2 Ma (Heaman et al., 1992) obtained
from a felsic volcanic rock from the Attitti Lake area, was interpreted as metamorphic and coincides with the age of
a syntectonic granitic pegmatite dyke dated at 1806 ±2 Ma (Ashton et al., 1992). This is coeval with the peak of
metamorphism in the Hanson Lake and Snow Lake areas, generally constrained between 1804 and 1812 Ma (e.g.,
Heaman et al., 1994; David et al., 1996; Syme et al., 1998).
In the Kakinagimak Lake area, metamorphism was also in the upper amphibolite facies range. Partial melting is
widespread in the granodiorite-tonalite complex (Gd), pelitic to psammopelitic rocks, feldspathic psammites and, to
a lesser extent, within the felsic volcanic rocks. The presence of sillimanite in the absence of prograde muscovite
within altered felsic volcanic rocks and some of the pelites, implies that conditions exceeded the second sillimanite
isograd (i.e., temperatures around 700°C). A stable paragenesis of diopside+hornblende+plagioclase, observed in
some of the mafic volcanic and calcic sedimentary rocks, similarly suggests upper amphibolite facies conditions.
Widespread sillimanite together with the absence of kyanite, cordierite and orthopyroxene in the area, suggests that
pressures were between 5 and 8 kbar, consistent with Ashton and Digel’s (1992) findings.

5. Structural Geology
The structural framework for the Pelican Narrows–Attitti Lake area was set out in papers by Lewry et al. (1990),
Ashton and Leclair (1991), and Ashton et al. (1999, 2005) and their findings were largely confirmed in the
Kakinagimak Lake area. We identified one extra ductile deformational event (termed D1) and referred to the earliest
deformation described by Ashton et al. (2005) as D0. Early structures (D0) are defined by compositional layering,
attenuation of units, a well-developed biotite and/or hornblende foliation, and gneissic layering. Decimetre-scale
isoclinal folds defined by gneissic layering were observed in granodiorite-tonalite gneiss (Gd), quartz-diorite gneiss
(Qdi) and mafic volcanic rocks (Mv) and formed during D1. Map-scale folds of this age have not been recognized.

A subsequent D2 event produced tight to close minor folds, locally refolding the D1 isoclines (Figure 20). The axial
planes of D2 folds are generally moderately to steeply northeast dipping with fold axes plunging to the northwest,
northeast, and southeast. Axial planar fabrics, most commonly defined by a hornblende foliation and quartz-feldspar
flattening, were recognized in several locations. Within the gneissic granodiorite-tonalite unit in the central
Kakinagimak Lake area, hornblende and/or biotite foliations, gneissic fabrics and axial planes of D2 folds are also
moderately northeast dipping, and deviate distinctly from the northerly trend of most units (see accompanying map
separate). North- to northwest-trending sheets of homogeneous leucogranodiorite in this area are also characterized
by a northeast-dipping foliation that is, however, much more weakly developed. This may suggest that these
inferred crustal melts were emplaced late during D2 in an extensional orientation, related to northeast-southwest–
directed shortening. Map-scale tight to isoclinal folds southwest of Grindley Lake likely also formed during D2.
Outcrop- and map-scale D3 structures include generally close to tight, steeply east-dipping folds with gently north-
plunging fold axes (Figure 8). The trace of the F3 Bentz Bay Antiform (Ashton and Leclair, 1991) extends into the
Kakinagimak Lake area, whereas the associated Ewen Lake Synform (Pyke, 1961; Ashton and Leclair, 1991) lies to
the west. Both of these structures are map-scale D3 folds, which are responsible for rotating D2 outcrop- and map-
scale folds in the west. The latest sets of folds in the Pelican Narrows area are open, upright northeast-trending F4
folds with wavelengths of tens of kilometres (Lewry et al., 1990). In the study area, F4 is expressed by broad gentle
warping of units northeast of Kakinagimak Lake.

6. Ground Spectrometer Data

On August 13, 2007, Sander Geophysics of Ottawa,
Ontario began a high-resolution, fixed-wing, airborne,
gamma-ray spectrometric and total-field magnetic
survey over the northwestern Flin Flon Domain and
portions of the Glennie Domain (Figure 1). The survey
was funded by the GSC (Natural Resources Canada) as
part of the TGI-3 program. It was designed
cooperatively by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy
and Resources and the GSC. The GSC’s Radiation
Geophysics and Regional Geophysics Sections in
Ottawa, under the Northern Resources Development
Program, provided contract supervision and quality
control to National Gamma Ray Spectrometry
Figure 20 - Isoclinal D1 fold refolded by tight D3 folds (NATGAM) standards.
producing fold interference in gneissic granodiorite; west
shore of central Kakinagimak Lake. Station RM07-30-ST11
at UTM 670911 m E, 6112104 m N.

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 12 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

 The new survey comprises 9889-
line kilometres along east- to
west-oriented flight lines spaced
Ground Spectrometer Data - Kakinagimak Lake 400 m apart and north- to south-
oriented magnetic control lines
12.0 spaced 2400 m apart, all flown at
Granitoids Gd - Granodiorite a survey altitude of 125 m.
Lgd - Leucograndodiorite
Sensors included a large-volume
10.0 gamma-ray spectrometric
Field for granitoids detector (NaI, 50 litres
8.0 Field for intermediate downward and 8 litres upward
looking) sampling at one-second
Th ppm

volcanic rocks
6.0 intervals, and a caesium vapour
magnetometer sampling ten
times per second. Data
4.0 acquisition was completed on
September 9, 2007. This new
2.0 data provides improved
geophysical and geochemical
0.0 information that will enhance the
understanding of tectonic and
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 metallogenic aspects of the
K% northwestern portion of the Flin
Flon Domain, where there is
12.0 potential to discover additional
Volcanic Rocks Ar - Rhyolitic volcanic rock
VMS deposits in close proximity
10.0 Fv - Felsic volcanic rock to the Flin Flon smelter.
Iv - Intermediate volcanic rock
8.0 Mv - Mafic volcanic rock
To aid in the interpretation of the
survey, ground gamma-ray
Th ppm

Field for granitoids spectrometric measurements

6.0 Field for intermediate were collected at 176 sites;
volcanic rocks magnetic susceptibility
4.0 measurements were routinely
collected at every station. The
2.0 majority of bedrock lithologies
were measured. Average
potassium (K) concentrations
0.0 range from 0.1 to 8%, whereas
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 equivalent thorium (eTh) varies
K% between 0.3 and 13 ppm (Figure
21). The lower K and eTh values
12.0 came from mafic volcanic rocks
Sedimentary Rocks Pc - Migmatitic
calcic psammopelite (Mv) and calcic psammopelite
10.0 Pp - Migmatitic pelite (Pc), whereas higher values were
Psp - Migmatitic psammopelite generally obtained from rhyolitic
8.0 Field for granitoids
(Ar) and pelitic rocks (Pp). Some
of the intermediate and felsic
Th ppm

Field for intermediate volcanic rocks display distinctly

6.0 volcanic rocks
elevated high K concentrations,
possibly a result of alteration.
4.0

2.0 7. Economic Geology

Mineral exploration in the
0.0 Kakinagimak Lake area dates
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 back to the 1950s and led to the
discovery of the Schotts Lake
K%
deposit in 1954. The deposit is
located 6 km east of the south
Figure 21 - Plot of ground gamma-ray spectrometric data: average potassium (K) end of Kakinagimak Lake
versus equivalent thorium (eTh) concentrations of bedrock for the Kakinagimak (Figure 2). Since its discovery, it
Lake area. has been drilled off to a depth of

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 13 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

266 m and has an indicated mineral inventory of 4.5 M t at 0.41% Cu and 1.26% Zn (Ministry of Energy and
Resources Assessment File 63M01-SE-0042R). The last major geological investigation of the deposit began in the
early 1990s and culminated with fieldwork carried out by Aur Resources in 1998. The increased exploration activity
in the early 1990s was in part brought about by Saskatchewan Geological Survey geologists’ findings, which
included characterization of the Schotts Lake deposit as a VMS deposit (Pearson, 1986), identification of abundant
Fe-Mg metasomatism and sulphide mineralization, and interpretation of the region as an extension of the Cu-Zn-
Au-rich Flin Flon Domain (Ashton and Leclair, 1991). BHP Minerals Canada Ltd. staked claim S-99712 in the
Gifford Bay area of Kakinagimak Lake, and followed up with geological mapping, sampling, geophysical surveys,
and drilling between 1992 and 1994. As a result, they intersected semi-massive sulphide mineralization dominated
by pyrite and pyrrhotite, with minor amounts of chalcopyrite and sphalerite. One of the better intersections was drill
hole GC-02, which intersected 0.38% Cu and 1.32% Zn between 132.5 and 133.5 m within a sequence of “mafic
brecciated gneisses”. Elevated precious metal concentrations in narrow intercalated layers of cherty chemical
sedimentary rocks were also reported (Ministry of Energy and Resources Assessment Files 63M01-0037 and -
0040). According to industry assessment files, there are two alteration zones associated with the massive sulphide
lens.
The surface expression of the gossan and surrounding host rocks to the Schotts Lake deposit was investigated
during a half-day excursion. Based on that work and the compilation of earlier government and industry maps and
reports (Pearson, 1986; Ministry of Energy and Resources Assessment File 63M01-SE-0042R), we conclude that
the Schotts Lake deposit is a VMS deposit, situated at the boundary between a mafic volcanic and a felsic volcanic
succession close to the core of a northeast-plunging F3 synform. It has two associated alteration zones: a sillimanite–
quartz–?K-feldspar–rich zone located structurally above the massive sulphide lens and an overlying, more distal
anthophyllite-garnet-biotite–rich zone. They may represent the original sericitic and chloritic alteration zones,
documenting enrichment of K and Fe-Mg, respectively, and an overall depletion of Na and Ca. These types of
alteration zones can be situated below and locally above VMS deposits (e.g., Lydon, 1988).

In the remainder of the Kakinagimak Lake area, minor amounts of disseminated pyrrhotite and pyrite are common
within felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks in the Gifford Bay and Keep Lake areas. They are closely associated
with garnet-anthophyllite rocks (Figure 22), a common expression of Fe-Mg metasomatism typically associated
with syngenetic alteration zones surrounding VMS deposits in amphibolite-facies volcanic terranes (e.g., Froese,
1969; Lydon, 1988 and refs. therein; Ashton and Leclair, 1991 and refs. therein).

Relative abundance of potentially rhyolitic volcanic rocks in the central part of the Gifford Bay area in association
with widespread evidence of Fe-Mg alteration (Figure 22), K-alteration (Figure 8), and silicification, suggests that
this area may have been a hydrothermally active felsic volcanic centre. Based on the low ratio of mafic to felsic-
intermediate volcanic rocks, the area has more similarities with the West Amisk (Reilly et al., 1995) and the Hanson
Lake arc assemblages (Maxeiner et al., 1999b), than the Flin Flon arc assemblage (e.g., Syme et al., 1998).

8. Conclusions
Fieldwork in the Kakinagimak Lake area has led to the
following conclusions:

1) As previously suggested (e.g., Ashton and Leclair,

1991), the volcanic succession likely represents an
extension of various components of the Amisk
Collage. Felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks
predominate over their mafic counterparts.
Disseminated sulphides occur locally and signs of
Fe-Mg metasomatism (garnet-anthophyllite
alteration) are abundant.
2) Calcic sedimentary rocks that are closely
associated with the volcanic rocks might represent
a succession similar to the synvolcanic Welsh Lake
assemblage; a thick succession of graphitic pelite
and psammopelite may represent outliers of the
younger Burntwood Group. Diatexitic feldspathic
psammite possibly belongs to the Missi Group.
3) The Kakinagimak Lake area has been
Figure 22 - Garnet-anthophyllite alteration in felsic volcanic metamorphosed under upper amphibolite facies
rocks; east central Keep Lake. Station RM07-48-ST19 at conditions and complexly folded during five
UTM 676265 m E, 6111989 m N. ductile deformational events. It is dominated by

Saskatchewan Geological Survey 14 Summary of Investigations 2007, Volume 2

 granodiorite and granodiorite gneiss, with lesser amounts of sedimentary and volcanic rocks.
4) The Keep Lake area is dominated by garnetiferous intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks, exhibits garnet-
anthophyllite alteration, and local sulphide occurrences, and thus represents an interesting exploration target
that lies on strike with the Schotts Lake deposit.
5) Based on the low ratio of mafic to felsic-intermediate volcanic rocks, the volcanic succession hosting the
Schotts Lake VMS deposit has more similarities with the West Amisk (Reilly et al., 1995) and the Hanson Lake
arc assemblages (Maxeiner et al., 1999b), than the Flin Flon arc assemblage (e.g., Syme et al., 1998).

9. Acknowledgments
Monica Cliveti and Ron Leray are thanked for their able field assistance; Ken Ashton and Kate MacLachlan for
reviewing earlier versions of the typescript. Kelly Stevenson of Pelican Narrows Air Services is gratefully
acknowledged for professional and safe aircraft operation from the Pelican Narrows base of operations.

10. References
Ansdell, K.M. (1993): U-Pb zircon constraints on the timing and provenance of fluvial sedimentary rocks in the Flin
Flon and Athapapuskow basins, Flin Flon Domain, Trans-Hudson Orogen, Manitoba and Saskatchewan; in
Radiogenic Age and Isotopic Studies: Report 7, Geol. Surv. Can., Pap. 93-2, p49-57.

Ansdell, K.M. and Connors, K. (1994): Geochronology of continental sedimentary and volcanic rocks in the Flin
Flon Domain: new results; in Hajnal, Z. and Lewry, J. (eds.), LITHOPROBE Trans-Hudson Orogen Transect,
Rep. 38, p205-209.
Ansdell, K.M. and Kyser, T.K. (1991): Plutonism, deformation and metamorphism in the Proterozoic Flin Flon
greenstone belt, Canada: Limits on timing provided by the single zircon Pb-evaporation technique; Geol., v19,
p518-521.

Ashton, K.E. (1990): Geology of the Snake Rapids area, Flin Flon Domain (parts of NTS 63L-9 and -10); in
Summary of Investigations 1990, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask. Energy Mines, Misc. Rep. 90-4, p4-
12.

__________ (1999): A proposed lithotectonic domainal re-classification of the southeastern Reindeer Zone in
Saskatchewan; in Summary of Investigations 1999, Volume 1, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask. Energy
Mines, Misc. Rep. 99-4.1, p92-100.
Ashton, K.E., Balzer, S.S., and Tran, H. (1995): Geology of the Galbraith-Attitti lakes area, Attitti Block (part of
63M-1 and -2); in Summary of Investigations 1995, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Misc. Rep. 95-4, p23-
29.

Ashton, K.E. and Digel, S. (1992): Metamorphic pressure-temperature results from the Attitti Block; in Summary of
Investigations 1992, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask. Energy Mines, Misc. Rep. 92-4, p114-116.
Ashton, K.E., Drake, A.J., and Lewry, J.F. (1993): The Wildnest-Tabbernor Transect: Attitti-Mirond lakes area
(parts of NTS 63M-1 and -2); in Summary of Investigations 1993, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask.
Energy Mines, Misc. Rep. 93-4, p50-66.

Ashton, K.E., Heaman, L.M., Lewry, J.F., Hartlaub, R.P., and Shi, R. (1999): Age and origin of the Jan Lake
Complex: a glimpse at the buried Archean craton of the Trans-Hudson Orogen; Can. J. Earth Sci., v36, p185-
208.

Ashton, K.E., Hunt, P.A., and Froese, E. (1992): Age constraints on the evolution of the Flin Flon volcanic belt and
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Ashton K.E. and Shi, R. (1994): Wildnest-Tabbernor Transect: Mirond-Pelican Lakes area (part of NTS 63M-2 and
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 M.R. (eds.), The Early Proterozoic Trans-Hudson Orogen of North America, Geol. Assoc. Can., Spec. Pap. 37,
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 Map 1968A/Manit. Energy Mines Map A-98-2/Sask. Energy Mines Map 258A, 54p and six 1:1000 000 scale
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