Project Submittals
Heaven Lake Property Summary and Request for Proposal
Copper, Nickel & Platinum Group Metal Potential in the Lac des Iles area, Northwestern Ontario
Introduction
Pacific North West Capital (PFN) is seeking a partner to finance exploration of its Heaven Lake Property, near the Lac des Iles PGM Mine area in northwestern Ontario (Figure 1). Heaven Lake is100% owned by PFN, located 15 km to the north of the Lac des Iles PGM Mine, and underlain by Archean rocks of the Superior Province and Mesoproterozoic age rocks related to the Midcontinental Rift. The Heaven Lake Property has been explored intermittently since the 1960s, mainly for copper‐zinc and gold. Nickel‐Cu‐PGM mineralization was discovered only until 2000, but exploration ceased in2004 prior to any drilling. PFN staked the property in 2011, but the Company has not carried out any exploration.
Figure 1. Location of the Heaven Lake Property, northwestern Ontario.
Access and Claims
The Heaven Lake property is located 130 km north of the city of Thunder Bay and 15 km north of the Lac des Iles PGM Mine. Access is by all‐season paved highways, logging gravel roads and bush trails (Figure 2). The roads and trails link to the access road system for the Lac des Iles Mine.
The Heaven Lake claim group consists of 88 contiguous 16‐unit claims on Crown Lands (1408 units), encompassing an area of 22,528 ha (Figure 2) and owned 100% by PFN. A full listing of the claims is provided in Appendix I. The claim group encloses two small claims not held by PFN. One of those claims hosts a quartz vein anomalous in copper and gold values, and the other a dimension stone marble prospect.
Geological Setting
The Heaven Lake Property lies near the boundary of the Archean Superior Province to the west and the Mesoproterozoic Nipigon Embayment to the east (Figure 3). The property is underlain by metamorphosed and deformed Archean volcanic‐sedimentary rocks and intermediate to felsic intrusions of the Wabigoon Terrane (Figure 4). The Archean rocks are disconformably overlain by Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks and intruded by Nipigon diabase sills. The latter bodies are related to the ~1100 million‐year‐old Midcontinent Rift (MacDonald et al., 2005).
Geology
of Heaven Lake PropertyThe geology of the Heaven Lake Property is shown in Figure 5. The property is underlain by Archean age rocks which are disconformably overlain by two groups of Mesoproterozoic age rocks. The Archean rocks are exposed in erosional windows through the Mesoproterozoic cover. They consist of mafic to felsic metavolcanic rocks and gabbro intrusions and intermediate massive to locally gneissic plutons. Thin pyrite‐pyrrhotite‐chert "iron formation" metasedimentary horizons occur throughout the metavolcanic rock section, but are most common near the transition from mafic to felsic rocks. A single thin unit of ultramafic volcanic rocks (komatiite?) is present near the top of the mafic volcanic rock section (Map P3434). The structural grain in the Archean rocks, defined in part by major faults, runs mainly NE‐SW. This structural grain is crosscut by NW‐SE trending structures.
Two small patches of Mesoproterozoic Sibley Group metasedimentary rocks are present in the southeast area of the Heaven Lake Property (yellow in Figure 5). The youngest unit is flat‐laying, eastward thickening Nipigon diabase sills. The Archean and Proterozoic rocks are covered by glacial and glaciofluvial deposits and swamps and peat bogs. The depth of cover appears to be greater in the western part of the Heaven Lake Property.
Exploration
HistoryThe area of the Heaven Lake Property has been covered by Ontario government geological and geophysical surveys (Appendix II), and explored by companies and prospectors mainly for copper‐zinc and gold since the 1960s (Appendix III). Nickel‐Cu‐PGM sulphide mineralization was discovered only in year 2000 and was the catalyst for PFN's acquisition of the property.
The most recent Ontario government surveys of the Heaven Lake Property were completed between
2001 and 2004. An airborne EM survey was flown in 2001 (1:50,000 scale; M83135 and M82142) and airborne magnetics and radiometric surveys in 2004 (1:50,000 scale; M81842). The most recent geological map is P3434 (scale 1:20,000), completed in 2001. In 2003, the Heaven Lake and Lac des Iles mapping project involved compilation of lithochemical and assay data and diamond drill holes (MRD125) for the area.
The companies that explored in the area of the Heaven Lake Property include Phelps Dodge Corp. (1970‐75), Amoco Petroleum Co. Ltd. (1980‐81), Cumberland Resources Ltd. (1989‐1995), Noranda Exploration Co. Ltd. (1994), and Phoenix‐Matachewan Mines Inc. (2000‐2002). The most recent exploration was by prospectors in 2004. Overall the mineralization discovered to date is stringer vein and massive sulphide associated copper (up to 0.5% Cu) and zinc (up to 0.25% Zn), quartz vein hosted gold (up to 1.6 oz/t Au), and gabbro hosted disseminated to blebby Cu‐Ni‐PGM sulphides.
The focus of Ni‐Cu‐PGM exploration has been a gabbro intrusion to the northeast of Whitton Lake (Figure 6), in the north‐central part of the Heaven Lake Property (Figure 5). The gabbro intrusion is a discordant "sill", measures 1 km long by 200 metres wide in size, and consists mainly of gabbro with a margin of pyroxenite. Stripping of the gabbro intermittently along 900 metres along strike revealed its southern contact to be irregular along strike and the rocks to be taxitic and amphibolitized, and to contain sulphide mineralization and partly digested inclusions of sulphide‐bearing mafic country. Contact with the country rocks is marked by fine‐grained chlorite schist and coincides roughly with a VLF anomaly. The gabbro is non‐magnetic, except in the presence of pyrrhotite. Other gabbro intrusions are present on the property, but poorly exposed.
The sulphide mineralization in the gabbro consists of up to 8% sulphide blebs 5 mm to 20 mm in size with chalcopyrite plus pentlandite. The highest assays obtained for grab samples are presented
below in Table 1. The target area Cu‐Ni‐PGM mineralization remains to be drilled.
Table 1. The highest assays obtained from grab samples of stripped exposures during Phoenix Matachewan Mines Ltd. 2000-2002 Exploration Program
1.
During the government's Operation Treasure Hunt survey, an airborne EM anomaly of weak to moderate strength was detected near and beneath Whitton Lake (Figures 5‐6), to the southwest of the Cu‐Ni‐PGM target area described above. Attempts to dig trenches along the EM anomaly largely failed due to overburden depths of up to 5 metres. The anomaly remains to be drilled and explained.
Indicative Exploration
ProgramThe exploration targets most commonly noted in the provincial assessment reports are Lac des Iles style PGM mineralization and, more recently, Thunder Bay North style Cu‐Ni‐PGM mineralization. At Heaven Lake, however, Ni-Cu-PGM mineralization near the base of the gabbro‐pyroxenite intrusion could possibly indicate different target type. This target area should be ranked highly for IP and time‐domain EM surveys on grids with 100 metre line spacing and, pending results, drill testing. Elsewhere on the Heaven Lake property, geophysical surveys and mapping and prospecting surveys by experienced personnel should be carried out to find and explore other prospective mafic intrusions. An additional focus for exploration should be the unexplained airborne EM anomalies about Whitton Lake.
The presence of thick overburden and the flat‐lying Nipigon Diabase unit hinders ground geophysical surveys and surface mapping and prospecting work. A modern airborne geophysical survey with higher resolution and increased depth penetration combined with inversion modelling of EM and magnetic anomalies of interest could better focus follow‐up exploration activities on the ground. Indeed, OFR 6164 (MacDonald et al., 2005) reports the presence of a magnetic anomaly at depth beneath the northeastern part of the Heaven Lake Property. Gabbro has been reported in the area, but also present are thick horizons of magnetic massive pyrrhotite associated with chert. The significance of that magnetic anomaly remains to be determined. Inversion modelling combined with physical property studies warrants consideration, as a means of evaluating the potential of the Heaven Lake Property area to hold large mafic to ultramafic intrusions which do not outcrop.
Several exploration companies have recently staked properties around the Heaven Lake Property. These companies include Platinum Group Metals and HTX Minerals Corp., which are known to have interest in Cu-Ni-PGMs.
Proposal
PFN is seeking a partner to finance exploration of its 100% owned Heaven Lake Property, near the Lacdes Iles PGM Mine in northwestern Ontario. An indicative exploration program and budget for 2012‐2013 is $1.1 million, including an airborne geophysical survey, field mapping and prospecting, and diamond drill testing of nickel‐copper‐PGM sulphide targets on the Heaven Lake Property.
Digital data sets for the Heaven Lake Property are available under a signed Confidentiality Agreement. Interested companies should contact Mr. Ali Alizadeh (VP Exploration) or Mr. Bill Stone (President & COO) to sign a CA.
Qualified Person Statement :
Technical information provided on this report has been reviewed and approved for technical content by Dr. William Stone, President & COO of PFN, a Qualified Person under the provisions of National Instrument 43‐101.
Mr. Bill Stone
President & COO
Pacific Northwest Capital Corp
Tel: 416‐368‐5268
Email:bstone@pfncapital.com
Mr. Ali Alizadeh, M.Sc. P.Geo
Vice President of Exploration
Pacific North West Capital Corp
Tel: 604‐648‐1405
Email: ali@pfncapital.comAppendix I -- Listing of the Heaven Lake Property Claims
Appendix II -- Summar Compilation of Ontario Government Work in the
Heaven Lake Property Area
Appendix III -- Summary Compilation of Exploration Activities in the
Heaven Lake Property Area
Projects
