Ezra Hovi, MSc
E. Hovi1, N. Blamey1, D. Good1, T. Baechler2
1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
2GT Resources Inc.,Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Tyko Project is a Tier-1 Ni-Cu magmatic sulphide occurrence located near Manitouwadge, Ontario and owned by GT Resources. The best drill hole intersections include 12.9% Ni, 2.7% Cu, 0.67 g/t Pd, and 0.34 g/t Pt, over 0.9 m, and 10.4% Ni, 3.4% Cu, 0.53 g/t Pd, and 0.34 g/t Pt across 2.3 m.
Drilling has identified multiple mafic intrusions with varying degrees of mineralization. The goal of this project is to understand the geological relationships of these intrusions to constrain which events are related to known mineralization.
Samples were studied in thin section and submitted for high-precision Fusion ICP-MS trace and rare earth element analyses. The slope of the rare earth element spidergrams and lambda values of the rocks were analyzed to define units. Based on this data, 4 geochemically distinct intrusions have been identified.
Rare earth element patterns clearly delineate 3 mafic intrusions, with steep, shallow, and flat slopes. The shallow slope represents melagabbro, hosting Ni- and Cu- rich mineralization. This rock has coarse-grained interlocking anhedral clinopyroxene, with euhedral magnetite crystals and disseminated to net-textured sulfides. The steepest slope represents a mafic magnetite-rich gabbro hosting disseminated sulfides. The rock has a cumulate texture with subhedral hornblende, euhedral magnetite, and interstitial plagioclase. The flat slope represents an unmineralized leucogabbro. The leucogabbro is primarily subhedral amphibole and clinopyroxene with interstitial plagioclase. All lithologies are intruded by tonalites from the 2730 Ma Black Pic Batholith. U-Pb zircon age dates and EPMA analysis are still pending.
The classification of these intrusions will help to narrow down future drilling efforts at the Tyko deposit allowing for more focused targeting of economically significant lithologies.