JAMES BAY PROJECT: Location and Geology

Location and Geology

The property is located in the west-central part of Township No. 2312 in Northwestern Quebec. It is 2 kilometres south of the Eastmain River and 100 kilometres east of James Bay. The topography of the property is gently rolling to more flat lying. Much of the property is covered by muskeg. Outcrops are common in this area and they usually correspond to mounds or ridges above the surrounding plain. The property lies in the north-eastern part of the Superior geological province with the Eastmain greenstone belt.

JBLP Claim Map (click to enlarge)

For additional details of Lithium One's land holdings at the James Bay Project please refer to the: NI 43-101 Technical Report
Click here to download map

Infrastructure

The property is readily accessible by paved road as the highway cuts through the property close to road marker kilometre 384. The road marker kilometre 384 means that they are located road wise, 384 kilometres from Mattagami where there is an airport and mining infrastructure. The property can be accessed by aircraft with an airstrip only 15 kilometres away. There is a large truck stop, the Relais Routier gas station, located approximately one kilometre from the property with helicopter access. Fuel, electricity, motel and restaurant services are all available here.

Regional Geology

The James Bay property lies in the north-eastern part of the Superior geological province. It is located within the Eastmain greenstone belt. This greenstone belt consists predominately of amphibolitic grade mafic to felsic metavolcanics, metasediments, and minor gabbroic intrusions. This greenstone belt is surrounded by mesozonal to catazonal migmatites and gneiss of Archean age.

Map of subdivisions of Superior Province

The following except was taken from the Abstract of the Geological and Metallogenic Synthesis of the Middle and Lower Eastmain Greenstone Belt; "The Middle and Lower Eastmain greenstone belt (MLEGB) is located in the James Bay region. Our goal is to present a synthesis and a geodynamic model for the Eastmain sector incorporating geological, mealogenic, geochronological and geochemical information.

The region comprises an Archean volcano-sedimentary assemblage which is assigned to the Eastmain Group. This group is made up of komatiitic to rhyolitic volcanic rocks and a variety of sedimentary rocks. The assemblage is overlain by the paragneisses of the Auclair Formation (Nemiscau and Opinaca basins). The mineral occurrences are spatially related to the MLEBG and grouped in very specific areas.

In the Middle and Lower Eastmain sector, four volcanic cycles are recognized based on age 1) 2752 to 2739 Ma; 2) 2739 to 2720 Ma 3) 2720 to 2705 Ma and 4)<2705 Ma. Research on plutons allowed the identification of several suites (TTG, TGGM and TTGM) with emplacement episodes spanning the period 2747 to 2697 Ma. Around 2668 Ma, late intrusions of granodioritic to granitic composition that are locally pegmatic transected the Auclair Formation. A number of lithium and molybdenum showings are associated with these late intrusions, which are attributed to a period of crustal extension. The regional settings and the geochemical composition of the volcanic rocks of the Middle and Lower Eastmain belt suggest that the earliest volcanic formations are the product of volcanism associated with ocean floor spreading (i.e. mid-ocean ridges and/or oceanic platforms).

Map representing the 3 Phases of Deformation

Theperiod 2752 to 2720 Ma (stages 1 and 2) marks the construction of oceanic platforms and a few andesitic arcs. The calc-alkaline (1-type) plutonic rocks (TTG) are indicative of subduction zone magmatism occurring around 2747 Ma, although an episode of crustal thickening, followed by melting at the base of the crust, may explain the emplacement of a considerable array of batholiths up until 2710 Ma. The different types of synvolcanic mineralization reveal peak activity at specific stages of volcanic construction, that is, epithermal mineralization ~2751 Ma, volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralization between 2720 and 2739 Ma, and porphyry-type mineralization at ~2712 Ma. Between 2697 and 2710 Ma (stage 4), a resurgence of syntectonic plutonism (D1) occurred. After this period, crustal shortening (N-S) generated a number of regional faults (E-W to ENE) and widespread uplifting. The destruction of volcano-plutonic assemblages is partly reflected in the deposition of conglomerates (D2).

Orogenic-type gold occurrences are associated with these two deformation episodes; however, the most extensive zones of mineralization, such as the Eau Claire deposit and the mineral occurrences on the Auclair property, are related to the D2 event. Tectonic activity culminated with the formation of the Nemiscau and Opinaca basins (before 2700 Ma), which are associated with arc-extension periods."

Property Geology

The following is cited from the Boisvert report dated 1989, "The geology of the property remains largely unknown and much of the previous mapping was confined to within 3 kilometres of the Matagami-LG2 highway. A reconnaissance geological map of the property was produced by the SDBJ in 1975. The map indicates biotite schists and gneisses, mafic metavolcanics, dacites, quartzites, meta-conglomerates, meta-gabbros, granites and pegmatites. Most of the rocks are wellfoliated, striking east-northeasterly, and dipping subvertically although some of the granites and pegmatites have a more massive appearance.

The property is remarkable due to its occurrence of spodumene bearing pegmatites. The pegmatite occurs as northwest to northeast trending irregular dykes or lenses which are interlayered with biotite schist and greenstone inclusions. An apparent east-west stacking of pegmatite lenses is observed, with each attaining up to 60 metres in width and over 100 metres in length. According to a SDBJ geological report, {". . .they [the irregular dykes-like bodies] cross-cut at a high angle the foliation and presumed bedding of the intruded rocks on a local and regional scale. They sometimes have complex interconnections and common inclusions of biotite schist whose foliation is not always parallel to that of the schist outside the pegmatite. These dykes . . . generally show a westerly dip of 60° of steeper."} (Y. Pelletier, 1975).

The size and extents of the pegmatite dykes has not been firmly established, although it appears that the pegmatite-amphibolite assemblage forms part of a much larger east-west trending dome or lense-shaped body. Mapping suggests this hybrid pegmatite-amphibolite intrusion having a length of roughly 4 kilometres and a thickness of 300 metres."

The following except was taken from the Geological and Metallogenic Synthesis of the Middle and Lower Eastmain Greenstone Belt, page 30. "Two substances are associated with pegmatite dikes: lithium and molybdenum. Lithium deposits are closely related to granitic pegmatite dikes rich in spodumene and locally in lepidolite. The mineralization belongs to the rare-element class, the LCT family (Li-Cs-Ta) and the albite spodumene type according to the classification of Cerny (1991a). The James Bay Lithium deposit is the most extensive mineral occurrence, with resources of 121,500t assaying 1.7% Li2O per vertical metre (Pelletier, 1975). Lithium is generally found in spodumene crystals which are more than a metre long locally. These crystals are associated with pegmatite dikes (quartz-albite-muscovite), which can extend over distances of a few hundred metres and a width of 60 metres. The eastward extension of this deposit (Cyr-2) also has promising potential, with the selected samples assaying up to 4.42 Li2O weight % (Valiquette, 1974).

"Only late- to post-tectonic pegmatives host lithium (Li) and molybdenum (Mo) mineralization. In pegmatites of the LTC family (Li-Cs-Ta), regional zonation of rare metals is generally observed in pegmatites resulting from a cogenentic intrusion (Cerny, 1991b). In the case of the James Bay Lithium deposit, spodumeme pegmatites are likely the most differentiated dikes and the most distant from the cogenetic intrusion located farther south (Kapiwak Pluton; Moukhsil et al., 2001).

Deposit Types

The data available suggests that this is a typical magmatic pegmatite, and is granitic. Due the abundance and wide variety of minerals this is a complex pegmatite. Magmatic pegmatites are formed when the main magma body cools beneath the crust. Water initially present in low concentrations becomes concentrated in the decreasing quantity of molten rock. When this water rich magma is expelled it solidifies to form a pegmatite. As this is a lithium rich pegmatite, several interpretations would suggest that there has been little erosion of this pegmatite as lithium is generally found in the upper portions of the pegmatite.

Mineralization

The name spodumene was derived from the Greek spodumenos which means "burnt to ash", which refers to the light grey colour of spodumene. Spodumene is composed of Lithium (8.03% Li2O), Aluminum (27.40% Al2O3), and Silicon (64.58% SiO2) and Oxygen (51.59% O).

Spodumene is a lithium aluminum silicate and is the principle source of lithium. It is a relatively rare pyroxene found in lithium rich granite pegmatites. Its occurrence is associated with quartz, microcline, albite, muscovite, lepidolite, tourmaline and beryl. Gem spodumene occurs rarely in a crystal form that can be colourless or can be yellow, pink, and green and in extremely rare light blue colour. The colour in these gems is due to impurities substituting for aluminum in the crystal structure. Iron produces yellow to green coloured spodumene, chromium produces deep green coloured spodumene, and manganese produces pink to lilac spodumene.

Spodumene is recognized by its prismatic cleavage, crystal habit, striated prisms, colour, fracture and by its pegmatitic occurrence. Spodumene is a major source of lithium. The perfect cleavage of spodumene makes it more difficult to facet. The major minerals of the spodumene pegmatites are, in decreasing order of abundance: perthitic feldspar, spodumene (25%), quartz, and muscovite. Minor or trace amounts of the following minerals are locally observed: apetite, beryl, iron oxides, ilmenite, serpentine, tourmaline (?), and feri-sicklerite or lithiophilite.