There are at least three and possibly four major periods of deformation in the Rice Lake area

(Sasseville, 1999). The resulting fold pattern is complex with overturned, doubly plunging folds

common in the Rice Lake Group rocks. The late Archean San Antonio Formation sedimentary

rocks may have only been affected by the last major period of deformation.

There are a number of major regional fault structures in the Rice Lake area. The major structures

that trend in a generally east-west direction are the most prominent and movement along these

structures has developed conjugate shear zones that splay off to the north and south. In addition

there has probably been thrust faulting in the early stages of the deformation of the area,

however, these structures are difficult to identify.

All of the major gold occurrences in the Rice Lake area occur as quartz veins or quartz vein

systems related to structural deformation (folding and faulting) of the host rocks. See Section

4.2 for a discussion of deposit types/models and Section 4.3 for descriptions of the geology and

mineralization on the Bissett Mine property...

The common denominator in all gold occurrences of significance in the Uchi Subprovince is that

all occur in structurally controlled settings where brittle fracture has created zones that allowed

extensive circulation of hydrothermal fluids. Major regional structural features (faulting,

folding, and intrusive related deformation) provide a focal point for selecting broad scale areas

for exploration.

It can clearly be observed from a study of geological maps, that not all structurally complex

areas have gold mineralization, and further, it can be demonstrated that certain parts of the

volcanic-sedimentary stratigraphic package host a disproportionate amount of the gold

mineralization in a district..

4.3.1 Geology (Figure 4.2 and 4.3)

The San Norm property and the adjoining Bissett (San Antonio) gold mine is located within the

Rice Lake greenstone belt at the west end of the Archean Uchi Subprovince.

At the Bissett Mine gold mineralization is confined to the San Antonio Mine Unit (“SAM Unit”) a

layered, sill-like gabbroic unit that intrudes the Bidou Lake Subgroup. The SAM Unit is considered

to be a subvolcanic feeder for overlying mafic related to overlying mafic volcanic rocks.

The Bidou Lake Subgroup is a north facing stratigraphic sequence that has a strike of 125

and dips

48

to the northeast in the Bissett Mine area and then swings to an east-northeasterly strike direction

breccias, overlain by carbonate-sericite schist of probable pyroclastic and sedimentary origin. The

sequence is intruded by diabase (gabbro) sills and dykes, and porphyritic felsic dykes. The Bidou

Lake Subgroup is unconformably overlain by feldspathic sandstone of the San Antonio Formation.

On the San Norm Property the volcanic stratigraphy of the Bidou Subgroup is comprised of a lower

unit of mafic volcanic flows and tuffs, overlain by intermediate to felsic tuffs at the top of which

occurs a unit of sericite schist and quartz-carbonate (ankeritic), overlain by a second unit of mafic

volcanic flows and mafic sills, and on the northerly part of the property a sequence of felsic to

intermediate volcanic tuffs.

Gold on the San Norm property is confined to the sericite schist and quartz-carbonate unit which

has historically be called the “Normandy Shear Zone”. While the unit is definitely schistose, and

has been the focus of bedding plane shearing rather that is more intense than that in the more

competent overlying and underlying lithologic units, the current site geologists are of the opinion

that the “Normandy Shear Zone” is actually a felsic “exhalite” unit and could mark the original

epithermal to exhalative gold event in the district.