Opawica
The Opawica Project is located 20 km East of Desmaraisville and is accessible via Highway 113 going from Val-d’Or to Chibougamau, Québec. The property consists of 42 contiguous claims covering 23.45 km2 and are owned 100% by Scandium Canada Ltd.
Opawica Regional Geology, Gold Mines/Deposit and Former Producers
The property lies within major regional NE-SW and E-W deformation corridors that hosts several gold occurrences and some former gold producers, the Joe Mann Mine, the Lac Shortt Mine, the former Bachelor Lake Mine (now called the Bachelor Moroy-Deposit), and the Windfall Deposit.
The geology consists of mafic volcanics of the Obatogamau Formation and the felsic volcanics of the Wachigabau Member, both stratigraphic equivalent to the Joe Mann South Zone geology. The contact between these two major units is host to a 75 to 110 m wide corridor of deformation consisting of several shear zones with strong, pervasive carbonate, sericite, and fuchsite alteration with disseminated pyrite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite and several quartz veinlets with gold and silver mineralization. Previous work on the property identified a 350 m long gold-bearing zone on the eastern part of the property which has never been tested below the 150 m level. In addition to the high-grade gold potential at depth no exploration work was conducted west of the gold-bearing zone over a 1.5 km strike length. Little exploration and development work have been conducted on the property since 1985.
Opawica Property Compilation, Geology and IP Survey
In 2018, Scandium Canada conducted a 3D Induced Polarization (3D-IP) survey to confirm Scandium Canada's interpretation that the Central Gold Zone continued westward beyond its previously-defined western limits. No geophysical anomalies had previously been detected over the western part of the property. Scandium Canada's geophysical survey data confirmed that the IP signature which defines the known gold and silver mineralized structure on the property continues westward for at least 1.7 km and remains untested. In addition, parallel, second-priority targets north and south of the main gold structure were identified by the geophysics and remained untested.
In 2019, Scandium Canada performed a geological mapping program followed by a GPS-positioned ground magnetic survey. The mapping program better characterized known gold mineralized zones and established a structural model for the Central Zone. Zones of strong silica and carbonate alteration and wide NNE and NNW trending structures were encountered during this work. The ground magnetic survey provided better definition of the gold-bearing structures on the property. The E-W trending deformation corridor can be traced for over 2.2 km and two highly magnetic features are identified within this corridor. From the magnetometer data, magnetic lows were identified in the western and eastern parts of the study grid, interpreted to be alteration zones related to gold mineralization. Interestingly, some of these interpreted magnetic features, within the deformation corridor, coincide with highly anomalous IP axis interpreted from the previous 3D-IP survey.
In January 2020, Scandium Canada completed a 3D geological model which focused on the Central Gold Zone. Results of the 3D model shows that the mineralization and quartz veins/veinlets might have a shallower dip to the north than previously interpreted. Another model was also developed by machine learning techniques, taking into consideration favourable geology, structure, alteration intensity, and presence of anomalous gold. This work led to the identification of two significant target areas in a "Heat Map": the known "Central Gold Zone" and a new target area to the west, the "New West Zone".
Opawica Property, Heat Map with Central Gold Zone and New West Zone
In late February 2020, Scandium Canada announced the successful completion of a Winter diamond drilling program at the Central Gold Zone. Drilling was undertaken to evaluate areas of high historical gold intersections (6.9 g/t Au over 3.8 m and 5.1 g/t Au over 2.8 m), as well as geophysical/geological targets favourable to gold concentration in the area. Of importance was the intersection, in drillhole O-20002, of an intense deformation and alteration structure containing 1 to 15% pyrite, minor pyrrhotite, and occasional chalcopyrite and tourmaline over 155.0 metres of core length. The new drilling is geologically similar to areas of historical gold intersections returned from the property. The intensity of the structural deformation, favourable alteration, and sulphide mineralization observed has led Scandium Canada staff to interpret that the area is highly prospective for concentration of gold. Borehole O-20002 intersected gold mineralization averaging 1.21 g/t Au over a 13.3 m core length with smaller intervals grading up to 3.11 g/t Au over 1.1 m and 2.41 g/t Au over 2.8 m within the Central Zone Structure. The gold-bearing section sits downhole and adjacent to a moderately to strongly sericitized quartz-feldspar porphyry dyke, which is interpreted to represent an important marker horizon for the hosting of gold on the property. This significant finding will be used to guide future exploration on the property moving forward.
