Oct 9 2013
Radisson Mining Resources Inc. is pleased to announce the start of prospecting on its Lac Gouin SSO property, located about 65 km southeast of Arianne Phosphate Inc.'s Lac à Paul deposit.
The Lac Gouin SSO property is located approximately 115 km north of Lac Saint-Jean, in the province of Québec, and is easily accessible by logging roads.
The Lac Gouin SSO property lies in the Grenville Geological Province. It is included in the Lac-Saint-Jean Anorthosite, which is the largest known anorthosite complex in the world, covering about 20,000 square kilometres (MRNF Géologie Québec report: Laurin, AF, Sharma, KNM, 1975, RG161). In Québec, the Grenville Province contains phosphate resources associated with anorthosite complexes, bedded igneous complexes and the carbonatites of alkaline complexes.
No apatite is currently being mined in Québec but two advanced projects to produce phosphate rock for the global market are currently under study. They are Arianne Phosphate Inc.'s Lac à Paul project, north of Lac St-Jean, with a measured-indicated resource of 590 Mt @ 7.13% P2O5 at a cut-off grade of 4.0% P2O5, (Reference: 43-101 Technical Report, GoldMinds Geoservices, March 2013), and the Arnaud Mine project in Sept-Iles with a measured-indicated resource of 482 Mt @ 4.18% P2O5 at a general cut-off grade of 1.76% P2O5 (Reference: Pre-Feasibility Study, SGS Canada, July 2013).
The goal of this first phase of exploration work on Radisson's property is to find, confirm and define the scope and nature of the mineralization of the historical iron and apatite showing discovered by mapping by the Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec (MRNQ) in 1962.
The showing will be sampled to analyze its phosphate (P2O5) content and the presence of other potentially interesting elements. Reconnaissance work will also be carried out over the entire property, along with sampling of the various lithologies, to provide a better understanding of the geology of this highly metamorphosed area, possibly discover other showings on the property, and support better planning of future work.
According to MRNQ reports, the showing consists of a body of magnetite-rich monzonite, in contact with anorthosite of the Lac-Saint-Jean Anorthosite Complex, syenite and quartz syenite. It is oriented N000-010 and is 4.5 km long by 0.4 to 1.2 km wide. The magnetite content can be up to 25% and apatite content, 15%. (MNRF Géologie Québec publication, Anderson, A., 1963, RP 504).
Apatite is the most common phosphate mineral. It contains more than 41% phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5), making it the main source of phosphate. Phosphorus is one of three main components of mineral fertilizers. Phosphate (P2O5) extracted from phosphate rock is used primarily (> 90%) to produce agricultural fertilizer.
There are several types of apatite deposits. Deposits associated with sedimentary and igneous rocks (including anorthosite complexes) are the two main types. In anorthosite complexes, apatite is frequently found with iron-titanium mineralization. In Québec, there are apatite deposits of this type in the Lac-Saint-Jean, Labrieville and Havre-Saint-Pierre anorthosite complexes.