Room 303AB - SOQUEM
Driven by a favorable mining ecosystem and transformation projects capturing the imagination, lithium exploration and development in Quebec is booming. This conference session will provide an overview of the current state of lithium exploration in Quebec and an update on high-profile projects, highlighting promising prospects and tools that could lead to new discoveries.
This session will be offered in French and in English.
1:30 p.m.
Granitic pegmatites are very coarse-grained igneous rocks. Most granitic pegmatites are not mineralized but some are highly fractionated and can host rare elements and exotic mineralogy. A number of these rare elements are considered critical according to critical minerals lists of Canada, the USA, the European Union and other nations. One of the classical divisions of granitic pegmatites uses their chemistry and separates them in two major groups: Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (LCT) and Niobium-Yttrium-Fluorine (NYF). LCT pegmatites can concentrate large amounts of lithium, cesium and tantalum but also other incompatible rare elements such as tin, boron and rubidium. NYF pegmatites can be enriched in niobium, yttrium and fluorine as well as rare earth elements, uranium and thorium. LCT pegmatites are the main source of hard rock lithium, spodumene being the current mineral of interest. Lithium is considered a critical element and is in particularly high demand due to its use in batteries. Lithium batteries are viewed as vital for the energy transition and decarbonization of our economy. Global estimates by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for end-use markets suggest that 80% of total lithium production is used in batteries, the majority of which comes from LCT pegmatites. However, lithium has important physical and chemical properties that are also uniquely suited to a wide range of applications including pharmaceuticals, glass and ceramics, and aerospace technologies. This demand and interest in lithium is driving considerable interest in LCT pegmatites, spurring multiple academic research projects and exploration efforts not only here in Canada but also globally. LCT pegmatites are economically important hard rock lithium deposits because they are more evenly distributed around the globe, and their exploitation operations are easier and faster to ramp up production in comparison to brine deposits. This makes lithium production from LCT pegmatites less dependent on political changes, more adaptable and consequently less prone to disruptions of global supply chains. Exploring for LCT pegmatites has seen enormous uptake with multiple novel techniques including hyperspectral imaging, remote sensing, use of artificial intelligence tools and big data. However, classic geochemical methods still play the main role in successful exploring for LCT pegmatites.
The Manitoba Geological Survey is revisiting the Archean Bird River domain, an area with well-established potential for critical minerals including lithium, cesium, platinum, nickel and chromium, and host to the world-class Tanco pegmatite. Our multidisciplinary project focuses on aspects of structural geology, mineral chemistry, petrochronology and till indicator minerals.
2:00 p.m.
Orientation 1 of the Quebec Plan for the Development of Critical and Strategic Minerals (CSM) aims to increase our knowledge of these essential resources. The objective of this project is to improve CSM exploration methods by vectorizing LCT (Li-Cs-Ta) pegmatites from associated peraluminous plutons.
The best-known model for the formation of LCT pegmatites proposes that they originate from residual liquids rich in volatiles and rare elements resulting from the fractional crystallization of magma derived from the partial melting of sedimentary rocks. These dykes therefore show a genetic link and spatial zonation with peraluminous granites, as demonstrated in several examples from the Superior Province in western Ontario and south-eastern Manitoba. In addition, some of these granites also show mineralogical zonation with increased occurrence of minerals such as garnet, tourmaline and beryl in areas where spodumene pegmatites have been identified. This project focuses on the analysis of mineralogical and chemical zonations within the La Motte Batholith (LMB) in an effort to identify vectors for targeting areas potentially rich in LCT pegmatites. Since these zonations are not obvious, machine learning will be used to detect them.
This project began with the compilation of recent (Rajhi, 2024) and historical (SIGÉOM and Leduc [1980]) chemical and mineralogical data on the LMB. The data was then verified and integrated into a single database by assessing its quality and compatibility in order to carry out more detailed analyses. This process involves the use of advanced statistical methods and machine learning to define vectorization indicators and evaluate their effectiveness. Given the small amount of lithiniferous pegmatites known in the LMB area, the project plans to validate the indicators identified by testing them in the Lake Simard area, which has a geological environment comparable to that of the LMB and where recent data has been collected. This validation will make it possible to assess the robustness and versatility of the indicators for these two peraluminous granites. By combining existing geological data with modern techniques, the project aims to improve the efficiency of exploration for lithiniferous pegmatites while maximizing the use of existing databases.
Lithium is predominantly found in lithium-rich brine deposits, pegmatites, and lithium-bearing clays. Identifying areas with high concentrations is a challenge as lithium deposits can be scattered and not easily predictable.
Geophysics is instrumental to develop effective exploration strategies and techniques for lithium deposits. It involves the measurement and analysis of the physical properties of the subsurface to infer geological structures and identify potential mineral deposits.
When used properly, geophysics helps to target drilling and maximize the utility of exploration dollars spent. Successful application of geophysics is a combination of the method used with proper technical specifications, instrumentation, implementation, processing, modeling, and interpretation. The best geophysical method to use depends on the deposit type and the geological conditions across the target.
Exploring for lithium bearing pegmatites with geophysics presents a challenge. The physical property contrasts (magnetic susceptibility, density, conductivity, etc.) between pegmatites and their host rocks are often small and difficult to distinguish using geophysical methods. Lithium concentrated in brine may not be in the deepest parts of the basin. This conference will discuss case studies where magnetics and gravity have been effectively used for pegmatites and where gravity and Magnetotellurics (MT) have been used to map lithium bearing brine.
2:40 p.m.
2.55 p.m.
In response to the growing demand for lithium in a world moving towards an electric future, exploration companies are focusing their efforts on the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, where lithium showings are abundant. The Adina deposit contains a pegmatite enriched in spodumene and other rare elements, representing one of the largest hard-rock lithium resources in North America with a mineral resource estimate of 76.4 Mt at a grade of 1.15% Li2O. It is actively explored by Winsome Resources with the goal of responsibly producing minerals essential to the modern world.
The main body of the Adina pegmatite, located in the La Grande Subprovince, is continuous over 3,200 m with a thickness of ~50 m and is hosted within the 2.7 Ga metamorphosed basalts of the Trieste Formation. Here we characterize the Adina pegmatite and assess the nature and extent of metasomatic alteration of the host rock caused by pegmatite-derived fluids. We focus on drill holes containing the thickest intersections of pegmatite and the enclosing host rock. The drill core was scanned using the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) ECORE instrument, a mineralogical and elemental core scanner, combined with corresponding whole-rock assays.
The Adina pegmatite is dominated by intergrowth textures with either spodumene and quartz or plagioclase and quartz, which occur within centimeters of the wall rock. The pegmatite is banded by layers of tourmaline and abrupt changes in crystal size, both of which can be traced across the pegmatite, and is locally bordered by layered aplite. The rare metal aureole affecting the host rock varies in concentration, ranging from 0.01 % to 0.26 % Li2O. High lithium contents in the host rock show distinct mineral associations and are not always directly adjacent to the pegmatite dyke. The Adina pegmatite represents a world-class lithium deposit that is ideal for mining. It is high-grade, low in mineral impurities and accessible at surface, holding the potential to be a major source of Lithium in North America.
3:15 p.m.
MRNF
The James Bay Lithium (JBL) deposit is located along a NW-SE segment of the Lower Eastmain Shear Zone (LESZ), which forms a system of conjugate faults with NE-SW discontinuities between the Nemiscau Subprovince to the south and the La Grande Subprovince (Lower Eastmain Belt) to the north. It contains over 30 spodumene pegmatite dykes of various shapes, sizes and orientations that cut metasedimentary rocks, gabbro veins and quartz-feldspar porphyry dykes trending sub-parallel to the LESZ in the Nemiscau Subprovince. These host rocks are variably affected by 3 phases of deformation (D1 to D3), which are responsible for the S1, S2, P2, P3 and L2 structures visible in outcrop. The regional-scale coaxial folds P2 and P3, which dip to the NNW, have WSW-ENE axial traces with a moderate dip (40° to 50°) to the WSW. The JBL deposit is located on the southern flank of a large P2 fold with axial foliation sub-parallel to the LESZ.
The pegmatite dykes are generally 20 m to 300 m long and 5 m to 50 m wide, spaced 25 m to 50 m apart. Dykes or segments of dykes, oriented NW-SE, E-W and NE-SW, are rectilinear and parallel to S1 and/or S2. Those oriented N-S to NNE-SSW are rectilinear and subperpendicular to S1 and/or S2. Rare lenses of subhorizontal pegmatites are also present in places. There are also sigmoidal dykes associated with asymmetric and ptygmatic P2 folds and dykes of complex form resulting from the interconnection between different families of intrusions. In most cases, the spodumene crystals are elongated perpendicularly or at a low angle to the wall. They are unidirectional, subhorizontal and subparallel to the hinges of the NNW-verging P2 folds. These oriented crystals and the vergence of the P2 folds suggest that the magmas that gave rise to the pegmatites came from a source located to the WSW of the deposit in an area where the migmatitic paragneiss of the Nemiscau occurs. The various kinematic indicators and deformation markers indicate that the pegmatite dykes are syn-D2 to late D2 and were emplaced in a context of subvertical flattening associated with a transtension regime. This episode appears to be the result of a strong competence contrast between the Nemiscau metasedimentary rocks, which host the mineralization, and the neighbouring mafic rocks of the La Grande Subprovince.
3:35 p.m.
