The Shaw Dome Nickel Belt and Exploration by Liberty Mines Inc.
Gary Nash, Liberty Mines Inc.
The Shaw Dome is a major anticline centered about 20 km S.E. of Timmins in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. It is an elongate domal structure measuring about 15km x 20 km, slightly bigger than the Kambalda Dome in Australia which measures 10 km x 20 km. The Kambalda Nickel Belt has produced over 50 mines since the 1960's. The Shaw Dome Nickel Belt hosted the past producing Langmuir #1 and #2 mines; the Redstone Mine is currently in commercial production and the McWatters Mine will soon be in pre-production. Both mines are owned by Liberty Mines Inc. The Company also owns the Hart nickel project which is proving to be the largest tonnage deposit with a good grade discovered to date in the area. It will follow the McWatters Mine into production in 2009. The company also commissioned a new nickel concentrator July 17, 2007 to handle the talc problems of concentrating altered komatiite nickel bearing ores.
The komatiite flows around the Shaw Dome consist of distinct upper and lower horizons with komatiitic dykes. The lower komatiite horizon and the upper komatiite horizon are genetically related as an intrusive-extrusive stratigraphic sequence in a dyke-sill lava complex. Similar to the Kambalda nickel deposits, the Shaw Dome massive sulphides occur in "pods" which were formed by the thermomechanical erosion and assimilation of sulphur from the interaction of the silicate melt from the upper mantel with the substrate of the Deloro assemblage, and subsequent deposition of immiscible nickel iron sulphides in a paleotrough. The Deloro assemblage exhibits many iron formations containing pyrite, which is an excellent source of sulphur with which the chalcophile elements can partition into sulphides. The area is therefore likely to contain many nickel bearing pod structures.
The komatiite lava erupted at a temperature of approximately 1600 degrees Celsius and had a viscosity similar to water. The extrusive flows can be modeled as an open channel fluid flow to study some of its properties. Mechanical rotational energy enhances the thermal erosion /assimilation process and should be considered as part of the genetic model of the deposits. Certain hydrodynamic characteristics may be interesting to consider such as Bayer's law and Von Karman Streets.
Exploration and resource bases of Liberty's properties are described. The formation of the rich vein systems in the Redstone mine is discussed.
Golden Chalice Resource’s Langmuir Nickel Discovery
Peter Caldbick, Golden Chalice Resources Inc.
Golden Chalice Resources Inc. is currently drilling a series of mineralized nickel zones situated approximately 35 kilometers southeast of Timmins Ontario within the Archean Abitibi greenstone belt. The nickeliferous zones were first discovered in May of 2007 by drilling airborne VTEM conductors within an arcuate belt of komatiitic peridotite flows. This discovery occurs in relatively close proximity to several nickel mines such as Liberty Mine’s Redstone and McWatters Mines approximately 6 kilometers to the west. A comprehensive historical geological compilation of the area supplemented the selection of a series of attractive airborne conductors interpreted by geophysicists. The sixth hole drilled on these conductors intersected 1.14% Nickel over a drilled
