Pyrox Ouest
Location, Access, Description
The Pyrox Ouest property is located about 85 km north of the town of Chibougamau, in the Nord-du-Quebec administrative region. The property is composed of 3 contiguous mining claims totalling 163.48 Ha in NTS 32J10 in the Clairy Township, Eeyou-Istchee James Bay Territory. These titles are fully owned by Globex and are not subject to any third party. The property is set on Category III lands where exploration is allowed under authorization of Native Communities.
The property is accessible by road from Chibougamau, driving about 19 km on Road 167 north then turn left on Route du Nord for about 80 km. Then a network of gravel roads leads to the Pyrox Ouest property about 25 km further to the NW. Access to the property is also possible by helicopter or seaplane due to its location on the SE shore of the Frotet Lake.
Topography is variable in this area. The property is characterized by a E-W oriented gently rolling hill with elevations comprised between 380 m and 450 m above sea level. The property is mostly covered with black spruce and other resinous trees, and minor birch. Several swampy areas are present in the north part of the property due to the presence of the Frotet lake to the north.
Many commodities can be found in Chibougamau regarding contractors, equipment rental, as well as sleep and food accommodation of remote workers. A hydro power line strikes N-S about 4 km east of the property.
Geology and Mineralization
Regional Settings
The Pyrox Ouest property is located in the Opatica Sub-province of the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield (Card and Ciesielski, 1986). Rocks of the Opatica deposited between 2.82 and 2.68 Ga (Davis et al., 1995) and consist of both volcano-sedimentary rocks and gneissic domains (Hocq, 1994). Metamorphism gradually increases from south to north from the greenschists grade to the granulites grade, with evidences of partial melting (Sawyer and Benn, 1992). New geological and geochronological data indicate that the Abitibi and Opatica sub-provinces form a single lithotectonic block where Opatica represents the basal part of the Abitibi crust (MB2014-04, MB2016-01).
Rocks of the area of the Pyrox Ouest property belong to the Archean Frotet-Evans Volcanic Belt (FEVB), a 250 km long structure which represents the second most important belt in Quebec and hosts the former Au-Cu Troilus Mine located about 30 km north of the property (Production 1997 – 2009 : 67.95 Kt @ 0.1% Cu and 1.07 g/t Au ; DV2010-01). The FEVB is a E-W to ENE-oriented Archean volcano-sedimentary band steeply dipping toward north, hosted in gneiss-plutonic terranes.
The FEVB is generally divided in four (4) different segments : Evans-Ouagama; Storm-Evans; Assinica et Frotet-Troilus (Boily and Dion, 2002) ; the Pyrox Ouest property is located within the Frotet-Troilus one. Rocks of the Frotet Formation mainly consist in calco-alkaline pyroclastic deposits with intercalated gabbro and UM sills deposited between 2,793 and 2,755 Ma (Pilote et al., 1997, MB2000-12).
Numerous Gabbro sills are intercalated within the volcanic rocks of the FEVB and seem comagmatic with the volcanics. Historical geophysical surveys highlighted strong magnetic axis corresponding to peridotite and pyroxenite sills, as well as EM conductors. Granophyre sills are frequently observed in intercalation within the volcanics and are interpreted as the end product of fractional crystallization of the parent mafic magma.
Polyphase deformation of the area occurred between 2.7 and 2.65 Ga and varies from weak in the central part of the FEVB to intense on the south and north edges. The major structural features of the area are the Nottaway River and the Lucky Strike Stream shear zones and the Frotet anticline.
Granitoids intruded the area after major deformation phases (ET84-08). Metamorphism of the FEVB is at the upper greenschists grade to lower amphibolitic grade (RG96-11).
Property Geology
The property is located in the south structural domain of Gosselin (ET96-02). Regional foliation at this place is ESE except from to the south where it is NE-oriented like in the north domain. Several E-W to SE folds are observed in the property area and are concordant to the regional foliation ; the property covers part of the north flank of the ONO-ESE De Maurès syncline.
On the Pyrox Ouest property, the Frotet-Troilus segment is mostly represented by gabbro and peridotite sills of the Frotet Formation. A differentiated sill complex composed of a slightly serpentinized peridotite at its base, surmounted by mesocrate massive gabbro strikes in fault contact on more than 12 km and crosses the property following a ESE orientation.
Trenching by Virginia Mines in the property area in 2001 exposed a massive (with local shear zones) and homogeneous gabbro, finely grained with mineralized areas of low to moderate silica and/or chlorite alteration containing up to 1% finely disseminated pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite (GM59830).
The north part of the property is occupied by granodiorite rocks of the Frotet Stock and felsic to intermediate tuffs of the Frotet Formation.
Metallogeny
Since the 1950s, numerous mineralized showings have been discovered in the Frotet-Troilus region. These are grouped into three main categories: 1) Au-Cu, Cu-Au-Ag vein-type mineralization ; 2) Sulphide associated gold mineralization (Py-Po-Cp) and 3) Zn-Cu-Ag-Au volcanogenic mineralization.
Spodumene pegmatites are also listed at Moblan, about 25 km west of the Pyrox property, within the Frotet-Evans volcanics. Mineralized dykes are grouped in the hinge of the Frotet anticline (Pearse, 2008). In date of January, 2024, Probable Reserve at Moblan are estimated to 34.54Mt @ 0.63% Li (NI 43-101 Feasibility Study Report for the Moblan Lithium Project, Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory, Quebec, Canada).
The Lac Odon Cu-Mo deposit is located about 2 km east of the Pyrox property within the extension of the same synclinal hinge observed on the Pyrox property. It is hosted in a N220°/-25° shear zone injected with felsic material, intruding a gabbro. Historical Resource (non NI 43-101 conformable) is estimated to 8,000t @ 3.01% Cu and 0.10% Mo (GM28490, ET96-02).
The former Troïlus mine, located 30 km north of the property, produced 2 million ounces of gold and nearly 70,000 tonnes of copper between 1997 and 2010.
Platinum Group Element mineralization (PGE) is present in the area of the Pyrox Ouest property. Historical work highlighted the Pyrox II East and Pyrox II West showings (GM58478) and later the Rose showing (GM59830). The Pyrox II West showing (0.3 g/t Au, 0.57 g/t Pt and 0.81 g/t Pd over 0.55 m) is located on the Pyrox Ouest property while the Pyrox II East (0.15 ppm Pt, 0.73 ppm Pd, 0.14 g/t Au, 0.28 % Cu and 0.07% Ni) and Rose (0.97 g/t Pt, 1.1 g/t Pd and 0.53 g/t Au) showings are located 2.3 km and 500 m east of the property, respectively. Mineralized zones are of limited extension ranging from a few metres to just over 10 metres and are accompanied by low to medium quartz and/or chlorite alteration. Mineralization consists in strong disseminations of pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite and minor pyrite in mafic and UM sills of the Frotet Formation. Anomalous grades in gold, copper and nickel are sometimes present in association with the Pt-Pd showings. From field observations, mineralization does not appear to be related to a particular gabbro facies or structure that affected the intrusion (GM59830).
History
Exploration in the property area began in the late 1950s and mainly consisted in geophysical and prospecting work, but the majority of the work was concentrated on the Lac Odon showing east of the property.
From the second half of the 1980s, both geophysical and geological surveys as well as diamond drilling (DDH) were carried out on the Pyrox property. The Pyrox East and Pyrox West showings were discovered by Costa (GM58478) in the late 1990s and returned highly anomalous metallic contents such as 0.14 g/t Au, 0.15 g/t Pt, 0.73 g/t Pd, 2810 ppm Cu and 680 ppm Ni (672125) and 0.10 g/t Au, 0.10 g/t Pt, 0.41 g/t Pd, 890 ppm Cu and 200 ppm Ni (672124) on grab samples. These values are from small, 1-5 m podiform areas containing a strong disseminations of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite in a pyroxenite near the gabbro contact.
In 2000-2001, Mines Virginia undertook rock stripping and channel-sampling on the mafic/UM sill (GM59830). Trenches PY-01-01 and PY-01-02 were dug on the Pyrox Ouest property where grab samples previously returned in 1997 up to 0.73 g/t Pd, 0.15 g/t Pt and 0.14 g/t Au. The Rose showing was discovered about 500 m east of the Pyrox Ouest property. Assays up to 0.3 g/t Au, 0.57 g/t Pt and 0.81 g/t Pd over 0.55 m returned on channel-sampling from a trench on the Rose showing.
In 2002, SOQUEM and Norbamec carried out geological mapping, rock stripping and sampling in search for PGE mineralization (GM59756). This work highlighted a 1,6 km long Au-Pt-Pd anomalous zone in the east part of the Pyrox property and a smaller one in the NW part.
In February 2017, G.L Geoservices conducted both magnetic and MaxMin surveys for Globex in the Pyrox East showing area. This survey revealed a conductive zone oriented N110° with a 45° dip to the north. A 129 m south-facing DDH was drilled 2.2 km east of the Pyrox Ouest property by Globex in April 2017 to test this conductor (GM70295). A peridotite altered in talc and serpentine containing disseminated magnetite and stringers was intersected. No significant gold, platinum and palladium anomalies were obtained.
In 2018, Globex conducted a heliborne Mag & VLF survey totalling 304.3 line-km which highlighted several concordant magnetic anomalies and conductor axis (GM70961).
In september 2024 Globex carried out a compilation of recent and historical data on the Pyrox Ouest property (Amrhar, 2024).
Resources and Potential
No historical Resource has ever been estimated on the Pyrox Ouest property.
The property benefits though of a very favorable geologic context centered on a regional fold hinge associated with the Lac Odon Cu-Mo deposit. This potential is attested by the presence of several showings and deposits of variable commodities in the surroundings.
Historical work succeeded in highlighting Pt-Pd (±Au) mineralization on the Pyrox Ouest property. Mineralization presents a close association with mafic / UM sills of the Frotet Formation and is typically associated with sulphide (Po-Cp ±Py) disseminations making it easily identifiable in geophysics. Geophysic surveys by Globex in 2017 and 2018 highlighted concordant Mag-Input-MaxMin anomalies which should be further investigated by stripping or DDH.
No DDH has ever been drilled on the Pyrox Ouest property, and only three (3) DDH have been drilled outside the property to test the UM sill extensions despite numerous strong Input anomalies are associated. This appears strongly insufficient to characterize the true potential of such a structure.
It is therefore recommended to further explore the Pyrox Ouest property with new BEEP-MAT surveying eventually followed by ground Mag and IP surveys. Particular attention shall be paid to Input anomalies along the peridotite and granophyre sills. Then rock stripping and DDH should be planned on the best anomalies.
The north area of the Pyrox Ouest property should be investigated for gold (Au) mineralization due to the presence of the Frotet Stock. This context could indeed host auriferous quartz veins (lode gold) or porphyry Cu-Mo-Au mineralization.
It is also recommended to pay attention to pegmatites which could be encountered on the property since the Moblan Li deposit is located only 25 km west of the Pyrox Ouest property in a very similar geological context. The Pyrox Ouest property is indeed surrounded by several differentiated intrusions as potential sources of rare metals-enriched fluids for which competent rocks of the Frotet Formation would represent privileged hostrocks.
Globex also holds numerous strategic claims and royalties in the vicinity of the Pyrox Ouest property.
