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Helen, Wawa District
Ontario, Canada
Main commodities: Fe


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The Helen Iron Mine is located within the Archaean Michipicoten (Wawa) greenstone belt, near the town of Wawa on the north-eastern shore of Lake Superior in Ontario, Canada.

It was the main source of iron ore for the steel smelter of Algoma Steel Corporation Ltd at Sault Ste Marie where Lake Superior flows into Lake Huron.

The Helen Iron Formation is composed dominantly of chert, pyrite and siderite members capping a thick sequence of felsic and mafic volcanics and comprises one of the world's largest siderite deposits.

The siderite is in turn overlain by basalt flows and has a similar setting, form and alteration pattern to volcanic hosted massive sulphide deposits within the Superior Province of Canada.

The massive, tabular siderite orebody is conformable with the volcanic sequence and is underlain by a zoned alteration pattern comprising an outer 6x2 km annulus of sericite, flanking a 1x2 km pipe shaped core of chlorite ± Al-Silicates, passing up into ankeritic alteration immediatley below the siderate ore.   The alteration pattern within the footwall to ore is predominantly imposed upon a 2000 m thick sequence of massive dacite to rhyolite pyroclastic flows and lesser lavas.

The main mineralised zone is over 2 km long at surface and 200 to 500 m thick.

In excess of 60 Mt of siderite were produced.

For detail see the reference(s) listed below.

The most recent source geological information used to prepare this decription was dated: 1985.    
This description is a summary from published sources, the chief of which are listed below.
© Copyright Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd.   Unauthorised copying, reproduction, storage or dissemination prohibited.


  References & Additional Information
   Selected References:
Morton R L, Nebel M L  1984 - Hydrothermal alteration of felsic volcanic rocks at the Helen Siderite deposit, Wawa, Ontario: in    Econ. Geol.   v79 pp 1319-1333


Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd (PorterGeo) provides access to this database at no charge.   It is largely based on scientific papers and reports in the public domain, and was current when the sources consulted were published.   While PorterGeo endeavour to ensure the information was accurate at the time of compilation and subsequent updating, PorterGeo, its employees and servants:   i). do not warrant, or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use of the information contained herein as to its correctness, accuracy, currency, or otherwise; and   ii). expressly disclaim all liability or responsibility to any person using the information or conclusions contained herein.

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