Kaolin clays and lignite of the Moose River Basin, Ontario

Important resources of kaolin, refractory clay and lignite, not found elsewhere in Ontario, occur with quartz sand of glassgrade quality in unconsolidated Mesozoic sediments of the Moose River Basin in northeastern Ontario. These materials comprise the Mattagami Formation of Lower Cretaceous age, which overlie in some places a thin Jurassic unit and a thick Paleozoic section, and underlie as much as JOO m or more of glacial and marine sediments and a uniform capping of muskeg. The Mallagami Formation is known from deep boreholes to exceed 100 m in thickness and to consist of two phases: an earlier Type A unit of dark-coloured carbonaceous clays and lignite, and a later light-coloured (Type B) unit of kaolin-bearing quartz sands and bright-coloured refractory clays. Remoteness, poor access, and difficult physical environment have inhibited the exploration and development of these resources.