ON THE ORIGIN AND RELATIONS OF THE NICKEL

AND COPPER DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY,

ONTARIO, CANADA. •
ALFRED ERNEST BARLOW.

HISTORICAL R]gSUM]g OF THE LITERATURE.

The literature on the nickel and copperdepositsof the $udbury

mining district has already becomeso voluminousthat it seems
desirablebefore presentingan additional contributionto make
brief referenceto someof thosepublicationswhich deal with the
nature and origin of these justly celebratedore-bodies. These
deposits of pyrrhotite, with their unusually high content of
nickel, and intimately associatedchalcopyrite,are of importance,
not only from the economicstandpoint,but also from the point
of view of science.as having furnishedsuch strong presumptive
evidencefor regarding them, and their analoguesin other places
as igneousin origin, and as due to processesof differentiation
in the original magma from which they and the associatederup-
tive have solidified.
In October, I887, Mr. J. H. Collinsvisitedthe Sudburyregion
to examine into the extent and economicpossibilitiesof the so-
called coppermines. On June 6, I888, he read a paper before
the GeologicalSocietyof London "On the $udbury CopperDe-
posits," in which he embodiedthe results of his examinations,
which, hoxvever, seem to have been restricted to the area in the
immediate vicinity of the Copper Cliff and Stobie Mines. An
abstractof this paperwas afterwardspublished 2 accompanied
by
two cross sectionsof the mines above mentioned, showing the
geological
association
andpositionof thesedeposits.Mr. Collins
mentions that the ore occurs in three forms, as follows:
•. As local impregnationsof certain siliciousand feldspathic
• Published by permission of the Director of the Geological Survey of ß
Canada.
2Quart. ]our. Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol. IV., x888, pp. 834-838.
454
 NICKEL AND COPPER DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY. 455

bedsor beltsof rock of clasticor fragmentaryorigin, in the form

of spots,patches,and stringsof cupriferouspyrrhotite.
2. As contact-deposits of the samemineral lying betweenthe
impregnatedbeds just mentionedand certain large interbedded
or intrusive masses of diorite.
3. As segregatedveins of copper-pyritesand highly nickel-
iferous pyrrhotite of secondaryformation, filling fissuresand
shrinkage-cracksin the ore-massesof the secondclass.
There is much in this mode of occurrenceto suggestthat the
copperoccurringin the first mode was an original, or at least a
very ancient constituentof the beds, while the richer massesof
the second
andthird modesof occurrencehaveresuitedfrom later
segregationsinto openingsproducedeither by the intrusion of
the dioritesor by internal movementsof the rocks.
Mr. Collins further says that the following conclusionsseem
to be warranted:
I. The rocksimmediatelyenclosingthe ore depositswere orig-
inally, or at a very early period, pyritous and probablycuprif-
erous.

2. The intrusionsof igneousmatter gave rise to linesof weak-

nessalong the planesof contact.
3- Subsequentfissuringand, to a certain extent, faulting,
cuffed at these contact-planes.
4. The filling-in of thesefissureswas mainly by solutionfrom
the pyritousand cupriferousmaterial.of the enclosingstratified
rocks.
5. There is, in places,a pyritousbrecciaindicatinga partial
mechanicalfilling.
6. There is, in places, a concentrationof mineral matter in
those portionsof the "country rock" which adjoin the more
solid depositsoccupyingthe fissures.
7. The formation of rich veinlets or "leaders" or ore within
the masseshasbeenthe resultof subsequent operationsprobably
at manyand very differenttimes. Theseveinsappearto occupy
minor faultsand shrinkage-cracksand to havebeenfilled by seg-
regation of more richly cupriferousmaterial derived from the
main massesof pyrites.
456 ALFRED ERNEST BARLOW.

8. Abundant evidenceof partial movements•vithin the masses

of pyrites is afforded by the numerous slickensideswhich are
everywherepresent.
This is probably the first detailed and authoritative utterance
on the subjectof the origin of thesedeposits. The conclusions
have therefore been quotedat length in order to show that even
at this early period strong insistencewas made that the various
agenciesgrouped together under the general term "secondary
action" were the main, if not the sole determiningcauseof the
present position and dimensionsof the ore bodies. Mr. Collins,
however, ignores any direct genetic connectionbetween the sul-
phidesand igneousrock, merely pointing out that the necessary
fissuringof the associatedrocks was doubtlessproducedby its
intrusion. tt is worthy of note that in the discussionwhich fol-
lowed the reading of Mr. Collins' paper Mr. Atwood, who had
been connectedwith the Dominion Mineral Companyat the Ble-
zard Mine, stated that "there was an abundant occurrence of
dioritewhichin h•sopinion
hadbrought
upthemetals."
At the Buffalo meeting of the American Institute of Mining
Engineers, in October, x888, W. H. Merrit • of Toronto, in re-
viewing the Minerals of Ontaria and Their Development, states
that "the Sudbury ore occursirregularly in large lensesand is
also found disseminatedthrough the diorite with which it has
undoubtedlybeenbrought up."
In the Summary Report of the GeologicalSurvey of Canada
for x888Dr. Bell2 makesno mentionwhateverof the geological
relations
or originof theseoresbutsimplystatesthat"the metals
which give mostpromiseare the copperand nickel depositswhich
have beenworked for the last three yearsnear Sudbury."
In the Summary Report for •889 Dr. Bell3 makes his first
statementin regard to the genesisof theseore bodiesin the fol-
lowing words: "These depositsmay be describedas 'stock-
works' in which the vein structureis very obscure" and also
that "it would not be surprisingif they (the later olivine-diabase
Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., Vol. XVII., •888, p. 295.
Ann. Rep. Geol. Sur. Can., •887-88, p. 89, A.
SAnn. Rep. Geol. Sur. Can., I888-89, p. 32, A.
 NICKEL AND COPPER DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY. 457

dikes) shouldprove to have someconnectionwith the concentra-

tion of the ore in thesemasses
whichmay be locallyenrichedpor-
tionsof certainore-bearingbelts."
In his accountof the "Geologyof Ontario with specialrefer-
enceto EconomicMinerals," written by him as a memberof the
Royal Commissionto inquire into the mineral resourcesof On-
tario,the samewritert saysthat "the ore in this regionis asso-
ciatedwith an obscurelystratifiedgreenstoneand its modeof
occurrenceis apparentlythat of large masses
and impregnations,
having rudely lenticularforms and following fahlbandswhich
are roughly conformablewith the general stratificationof the
country rocks."
In the samepublicationhe2 expresses
the opinionthat "the
geceral geologicalposition of these ores is in diorite and more
especiallybrecciateddiorite" and assertsthat "they appearto
have beenconnected with longitudinalfissuresand were of the
nature of great brecciatedveins or 'stockworks.'" Again he
emphasizes the frequentassociationof the later dikesof olivine-
diabasewith the oresand venturesthe prophecythat "it may
be foundon fullerinvestigation
thattheyhavehadsomething to
do with their enrichmentat theseplaces."
On March6, •89•, the writer reada paperbeforethe Logan
Club of Ottawa "On the Nickel and CopperDepositsof Sud-
bury" whichwaspublished in Juneof the sameyear,in which
appearsthe first definitestatement affirmingan igneousorigin
for thesemasses of sulphidematerialin the followingwords:3
"The oresandtheassociated diabaseweretherefore in all prob-
abilitysimultaneouslyintroduced in a moltencondition,the par-
ticlesof pyritousmatter aggregatingthemselves togetherin
obedienceto the law of mutualattraction."In the samepubli-
cationthe authormakesthe significantstatementwhichhassince
beenamplyprovedthat "the nickelis presentin theseoresas a
distinct
andseparate
sulphide
likethatof theveinandcopper."
•" Min. Res.of Ontario,"•89o,p. 23I.
2,, Min. Res. of Ontario," •89o,p. 435.
aOttawaNaturalist,June,•89•, pp. •-2o; alsoAnn. Rep.Geol.Sur. Can.,
Vol. V., 189o-91;pp. i22-i38 , S.
458 ALFRED ERNEST BARLOW.

In •89• Dr. Bell'xpresented

a paperto the GeologicalSociety
of America entitled "The Nickel and Copper Depositsof the
$udburyDistrict, Canada,"in whichhe adoptsthe hypothesis of
the differentiationof these ores from a molten magma, thus
materially altering his previousopinionwhich affirmedtheir sec-
ondary formation.
A little later in an article on "The Laurentian and Huronian
SystemsNorth of Lake Huron" the same author'2 statesthat:
"although most of theseores appearto have separatedthem-
selvesfrom a coolingmagma, we find occasionalevidenceof sub-
sequentmodifying processes. Still there can be no doubt that
the large ore bodiesof this district were not originally deposited
from aqueoussolutionslike the gangueand ore of ordinary met-
alliferous veins."
Inthesame
year(•89•)Dr.Bell
ainhisfinal
report
on"•he
$udbury Mining District" again emphasizeshis belief that these
ores have originatedprimarily from a stateof fusion.
At the Chicagomeetingof the American Institute of Mining
Engineersin August, •893, S. F. Emmons4 of Washingtonread
a paper on the "Geological Distribution of the Useful Metals in
the United States," in which he stateshis belief that the ore "was
formed by concentrationthrough percolatingwaters of the ma-
terial originally disseminatedthrough the rock in water channels
formed by fault planesor zonesof displacement."
W. H. Merritt • in the discussion of Mr. Emmons'paperagain
refers to the diorite as the sourceof supplyof the ore, but states
that, although the theory of the concentrationof the ore bodies
in the fused magma would not appear unreasonable,he yet con-
siders that a secondaryconcentrationmust have taken place to
explain the presenceof some of the ore bodies. In supportof
this view he mentionsthe presenceof thin films of native copper,
the sharply brecciatedhorsesof country rock cementedby the
ore, and the bandsof fluccanacrosscertain of the deposits.
•Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. II., I89I, pp. I35-I36.
2A.nn. Rep. Bur. of Mines, Ont., I89I, pp. 89-90.
aAnn. Rep. Geol. Sur. Can., I888-9o, pp. 49-5I, F.
4 Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., Vol. XXII., I893, p. 70.
5Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., Vol. XXIV., I894, pp. 755-756.
 NICKEL AND COPPER DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY. 459

Duringthe summerof x89ox the late BaronVon Foullonof

the Geological
Surveyof Austriaspenta few weeksin thiscoun-
try. As a resultof his investigation
he cameto the conclusion
that theseores were not depositedfrom solutionbut are of
igneousorigin.
Duringthesummer
andfall of •893,E. Renshaw
Bush,
•'while
pursuingprofessional work, visitedsomeof the more important
depositsand afterwards publishedhis observationsin a paper
called"The SudburyNickel Region." Mr. Bush in this paper
statesthat "the chief featuressuggestingan aqueousorigin are:
(i) A prevailingtendencyof the sulphidesto occuralongplanes
of contact,and fractures,cleavageplanesand joints, and the im-
pregnationof the rock in the vicinity of suchplanes. (2) The
direct contactof somestructurallydifferent igneousor sedimen-
tary rocks in certain localitiesof the mineral aggregates. (3)
The impregnationof extensiveareas of schistosestrata in the
neighborhoodof greenstonemasses.
Philip Argull,3 in a paper entitled "Nickel, the Occurrence,
GeologicalDistribution and Genesisof its Ore Deposits,"read
before the Colorado ScientificSociety of Denver on December
4, I893, advances
hisopinionthatthe nickelin •tll probability
originally presentin the diorite or diabasewas leachedout from
theserocksby solutionspotent to dissolvethe nickel and concen-
trate it along linesor zonesfavorableto precipitation.
In a paper"On the IgneousOrigin of Certain Ore Deposits"
read before the General Mining Associationof the Province of
Quebec,Montreal,January•2, •894, Dr. F. D. Adams4 strongly
endorsesProfessorVo•'s opinion that theseores are the differ-
entiationproductof a basicigneousrock. D. H. Browne,5 in
•895, draws an analogy betweena pot of matte, in which he
found that the nickel and copper sulphidestended to separate,
and the Sudbury ore bodies.

•.lahr. der K. K. Geol. Reich., Vol. XLII., •892.

t Eng. & Min. ]our. Vol. LVII., March x7, •894, p. 246.
aProc. Col. Sc. Soc., Vol. IV., I89x, 92-93, p. 407.
Can. Min. Review, February, I894.
5School o[ Mines Quarterly, Vol. XVL., •895.
460 •LFRED ERNEST B•RLOW.

In •895 ProfessorJ. F. Kemp,• a strong supporterof the

theory of magmaticdifferentiationas regardstheseores, gave a
paper entitled: "An Outline of the Views Held To-day on the
Origin of Ores," offering an explanationbasedon the laws of
thermo-chemistry
to explainthe concentration
of thesesfilphides
of iron, copperand nickel.
In •897 Dr. T. L. Walker2 expressedhimselfas in agreement
with ProfessorVogt in regardingtheseoresas the directproduct
of the differentiation of the norite magma.
At the meetingof the AmericanInstitute of Mining Engineers
heldin Albanyin February,•9o3, Chas.W. Dickson
a submitted'
a paper entitled "The Ore Depositsof Sudbury, Ontario." In
the secondpart of this paper he adducescertain evidencein sup-
port of his opinion that all of the Sudbury ore depositsare of
essentially and predominantly secondaryorigin. The evidence
adducedis mainly basedon examinationsof the relationsbetween
the ore and rock minerals as seen under the microscope. His
comparisonof the Sudburyore depositswith thoseof Rossland,
B.C., and Ducktown, Tenn., is unfortunate, as all who have ex-
amined these last mentioned depositsare agreed that they are
undoubtedlys•condaryand presentlittle or no resemblanceto
thoseof Sudbury.
In the latest edition of Dr. Richard Beck's "The Nature of
Ore Deposits,"which is translatedand revisedby W. H. Weed
(•9o5), the author concludesthat "the segregationof the mag-
neticpyrite and copperpyrite in their presentconditiontook place
during or after the dynamicmetamorphismof the gabbrorocks
of that localityand not by meansof a magmaticdifferentiation."
The hypothesisof magmaticdifferentiationas appliedto these
ores finds no strongeradvocatethan Dr. A. P. Colemanof To-
ronto University, who has perhapsdevotedmore time and atten-
tion to their study than any other geologist,and his latestexpres-
sion in the report, which is daily expected,will no doubt con-
tribute to greatly strengthenthe position of those who entertain
similar views.

•Min. Industry, Vol. IV., •895, pp. 755-766.

Quart. Your. Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol. LIII., I897, p. 52.
Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., Vol. XXXIV., I9o3, pp. 2-67.
 ß'VICKEL AND COPPER DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY. 46•

THE ORE-DEPOSITS.

THE NICKEL BEARING ERUPTIVE.

The nickel bearing eruptive may, for purposesof description,

be considered under two divisions:
I. A basicportion: including certain gabbroid rocks, chiefly,
at least, of the notRe facies, with their derivative diorites, with
which the nickel and copperbearing sulphidesare immediately
associated. ,

2. An acidic portion' comprisinglarge areas of rock of gran-

itic type, with well marked gneissoidstructure, the prevalence
and abundanceof the graphic intergrowth of the quartz and
feldspar,known as granophyreor micropegmatite,having sug-
gested the name "micropegmatite" by which this rock is now
generally known.
The line of outcropof this intrusivesheetof norire tracesan
almostunbrokenellipse,northwestof Sudbury,with a major axis
of nearly thirty-eight miles, lying northeast,and a minor axis
averaging'about fifteen miles. The width of exposurevaries
from one to four miles (including both the norire and the micro-
pegmatite).
The leastalteredphaseof the basicportion of the eruptiveis
representedby what may be referred to as "norite." The rock
is sometimescaIleda "quartz-hypersthene-gabbro," but for gen-
eral purposesthe former name is preferred.
The microscopicalexamination showsthe rock to be an erup-
tive of rather exceptionalcharacterand interest. It belongsto
the general family of gabbros,but with distinct traces of, and,
at times, well marked diabasicor ophitic structure. The preva-
lenceand usual preponderanceof hyperstheneor enstatite,show
its closeaffinity with the norites,while it contains,what is very
exceptionalfor sucha rock type,an abundanceof original quartz.
In fact, many specimenscould be securedwhich contain nearly
as much quartz as an ordinary hornblendegranite. In some in-
stances,noticeablyat the CopperCliff mines,a large quantityof
microp'egmatite or granophyreis present,the feldspathicconstit-
uent of this graphic intergrowth being usually plagioclase. Ex-
462 ALFRED ERNEST BARLOW.

posuresshoxva massive,medium to coarse-grained,dark-grayish,

greenish-grayor brownish rock, which is often almost black in
color on freshly broken surfaces. Scalesof deep brown biotite
are usuallyconspicuous, while the quartz is perhapsequally so, in
very characteristicsapphireblue or purplishgrains.
The orthorhombicpyroxene, either hyperstheneor enstatite,
shows a distinct approachto perfection of crystallographicout-
line, and, in many cases,was the first of the essentialmineralsto
form. In occasionalinstances, the hypersthene is unaccom-
paniedbya monoclinic
pyroxene,
asin someof thespecimens
col-
lected in the vicinity of the Blezard mine. It is often by far
the most abundantof the coloredconstituents,as at the Murray
mine, where the diallage is only occasionallyrepresented,while
almostthe whole rock massis made up of hypersthene,in various
stages of decomposition,the small and infrequent interspaces
beingoccupied
by plagioclase.The hypersthene
is, as a rule,
rather faintly pleochroic,although specimensfrom the vicinity
of the Blezard mine, and from a railway cutting about one mile
and a half northwest of the Murray mine, are very strongly
pleochroic,rose red to pale yellowish-green. The enstatite is
colorlessin thin sectionand, in contradistinctionto the hypers-
thene, exhibits little or no pleochroism. Both the hypersthene
and the enstatiteare very liable to decomposition,
so that, in most
cases,areasof this mineralare replacedby an aggregateof light-
green,non-pleochroic, brilliantly polarizingfibrousor scalyser-
pentine (bastite). This alterationis often accompanied by the
separationof minute grains of magnetite. In most cases,even
the fresh individualsof hyperstheneare borderedby a compact,
strongly pleochroic,green hornblende which is doubtlessan
original constituent. This primary hornblende,likewise, forms
borders on areas showing the. completeb.astiticalteration. In
additionto this, there is undoubtedsecondaryhornblenderesult-
ing from the alteration,first, of the bastite into actinolite,and
this in turn to the ordinarytype of greenhornblende.
The monoclinicpyroxene,which is usuallypresentin subor-
dinateamount,is likewisefrequentlyborderedby primaryhorn-
blende,and thus,the individualsof thesetwo pyroxenescannot
 NICKEL ,4ND COPPER DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY. 463

be distinguishedfrom one anotherin specimens which have un-

dergoneany advanceddecomposition.Sometimesboth pyrox-
enes show the presenceof the characteristic,minute, tabular
interpositionof schilleri.zation
productsbut, as a rule, theseare
absent. Olivine is presentin smallamountin the norite obtained
from the Little $tobie mine, but most of it is altered to an aggre-
gateof deepcoloredscalyserpentine,
talc and magnetite. Biotite
is an almostinvariable constituentand is usuallyrather abundant
in large platesand is undoubtedlyof primary origin. The pla-
gioclaseis usually in broadly twinned, stout,lath-shapedor tab-
u'lar crystals,whose frequent interlacingarrangementproduces
the characteristic,rude, ophitic structure. Separationsby means
of Thoulet's heavy solution, as well as the extinction angles,
show that this plagioclaseis labradorite.
Quartz and occasionallygranophyrefills most of the irregular
in.terspacesbetweenthe other constituents,although in the norite
from the Creighton mine, microclinealmost invariably accom-
panies this interstitial quartz. Apatite, magnetite, which is
usuallyhighly titaniferous,zircon and grains of pyrite, pyrrhotite
and chalcopyriteare almost always present. These sulphidesare
distinctly of primary origin, and were among the earliest of the
mineralsto crystallizefrom the original magma, antedating even
the magnetite, in some cases,for grains of pyrrhotite were
noticed completelyenclosedby the iron ore. The sulphides
occur, for the most part, intimately associatedwith, and fre-
quently embeddedin the colored constituents,in much the same
way as the magnetite,from whichthey canonly be distinguished
by the differencein colorin reflectedlight. The pyrrhotiteand
½halcopyriteare oftenvery intimatelyassociated,
so that theyare
extremelydifficultof separation,even the smallestgrains show-
ing intimate intergrowths of these minerals with one another.
Thesesulphides
frequentlyoccurin thoseportionsof the norite
whichhavesufferedso little from dynamicmetamorphism,that
'onlyanoccasional
dislocation
of a plagioclase
crystal
isnoticed
in them, while they have beenso little affectedby hydro-
chemicalagencies thatsucfireadilyalterable
minerals ashypers-
thene,enstatite,
olivineanddiallagearestillplainlyrecognizable
464 •tLFRED ERNEST B•tRLOW.

in their specimens. The sulphidematerial, in suchcases,is often

not subordinatein amount, but is so abundantlydisseminatedas
to characterizethe rock, and justify the name of "pyrrhotite-
norire" which is sometimesappliedto it.
Although a considerablenumber of specimenswere secured,
representativeof the comparativelyunaltered norire, by far the
larger proportionof the material collectedconsistedof a massive,
usually coarse gabbro-diorite in various stages of alteration.
Very few of theseshow even traces of dynamicmetamorphism,
and,asa rule, the ophiticstructure,producedmainlyby the inter-
lacing arrangementof the plagioclasecrystals, is quite undis-
turbed. The alteration is mainly due to hydro-chemicalagencies
and affectsthe pyroxenic minerals, decomposingthese to a pale,
yellowish-greenserpentine,sometimesof the ordinary type, but
usually of the basrite variety. Actinolite also results from the
alteration of the pyroxenes. The compactborders of primary
hornblende, often surrounding the original pyroxenes, are evi-
dently made up of much more stable material, not having been
affectedby any of thesechanges. The areas formerly occupied
by the pyroxene are, therefore, replacedby basrite or actinolite,
the hornblendebordersremainingunaffected,the individualsthus
decomposed being referred to as uralite. No distinctioncan be
drawn betweengrains which representhyperstheneor diallage, as
both of these minerals apparently decomposeto closely related,
if not identicalmaterial. The labradorireis usually quite fresh,
in tabular or broad blade-like forms, with a brownish color of
varying shades,which is so prevalent in the norires. Occasion-
ally it shows incipient decompositionto the usual saussuritic
products,mainly sericite,but also epidoteand zoisite. Biotite is
always presentand conspicuous in large plateswith strong pleo-
chroism. It is sometimesintergro•vn with the hornblendeand
has also undergoneconsiderable"bleaching." It usually con-
tains comparativelylarge irregular grains of magnetite. Quartz
is always present,and sometimesabundant,filling up the irreg-
ular interspacesbetweenthe other constituents. Highly titanif-
erous magnetiteand apatite are also aftwayspresent,but in small
amount, while the pyrrhotite and chalcopyritevary in amount,
 NICKEL AND COPPER DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY. 465

from occasionally disseminated grainsto suchquantitiesas ensure

the useof the massas an ore of nickel and copper.
In additionto the norite and diorite, a more acid rock of gran-
itic compositionand prevailing gneissoidstructureoccurs,which
cannotbe separatedgeneticallyfrom the more basicportion with
which the sulphidesare more directly associated. This rock has
usuallybeen referred to as "micropegmatite" a name first sug-
gestedby the late ProfessorG. H. Williams.x There is no sharp
line of demarcationbetweenthe acidic and basicportionsof the
nickelbearingeruptive,but the change,thoughgradual,is usually
sharp enough to enable a boundary to be placed between these
two types, with tolerable accuracy. Outcropsof this rock are
evenlybandedor foliated,with a distinctstrikeand dip, usually
porphyritic,weathera pale reddishor grayishcolor and are fre-
quently intersectedby irregular and often intricate vein-like
massesof quartz, evidentlyof pegmatiticorigin. On freshly
exposedsurfaces,the rock is usually dark colored,with abun-
dantly disseminated,small,reddishor yellowishphenocrysts of
feldspar. Orthoclaseis often present in considerableamount,
and towardsthe outer edgeof the massis the predominantfeld-
spathicconstituent,but plagioclase(oligoclaseor oligoclase-and-
esine) is usually more or less abundant. Microperthite and
microcline are also often present, but in subordinateamount.
Much of the feldsparis somewhat turbid,owingto decomposi-
tion. Biotiteis the prevailingferromagnesianmineralandmuch
of it is "bleached"andalteredto chlorite. It is usuallyin small,
irregular,tatteredscales
andplates,arrangedin narrow,approxi-
mately parallel bands,gently curving around and among the
larger phen.ocrysts
of feldspar. The abundanceof the biotite,
and its frequentalterationto chlorite,give the prevailingdark
colorto therockon freshsurfaces.The transitior• typebetween
themicropegmatite andthe riorite,showsa varyingproportionof
hornblende,which mineral, as a general rule, diminishesin
amountin passingoutwardfrom the norite, althoughcertain
bandsof relativelygreaterbasicityshowan appreciable amount
of this mineral, even at a considerabledistancefrom the line of
• Ann.Rep.Geol.Sur. Can.,Vol. V., •89o-9•,Part F, p. 78.
466 ALFRED ERNEST BARLOW.

junction. One of the most noteworthy points, in connection

with this gneissoidrock, is the prevalenceand abundant devel-
opment of micropegmatiteor granophyre,and also the fact that
plagioclaseand quartz are most frequently the componentmin-
erals forming this graphic intergrowth. The micropegmatite,
together with the bisilicate material, chiefly biotite or chlorite,
and sometimeshornblendeand accessoryepidote, ilmenite and
sphene, form a groundmass in which the comparatively large
phen0crysts
of feldspars,
chieflyplagioclase,
but sometimes
also
orthoclaseand microperthite,are embedded. The granophyreor
micropegmatite very often stretchesout in various directions
from a central portion or body, made up of well twinned and
rather sharply bounded crystals of plagioclase. The effect of
pressureis very noticeablein all the thin sections,not only in
the strain shadows, but also in the dislocation of the feldspar
individuals and the abundant developmentof the fine interstitial
quartz and feldspar.
On the first geologicalmap this micropegmatitewas included
with, and coloredas, a part of the Laurentian, the reddishcolor,
gneissicstructure,and general behavior being the main factors
which determined this classification.
The variationsin the chemicalcomposition,marking the trans-
ition from the norite to the micropegmatite,is well illustrated by
a seriesof analysesmade by Dr. D. T. Walker• from specimens
obtainedfrom the Blezard mine crossing. The specimensrange
from south to north, from I. to V. Analysis No. IV. is by Mr.
C. B. Fox.

I. , II. III. IV.

SiO2 49.90 5x.52 64.85 69.27 67.76

TiO 1.47 1-39 0.78 0.46
P•Os o.I 7 o. xo 0.24 0.06 o.19
A12Oa x6.32 •9.77 x •.44 x2.56 •4.oo
................ 0.47 2.94 2.89
FeO •3-54 6.77 6.02 4.51 5.x8
CaO 6.58 8.•6 3-49 1.44 '4.28
MgO 6.22 ß 6.49 1.6o o. 9x I.OO

MnO trace trace trace trace trace

K20 2.25 0.70 3.02 3.05 I.X 9

Na.,O •.82 2.66 3.9 2 3. I2 5.22
H:O 0.76 i x.68 0.78 0.7 6 1.0I

Totals 99.03 99.7• 98.3ø 99.35 • co.29

Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. Lon., Vol. LIII., February, x897,p. 50.