Hoidas Lake is a remote northern lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.[1] It is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Uranium City. Named in honor of Irvin Frank Hoidas, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot officer killed in action during the Second World War when his Stirling W-7520 crashed near the Belgian town of Sint-Truiden,[2][3][4] it is the site of Canada's most advanced rare-earth element (REE) mining project.[5]

Hoidas Lake
Hoidas Lake is located in Saskatchewan
Hoidas Lake
Hoidas Lake
Location in Saskatchewan
Hoidas Lake is located in Canada
Hoidas Lake
Hoidas Lake
Hoidas Lake (Canada)
LocationNorthern Saskatchewan Administration District
Coordinates59°55′41″N 107°49′12″W / 59.928°N 107.820°W / 59.928; -107.820
Basin countriesCanada

Setting

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Hoidas Lake lies in the Northern Rae Geological Province, in the general vicinity of many of Saskatchewan's large uranium mines.[5]

Mineralogy

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The mineralogy of the Hoidas Lake rare-earth deposit differs from most other such deposits in that it is hosted in veins of apatite and allanite.[6] Hoidas Lake also differs from other deposits in that it contains a significant amount of heavy rare-earth elements, such as dysprosium.[5] This abundance of heavy REEs is significant, as there is a growing demand for the heavier rare earths in high-tech manufacturing (such as the use of dysprosium in the manufacturing of hybrid car components).[7][8] Mineralization is presumably hydrothermal, from an alkali or carbonatitic source at depth.[9]

The main prospective zone is composed of two dominant rock types: a variably deformed monzogranite and a granodioritic to tonalitic gneiss. Both are Paleoproterozoic to Archean in age.[10]

Resource scale

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Ongoing work at Hoidas Lake has delineated a vein system (known as the JAK zone), which extends for at least a kilometer along the strike.[9] The limits of the system have not been established along the strike nor along the dip,[9] and the zone's total extension is therefore unknown. The resource zone averages 75 m in width[11] and is composed of individual veins which, though ranging from one to eleven meters in thickness, average about three meters each.[9] Veins are continuous to 300 m depth and follow an anastomosing (branching) geometry.[9]

Estimates of the resource, given current delineations and assuming a 1.5% total rare-earth cutoff, have established a presence of at least 286,000 tonnes of rare-earth ore,[12] which is enough to supply more than 10% of the North American market for the foreseeable future.

Ownership

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The Hoidas Lake claims are owned by Great Western Minerals Group, based in Saskatoon.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Hoidas Lake". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Natural Resources Canada. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  2. ^ "This website is currently unavailable".
  3. ^ "Irvin Frank Hoidas". Archived from the original on 27 November 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  4. ^ "Heverlee".
  5. ^ a b c d Hoidas Lake, Saskatchewan Archived 2008-07-01 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Salvi S, Williams‐Jones A. 2004. Alkaline granite‐syenite deposits. In Linnen RL, Samson IM, editors. Rare element geochemistry and mineral deposits. St. Catharines (ON): Geological Association of Canada. pp. 315–341
  7. ^ "INTERVIEW-Japan urges China to ease rare metals supply". Reuters. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  8. ^ "The Anchor House, Inc. – Research on Rare Earth Elements". Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e Halpin, Kimberley Michelle (January 2010). "The characteristics and origin of the Hoidas Lake REE Deposit". Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  10. ^ Geology of the LeBlanc-Wellington lakes area, eastern Zemlak Domain, Rae Province; in Summary of Investigations 2003, v. 2,Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask. Industry and Resources, Misc. Rep. 2003-4.2. Available through: http://www.er.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia.aspx?DocID=11840,11458,11455,11228,3385,5460,2936,Documents&MediaID=36607&Filename=Ashton03_SOIMAP_West.pdf
  11. ^ Pearson, J., (2006): Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. Assessment Report on the 2005-2006 Work Program, Hoidas Lake Rare Earth Project. Submitted to Saskatchewan Industry and Resources. Cited (at page six) in: http://library2.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-01292010-141709/unrestricted/Halpin_K.pdf
  12. ^ "Great Western Minerals Group LTD. Hoidas Lake, Saskatchewan". Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
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