Moose River Basin: geology and mineral potential - Geology Ontario

Moose River Basin
ABSTRACT
Dispersed spore-pollen assemblages in fine-grained clastic sediments and coals from the Meso
zoic of the Moose River Basin are listed and illustrated in part. Palynofloras from the Middle Juras
sic Mistuskwia Beds in the subsurface of the central part of the basin are dominated by coniferous
pollen and are comparable with the Middle Jurassic palynofloras of the western Canadian plains.
Palynofloral assemblages from the Mattagami Formation are more diverse with many pterido
phyte species represented. Approximately 160 spore-pollen species from the Mattagami Formation
are used to delimit four interval zones spanning the Middle and Upper Albian. Spores and pollen
from the lignites at Onakawana correlate most closely with the early Middle Albian Reticulatasporites-Concavissimisporites
Zone. This zone has also been identified in the subsurface of the
southern part of the Moose River Basin. Mattagami palynofloras correlate with those from the Potomac
Group of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Swan River Group of Saskatchewan and Manitoba,
the upper Mannville Group and lower Colorado Group of central Alberta, the Loon River, Peace
River, and lower Shaftesbury Formations of northwestern Alberta, and the Logan Canyon Forma
tion of offshore eastern Canada. Mattagami assemblages are entirely non-marine but recycled De
vonian acritarchs are present in some horizons.
INTRODUCTION
Stratigraphic correlation and age determinations of nonmarine Mesozoic
sediments of the Moose River Basin have been made possible using spores and
pollen (palynomorphs) which are abundant in most sediments. Megaplant re
mains were used for initial age determinations in the earlier studies of the
Mattagami Formation (see Bell 1928; Radforth 1958; Verma et al. 1978) but,
unlike plant microfossils, they are relatively rare and sporadic in occurrence.
Thus, precise correlation was not possible.
Palynology is now a routine procedure in stratigraphic studies of both sur
face and sub-surface material. Industrial applications of palynology are wide
spread in petroleum exploration, and as early as the 1920s the coal industry
was utilizing spore-pollen work for correlation. Studies in Mesozoic palynology
have proliferated since the 1950s with the increasing attention paid, in partic
ular, to offshore as well as onshore basins for petroleum development. In North
America, the following published palynologic studies are particularly relevant
to the Mesozoic of the Moose River Basin (Table 4.1)
In addition to the above, numerous smaller contributions have made sig
nificant additions to knowledge of the biostratigraphy and taxonomy of palyno
morphs from specific North American horizons and areas, some of which will be
referred to below. Major works on the taxonomy and stratigraphy of spores and
pollen from other parts of the world also have considerable relevance to the On
tario Mesozoic in view of the cosmopolitan nature of some elements of the flora.
TABLE 4. l
CRETACEOUS PALYNOFLORAL STUDIES.
CRETACEOUS PALYNOFLORAL STUDIES.
Author Area Age
Pocock 1962 western Canada Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous
Brenner 1963 eastern USA Lower Cretaceous
Singh 1964 Alberta Lower Cretaceous
Norris 1967 Alberta Lower Cretaceous
Singh 1971 Alberta Lower and Upper Cretaceous
Pocock 1970, 1972 western and northern Canada Jurassic
Williams 1975 offshore eastern Canada Jurassic-Cretaceous
Williams and Brideaux 1975 Atlantic continental margin Cretaceous
Brideaux and Mcintyre 1975 northern Canada Lower Cretaceous
Doyle and Robbins 1977 eastern USA Cretaceous