Patterson Lake

The Patterson Lake Alkaline Intrusive Complex is found within the Patterson Lake Corridor of north western Saskatchewan, Canada. It is emplaced into crystalline basement orthogneiss of the Taltson Domain, situated at the southern edge of the Athabasca Basin. The complex’s presence is revealed by drill core, with a strike length of ~10 km. Units identified within cores include amphibole syenite, clinopyroxene syenite, clinopyroxenite, carbonatite, and fenitized country rock. Amphibole syenite is massive to weakly foliated, with fibrous eckermanite-arfvedsonite amphibole and sericitized plagioclase. Clinopyroxene syenite are present as xenolith bearing dykes, containing variably altered clinopyroxene and accessory zircon. Clinopyroxenite dykes are in turn cut by calcite-carbonatite dykes, with notable minerals in the latter including aegirine-augite, serpentinised olivine, titanite, barite, and possible melilite. Xenoliths of country rock are common and often partly digested by the carbonatite melt, forming aggregates of calcite, aegirine-augite, and relict feldspar and quartz. Detailed descriptions and photography of drill core textures can be found in Card (2018).