Quebec has what may be large deposits of apatite, the parent mineral for rare earth elements. Recent assessments of several areas near Notre Dame-de-la-Salette, (45° 46’ 04”N 75° 35’ 07”W) a small village of 745 people, indicates recoverable deposits of apatite in a location previously mined in the late 1800’s. This location is designated Philadelphia. There are several other old mines near this location: McLaren, Lac Tamo, Craft, North Star and Chapleau.

The region surrounding Notre Dame-du-la-Salette, including the Buckingham region is a failed rift zone (aulacogen) corridor, which is a favorable environment for the presence of carbonatite. Apatite and rare earth elements (REE) are associated and often concentrated in carbonatites and associated alkaline rocks. REE are also demonstrated by the presence of the Oka pyrochlore-rich carbonatite deposit. Such concentration of Rare Earth Elements in apatite may be interpreted as an alteration of carbonatite metasomatic ore-fluids. In a study by Roeder, the total REE weight of apatite could be higher than fifteen percent(15%).(Roeder, 1987-edited)

NI-43-101 completed,

Philadelphia is a past apatite (phosphor) producer.The production stage was done from 1880 to 1884 and about 2,000 tons of rocks were extracted. The main pit is 13 by 5 meters large and 30 meters deep.

The McLaren prospect is 430m NW and 1.7km SE of Philadelphia and the Craft prospect is 3.6km NE of Notre Dame-de-la-Salette and 170m from the main road.

The apatite is found within pyroxenite, gneiss, and quartzite units, which are part of the Grenville Group, and is in a NE-SW oriented lobe of green and red apatite with micas. This apatite deposit seems to originate from an alteration around a pegmatite intrusion. It seems to occur by the dissolution of phosphor in a limestone and re-concentration in the current deposit. The host rock is pyroxenite inserted in sillimanite-garnet gneiss.

The pyroxenites in which apatite present is the result of metamorphism of calcareous rocks irrupted by numerous igneous granite intrusions. The origin of the deposits of apatite is attributed to the action of pegmatitic phases of this granite and aqueous solutions that accompany the pegmatite.

Works to be done on the property would include some geological mapping of the apatite units and sampling of different zones to evaluate the apatite grade and the presence of rare earth elements. Channel sampling would give a better evaluation of the grades while testing some extraction techniques for future exploitation. Drilling would evaluate the depth of the mineralization. Finally, prospecting around the deposit could also reveal new zones of interest.