The Suluppaugalik Suite was introduced in the Nedlouc Lake area (sheets 34H and 24E; Parent et al., 2000, 2001) to describe a unit of heterogeneous tonalite. It was extended eastward in the Aigneau Lake area (sheet 24E; Berclaz et al., 2001, 2002), and northward in the La Potherie Lake area (sheet 34I; Leclair et al., 2001, 2002).

The Suluppaugalik Suite corresponds to a very heterogeneous, intensely foliated to gneissic tonalite unit, which shows lithological and structural complexity at the scale of the outcrop (Parent et al., 2000, 2001; Berclaz et al., 2001, 2002; Leclair et al., 2001, 2002; Simard et al., 2008; Simard, 2008; MNRF, 2001, 2010a-b). The unit contains numerous elongated enclaves of ultramafic to intermediate composition and variable dimensions (<1 m). Tonalite is generally grey in fresh exposure and grey-white in altered surface. It is composed of euhedral plagioclase, quartz, reddish brown biotite (>10%), olive-green hornblende (<10%), epidote and magnetite. Biotite is superimposed on hornblende crystals, while epiote is superimposed on biotite and hornblende. Epidote is poikilitic, euhedral to anhedral, and locally has allanite cores. Secondary minerals are microcline (small interstitial crystals between quartz and plagioclase), apatite, sphene and zircon. Tonalite masses are cut by numerous intrusions of pinkish grey rock of granodioritic to granitic composition, which accentuates the heterogeneity of the unit.

Thickness and distribution

The Suluppaugalik Suite is generally elongated along an NW-SE to NNW-SSE axis. It is ~130 km long by a maximum width of ~25 km. It covers the western part of sheet 24E, the NE corner of sheet 34H (mainly 34H16) and continues to the NNW in sheet 34I02.

Dating

Statistical processing of 24 Pb-Pb analytical results on zircon from a Suluppaugalik Suite biotite tonalitic gneiss revealed four statistical modes: a primary mode at 2809 ±6 Ma interpreted as tonalite intrusion; two secondary modes representing inherited ages of 3096 ±7 Ma and 2952 ±8 Ma; and one final mode revealing a young and unclear age of 2715 ±24 Ma (David et al., 2009). U-Pb dating of three zircons yielded an age of 2808 ±6 Ma, confirming the crystallization age of tonalite (David et al., 2009).