Search citation statements
Paper Sections
Citation Types
Year Published
Publication Types
Relationship
Authors
Journals
The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has developed field and lab methods protocols to guide till sample collection, processing, geochemical analysis of the till matrix, monitoring of quality assurance/quality control, and archiving procedures for reconnaissance- to local-scale geochemical surveys. The most significant concepts and procedures are described in this paper. Continued and long-term use of these protocols will ultimately allow GSC researchers to integrate and contrast multiple datasets and ensure minimum levels of quality assurance and control for all till geochemical data. This set of protocols is the first established for Canadian till sampling and analysis and represents a contribution to the GSC’s Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) Program. Sharing the GSC’s knowledge on till sampling and analysis with the international community will allow other researchers and explorationists to adopt similar procedures. This sharing of knowledge will ultimately allow comparison of till geochemical datasets from various parts of Canada and internationally as well as ensuring a minimum level of quality assurance and control for all till geochemical data.
The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has developed field and lab methods protocols to guide till sample collection, processing, geochemical analysis of the till matrix, monitoring of quality assurance/quality control, and archiving procedures for reconnaissance- to local-scale geochemical surveys. The most significant concepts and procedures are described in this paper. Continued and long-term use of these protocols will ultimately allow GSC researchers to integrate and contrast multiple datasets and ensure minimum levels of quality assurance and control for all till geochemical data. This set of protocols is the first established for Canadian till sampling and analysis and represents a contribution to the GSC’s Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) Program. Sharing the GSC’s knowledge on till sampling and analysis with the international community will allow other researchers and explorationists to adopt similar procedures. This sharing of knowledge will ultimately allow comparison of till geochemical datasets from various parts of Canada and internationally as well as ensuring a minimum level of quality assurance and control for all till geochemical data.
Regional till sampling was completed near four Cu porphyry mineralized zones in south-central British Columbia, Canada: Highland Valley Copper (Cu-Mo), Gibraltar (Cu-Mo), and Mount Polley (Cu-Au-Ag) deposits, and the Woodjam (Cu-Au-Mo) prospect. At all sites, Cu concentrations in the clay-sized fraction and chalcopyrite grains (0.25 – 0.5 mm; >3.2 specific gravity) are found in greater abundance in till near and down-ice from mineralized zones compared to surrounding background regions. At Mount Polley, the abundance of gold grains in till defines a dispersal train extending at least 3 km down-ice (SW and NW) from mineralization. At three sites out of four, epidote in till heavy mineral concentrates occurs in greater percentage near and down-ice from mineralized zones compared to background regions suggesting that this mineral could be an indicator of propylitic alteration associated with porphyry mineralization. The distribution pattern of Cu concentrations and chalcopyrite grains in till is controlled by the distribution of Cu-porphyry mineral occurrences in bedrock and the direction of ice-flow movements which prevailed during the last glaciation. By comparing study sites, there is a positive relationship between the areal extent of bedrock mineralization that was exposed to glacial erosion and the absolute values of Cu concentrations and chalcopyrite grain counts in till. In the Woodjam region where the till is thick (>10 m), eight samples with background Cu concentrations in the clay-sized fraction of till contain >4 grains of chalcopyrite/10 kg which is indicative of mineralization. This study demonstrates that a combination of till geochemistry and mineralogy is an efficient method for mineral exploration for Cu porphyry deposits covered by variable amounts of glacial sediments. Supplementary material: The full data sets on till geochemistry and mineralogy are available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3291503
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.