Till sampling and geochemical analytical protocols used by the Geological Survey of Canada

McClenaghan, M B; Plouffe, A; McMartin, I; Campbell, J E; Spirito, W.A.; Paulen, R C; Garrett, Robert G.; Hall, G.E.M.

doi:10.1144/geochem2011-083

Cited by 28 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Approximately 18-22 kg of till was collected for heavy mineral analysis and 3 kg for till matrix geochemistry, following the basic protocols of the Geological Survey of Canada (cf. Spirito et al 2011;McClenaghan et al 2013) at each site. The majority of the till samples (N = 83) were collected in the vicinity of deposit O28.…”

Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization and dispersal of indicator minerals associated with the Pine Point Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) district, Northwest Territories, Canada

et al. 2015

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A glacial dispersal study was conducted around a subcropping Pb-Zn deposit (O28) in the Pine Point Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) district, Northwest Territories, Canada, with the intent of characterizing and documenting the indicator minerals and their dispersal from a known orebody. Mapping of striations adjacent to deposit O28, and throughout the Pine Point district, along with observed glacial stratigraphy, indicate that there are three phases of ice flow that have affected the Pine Point district. Sphalerite, galena, and pyrite were identified in mineralized bedrock samples at deposit O28, and sphalerite and galena were recovered from the sand fraction of till samples up to 500 m from the mineralized subcrop. The majority of sphalerite and galena grains recovered from till samples down-ice of deposit O28 were 0.25-0.5 mm in size. Size and morphology of sphalerite grains in till demonstrate relative proximity to their bedrock source, with the largest and more angular grains being closer to the ore zone (<50 m) whereas smaller and more rounded grains occur further down-ice (ϳ250 m). The paragenesis, textures, major-element concentrations, and S and Pb isotopic compositions of bedrock samples from deposit O28 and from newly drilled core from four other deposits were characterized. Concentrations of Zn in bedrock sphalerite grains range from 43.95 to 67.48 wt.%, concentrations of S range from 32.03 to 34.01 wt.%, and concentrations of Fe range from 0.02 to 16.94 wt.%. The Fe concentration in bedrock sphalerite decreases from east to west across the district. Concentrations of S in galena grains in bedrock range from 12.50 to 14.00 wt.% and have a bimodal distribution. Generally, the geochemistry of sphalerite grains recovered from till were statistically similar to bedrock grains recovered from deposits O28 and L65. Major-element concentrations were statistically the same between the sphalerite grains recovered from till and the honey-brown and cleiophane varieties in the bedrock samples. Galena grains recovered from till samples were similar to the cubic and fracture-fill varieties of grains recovered from bedrock in the R190 and M67 deposits. Sulphur isotopic values for sphalerite grains from bedrock range from 20.6‰ to 24.2‰, while those from till samples range from −5.3‰ to 24.4‰. Lead isotopic ratios for galena grains from bedrock and till samples had very little variation, which is a characteristic of the Pine Point district. The S and Pb isotopic studies as well as major-element geochemistry suggest that indicator minerals derived from Pine Point-type mineralization can be distinguished from those sourced from other types of carbonate-hosted mineralized systems (e.g., Cordilleran zinc-lead deposits) and that the methods here can be used as exploration tools for identifying MVT deposit provenance or potential. The results of this study present criteria and highlights additional methods for exploration of MVT deposits in glaciated terrain.Résumé : La dispersion glaciaire a été étudiée autour d'un gisement su...

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Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lastly, it is important to follow quality assurance and control procedures for till and indicator mineral sampling (cf. McClenaghan et al 2013;Plouffe et al 2013).…”

Section: Implications For Mineral Explorationmentioning

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Characterization and dispersal of indicator minerals associated with the Pine Point Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) district, Northwest Territories, Canada

et al. 2015

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“…We sampled tills from 99 sites (Fig. 10), following general procedures outlined in Spirito et al (2011) and McClenaghan et al (2013) and the protocols for sampling glacial sediment for indicator mineral analyses outlined in Plouffe et al (2013c). Sampling was opportunistic, commonly from vertical exposures along forestry roads accessible by truck.…”

Section: Till Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical, mineralogical, and textural data from tills in the Highland Valley Copper mine area, south-central British Columbia

Ferbey¹,

Plouffe

Bustard³

2016

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Introduction Although rocks of Quesnel terrane in the Intermontane Belt of south-central British Columbia (Fig. 1) have long-been known as prolific producers of porphyry mineralization, much of the bedrock in the region is covered by glacial sediments. Nonetheless, geochemical and mineralogical data, particularly from locally derived tills, can detect deposits buried under Quaternary sediments. To test the utility of the method in a region of known mineralization, we collected till samples from the Highland Valley Copper mine area (Fig. 2) for geochemical, indicator mineral, and grain size determinations. This report presents geochemical and mineralogical data from till samples collected in the Highland Valley Cu porphyry district in

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“…the South Nepisiguit River Plutonic Suite (Wilson 2007;McClenaghan et al 2012) collected approximately 66 km west of Bathurst, New Brunswick (Fig. 4).…”

Section: Blank Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6. Flow chart depicting the processing of glacial sediment samples for indicator minerals adopted at the GSC; modified fromMcClenaghan et al (2012). *Samples targeted for recovery of kimberlite indicator minerals are passed twice across the shaking table.…”

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Processing of glacial sediments for the recovery of indicator minerals: protocols used at the Geological Survey of Canada

Plouffe

McClenaghan

Paulen

et al. 2013

GEEA

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A successful method of mineral exploration in glaciated terrain is the use of indicator minerals recovered from carefully selected glacial sediments, and subsequently traced back to their bedrock source. The successful application of indicator mineral methods relies on efficient and effective recovery as well as the correct identification of a wide variety of indicator minerals. The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has developed protocols for ongoing and future research projects to achieve the highest quality for reporting indicator mineral data. Such protocols include the use of field duplicate samples, blank samples, and base material spiked with known numbers, morphologies, species, and sizes of indicator minerals. Field duplicate samples serve to estimate sediment heterogeneity. Spiked samples are used to monitor the accuracy of the sample processing and mineral identification methods for recovering specific minerals. Blank samples serve to detect potential carry-over contamination. In certain instances, a specific sample processing order is essential and should be communicated to the commercial processing laboratory. Ore-rich samples collected near known mineralization are to be processed last, to reduce chances of carry-over contamination. Repeated indicator mineral counts should be carried out on at least 10% of the heavy mineral concentrates to measure reproducibility (precision) of the mineral counts. All indicator mineral data, original laboratory reports, heavy mineral concentrates, unmounted picked grains, and grain mounts are now archived at the GSC, using specific guidelines.

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Till sampling and geochemical analytical protocols used by the Geological Survey of Canada

Cited by 28 publications

References 78 publications

Characterization and dispersal of indicator minerals associated with the Pine Point Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) district, Northwest Territories, Canada

Characterization and dispersal of indicator minerals associated with the Pine Point Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) district, Northwest Territories, Canada

Geochemical, mineralogical, and textural data from tills in the Highland Valley Copper mine area, south-central British Columbia

Processing of glacial sediments for the recovery of indicator minerals: protocols used at the Geological Survey of Canada

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