| Title | Geochemical, mineralogical, and textural data from tills in the Highland Valley Copper mine area, south-central British Columbia |
| Download | Downloads |
| Author | Ferbey, T; Plouffe, A; Bustard, A L |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8119, 2016, 20 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/299242 (Open Access) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Alt Series | British Columbia Geological Survey, Geofile 2016-11 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| File format | readme
|
| File format | pdf |
| Province | British Columbia |
| NTS | 92I/05; 92I/06; 92I/09; 92I/10 |
| Lat/Long WENS | -121.5000 -120.5000 50.7500 50.2500 |
| Subjects | metallic minerals; geochemistry; surficial geology/geomorphology; mineralogy; glacial deposits; tills; dispersal patterns; ice movement directions; mineralization; porphyry deposits; mines; copper;
molybdenum; glaciation; gold; sulphides; trace element geochemistry; till geochemistry; till analyses; Highland Valley mine; Guichon Creek batholith; Quaternary |
| Illustrations | location maps; photographs; ternary diagrams; cross-sections; flow charts; photomicrographs |
| Program | Targeted
Geoscience Initiative (TGI-4), Intrusion/Porphyry Ore Systems |
| Released | 2016 11 02 |
| Abstract | Although rocks of Quesnel terrane in the Intermontane Belt of south-central British Columbia 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 help detect deposits buried under Quaternary sediments. We collected till samples from 99 sites near the Highland Valley
Copper mine for geochemical, indicator mineral, and grain size determinations to test the utility of the method at a site where the configuration and tenor of ore-grade porphyry Cu mineralization are known. Landform-scale features such as drumlins,
flutings, crag-and-tails mapped on aerial photographs, outcrop-scale features such as striations, grooves, and rat tails measured in the field, and data from previous studies indicate a relatively simple regional Late Wisconsinan ice-flow history
with generally southward sediment transport, making provenance determinations on subglacial tills relatively straightforward. Commonly a first derivative of bedrock, subglacial till is the ideal sample medium for till geochemical and mineralogical
surveys. Most of our samples were taken from a regionally developed till facies interpreted as a subglacial till deposited by moving ice (well compacted, markedly fissile, massive, cobble-boulder diamicton with a relatively clay-rich matrix and
abundant faceted and striated clasts). For comparison, we also collected from a more locally developed till facies interpreted as an ablation till (poorly compacted, non-fissile, massive cobble-boulder diamicton with a relatively clay-deficient
matrix) that overlies the subglacial till. Quality assurance/quality control results indicate that, uncontrolled by analytical artefact, the geochemical and mineralogical results for the dataset presented herein are suitable for geological
interpretations that will be considered in future publications. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The Highland Valley Copper (HVC) deposit is the largest open-pit copper mine in Canada. There is potential to find more mines like HVC in the Canadian
Cordillera but the challenge is that similar potentially economic mineral deposits might be covered by loose sediments left by glaciers which can hinder mineral exploration. On the other hand, the composition of these sediments (their mineral and
metal content) can provide information on the composition of the underlying rocks and their potential to host an economic deposit. In this study, we demonstrate that a number of minerals and metals are more abundant in glacial sediments near HVC
compared to surrounding areas. The same type of analyses could be conducted on glacial sediments to find mineral deposits covered by glacial sediments. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 299242 |
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