| Title | Drift prospecting for Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits using indicator mineral methods: an example from Pine Point, Northwest Territories, Canada |
| Author | Oviatt, N M; Paulen, R C; Gleeson, S A; McClenaghan, M B |
| Source | Proceedings of Exploration 17: Sixth Decennial International Conference on Mineral Exploration; by Tschirhart, V (ed.); Thomas, M D (ed.); 2017 p. 867-870 |
| Links | Online - En
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| Year | 2017 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20170121 |
| Meeting | Exploration 17: Sixth Decennial International Conference on Mineral Exploration; Toronto; CA; October 22-25, 2017 |
| Document | book |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Northwest Territories |
| NTS | 85A; 85B |
| Area | Pine Point; Great Slave Lake |
| Lat/Long WENS | -115.0000 -114.0000 61.0000 60.0000 |
| Subjects | economic geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; stratigraphy; geochemistry; mineral deposits; lead; zinc; mineral exploration; exploration methods; drift prospecting; glacial history; glaciation;
deglaciation; ice flow; sediment transport; sediment dispersal; sediment distribution; glacial deposits; tills; sands; glacial features; glacial striations; till stratigraphy; till geochemistry; galena; sphalerite; pyrite; clasts; grain size
analyses; size fractionation; morphology; colour; major element analyses; isotopic studies; sulphur isotope ratios; lead isotope ratios; Laurentide Ice Sheet; Keewatin Sector; Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits; indicator minerals; ice-flow
directions; Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Quaternary |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; satellite images; photomicrographs |
| Program | Mackenzie Corridor, Southern Mackenzie Surficial Mapping, GEM2: Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals |
| Released | 2017 01 01 |
| Abstract | 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. The intent of this study was to
characterize and document the associated indicator minerals and their dispersal from a known Pb-Zn orebody. Surficial mapping of striae and glacial stratigraphy indicate that at least three phases of ice flow have affected the Pine Point area, each
of which had access to the orebodies. Sulphide mineralization at deposit O28 included sphalerite, galena and pyrite, of which 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 from till samples down-ice of the deposit were 0.25 to 0.5 mm in size; however, in samples closest to the subcropping mineralization most of the 1 to 2 mm fraction was recovered. The geomorphology of sphalerite
grains was more rounded with increased distance from the orebody indicating that size and morphology can demonstrate relative proximity to an orebody. The major element chemistry as well as the Pb and S isotopic signature of the sphalerite and galena
grains recovered from bedrock samples were compared to the sphalerite and galena grains recovered from till samples. In general, the major element concentrations of sphalerite recovered from till samples were similar to those of the honey-brown and
cleiophane varieties of sphalerite identified in bedrock samples. Major element geochemistry of galena grains recovered from till samples was most similar to the cubic and the late-stage fracture-filling varieties identified in bedrock. The S
isotopic values for sphalerite grains recovered from till samples, for the most part, fell within the range of those recovered from bedrock samples. Lead isotopic ratios for both till and bedrock samples showed very little variation, which is
characteristic of the Pine Point deposit. The results of this study present criteria and highlight additional methods for exploration of MVT deposits in glaciated terrain by defining which minerals associated with MVT deposits survive glacial
comminution, transport and deposition. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This is a peer-reviewed conference paper to be presented at Exploration '17 (a conference held once per decade on mineral exploration). This work is a
succinct summary of a GSC-funded MSc student who was supported to work in the Pine Point area during GEM1, and whose date will be augmented in a GEM2 activity. This paper provides a short summary of the potential to use base metal sulphides for
mineral exploration, particularly lead-zinc deposits, in northern Canada. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 304230 |
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