| Title | Bedrock geology of the Dismal Lakes-lower Coppermine River area, Nunavut and Northwest Territories: GEM-2 Coppermine River Transect, report of activities 2017-2018 |
| Download | Downloads |
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| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Skulski, T ;
Rainbird, R H; Turner, E C; Meek, R; Ielpi, A; Halverson, G P;
Davis, W J; Mercadier, J; Girard, E; Loron, C C |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8522, 2018, 37 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/313404  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2018 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Nunavut; Northwest Territories |
| NTS | 86M; 86N; 86O |
| Area | Dismal Lakes; Coppermine River; Dease Lake |
| Lat/Long WENS | -120.0000 -114.0000 68.0000 67.0000 |
| Subjects | regional geology; stratigraphy; geochemistry; geochronology; economic geology; tectonics; geophysics; paleontology; structural geology; bedrock geology; lithology; sedimentary rocks; clastics; black
shales; cherts; sandstones; siltstones; igneous rocks; mafic rocks; volcanic rocks; basalts; lava flows; structural features; faults; unconformities; fractures; folds; mineral deposits; uranium; nickel; copper; copper, native; sedimentary ore
deposits; sulphide deposits; red beds; metallogeny; fluid dynamics; ore mineral genesis; mineralization; micropaleontology; microorganisms; geological history; tectonic history; sedimentation; volcanism; magmatism; basins; deformation; crustal
uplift; subsidence; erosion; sediment reworking; depositional history; hydrothermal systems; remobilization; precipitation; remote sensing; satellite imagery; lithogeochemistry; provenance; paleoenvironment; depositional environment; systematic
stratigraphy; stratigraphic analyses; stratigraphic correlations; isotope geochemistry; carbon isotopes; oxygen isotopes; core samples; whole rock geochemistry; major element analyses; trace element analyses; radiometric dating; uranium lead dating;
zircon dates; petrographic analyses; fluid inclusions; Coppermine River Group; Rae Group; Escape Rapids Formation; Dismal Lakes Group; Hornby Bay Group; Mackenzie Large Igneous Province; Husky Creek Formation; Brock Inlier; Laurentia; Rodinia; Copper
Creek Formation; September Creek Member; Stony Creek Member; Burnt Creek Member; Kendall River Formation; Sulky Formation; Greenhorn Lakes Formation; Fort Confidence Formation; Precambrian; Proterozoic |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; photographs |
| Program | GEM2: Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Mackenzie Corridor, Coppermine River Transect |
| Released | 2018 12 31 |
| Abstract | (Summary)
This report summarizes results of the Coppermine River Transect activity (Figures 1 and 2) based on fieldwork in 2017 and laboratory analyses in 2018 of samples collected from the
Dease Lake area (Northwest Territories), Dismal lakes area (Nunavut) and along the lower Coppermine River (Nunavut) south of the confluence with the Kendall River. This research is in collaboration with scientists at McGill University, Laurentian
University, Université de Lorraine and Université de Liège. Research in the Coppermine River area includes a study of the stratigraphy, geochemistry, geochronology and metallogeny of the Coppermine River and lower Rae groups under the GEM program,
and an investigation into the nature of eukaryotic organisms in Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks of the Dismal Lakes and lower Rae groups funded by the Agouron Institute.
The Coppermine-Dismal Lakes transect study is examining a 7.2-km thick
stratigraphic section through the Dismal Lakes, Coppermine River and Rae groups, a section representing an almost continuous record of sedimentation and volcanism from approximately 1.5-1.0 Ga (Figure 2). Older geological maps of this area are being
updated in light of new field, geochemical and geochronological data in combination with the interpretation of high-resolution satellite imagery and derived digital elevation models. The new map provides a regional context for studies that explore
the controls on basin-scale fluid transport in the formation of uranium deposits in the Hornby Bay Group. Lithogeochemical analyses of the Coppermine River basalts are used to explore the source(s) of mafic magmatism in the Mackenzie Large Igneous
province and provide insight into how chemical-stratigraphic changes in the lavas reflect the potential for Ni-PGE and Cu mineralization. The age, provenance and paleoenvironment of clastic sedimentary and interbedded volcanic rocks of the Husky
Creek Formation are examined in detail. The Coppermine River exposes the only complete stratigraphic section through the basal Rae Group (Escape Rapids Formation) and these were measured and sampled for geochemistry and micropaleontology to constrain
their age, depositional setting and potential for sedimentary-hosted copper. Correlative rocks from the Escape Rapids Formation in the Brock Inlier have yielded exceptionally well preserved eukaryotes (Loron et al. 2018). On a regional scale, work in
this area builds on results from previous GSC-GEM projects in Minto Inlier and Brock Inlier by testing recently proposed regional stratigraphic correlations as well as new tectonic reconstructions of northwestern Laurentia during assembly and the
break-up of the supercontinent Rodinia. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The Coppermine River Transect is based on fieldwork in 2017 and analyses in 2018 of samples collected from Dease Lake (Northwest Territories), Dismal
Lakes (Nunavut) and along the Coppermine River (Nunavut). The study examines an approximately 6.5-km thick section through the Dismal Lakes, Coppermine River and Rae groups, which represent an almost continuous record of sedimentation and volcanism
deposited 1.5 -1.0 Ga. Geological mapping provides a context for understanding fluid transport in the formation of uranium deposits. Chemical analyses of the Coppermine River basalts reveal the sources of volcanism and potential for copper, nickel
and platinum group element mineralisation. The age, origin and depositional setting of sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Husky Creek Formation are being examined. A complete section through the lower Rae Group was examined in detail and sampled
for geochemistry and microfossil studies to constrain their age, depositional setting and potential for sedimentary-hosted copper. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 313404 |
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