| Title | Geochemical, mineralogical and indicator-mineral data for stream silt sediment, water, and heavy-mineral concentrates, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut (NTS 49-G, 59-H and 560-A) |
| Download | Downloads |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | McNeil, R J; Williamson, M -C ; Wilton, D H C |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8719, 2020, 29 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/326018  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is related to Geochemical, mineralogical
and indicator-mineral data for stream silt sediment, water and heavy-mineral concentrates, East Fiord area, western Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut (part of NTS 59-G) |
| File format | readme
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| File format | pdf; rtf; xlsx (Microsoft® Excel®); docx (Microsoft® Word®); jpg; kmz (Google Earth(TM)) |
| Province | Nunavut |
| NTS | 49G/12; 49G/13; 59G/01; 59G/07; 59G/08; 59H/03; 59H/04; 59H/05; 59H/06; 59H/09; 59H/10; 59H/15; 59H/16; 560A/08; 560A/10; 560A/11; 560A/14; 560A/15 |
| Area | Axel Heiberg Island; Lightfoot River; Geodetic Hills; Expedition Fiord; East Fiord; Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
| Lat/Long WENS | -94.0000 -87.0000 81.0000 79.0000 |
| Subjects | economic geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; geochemistry; mineralogy; structural geology; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; mineral deposits; mineral potential; mineral exploration;
nickel; copper; base metals; sulphide deposits; mineralization; geochemical surveys; stream water geochemistry; stream sediment geochemistry; heavy mineral samples; heavy minerals geochemistry; bulk samples; mineralogical analyses; sediments; silts;
grain size analyses; size fractionation; mass spectrometer analysis; scanning electron microscope analyses; organic carbon; carbon; heavy mineral analyses; alkalinity; bedrock geology; lithology; sedimentary rocks; carbonates; sandstones; siltstones;
shales; evaporites; anhydrite; gypsum; rock salt; diapirs; igneous rocks; intrusive rocks; diabases; gabbros; volcanic rocks; basalts; lava flows; structural features; faults; faults, thrust; faults, reverse; folds; anticlines; intrusions; dykes;
sills; in-field instrumentation; field methods; photography; sulphides; chalcopyrite; pyrite; sphalerite; barite; clinopyroxene; pentlandite; cobaltite; High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP); Sverdrup Basin; Queen Elizabeth Island Dyke Swarm;
Surprise Fiord Dyke Swarm; National Geochemical Reconnaissance Data Base; Otto Fiord Formation; Eurekan Orogeny; Blaa Mountain Formation; Blind Fiord Formation; Stolz Thrust Fault; Isachsen Formation; Strand Fiord Formation; alluvial sediments;
Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Quaternary; Tertiary; Mesozoic; Cretaceous; Jurassic; Triassic; Paleozoic; Permian; Carboniferous |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; photographs; sample forms; satellite images; pie charts; photomicrographs; histograms |
| Program | GEM2: Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Western Arctic, Tertiary Onshore, Smoking Hills |
| Program | Polar Continental Shelf Program
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| Released | 2020 04 28 |
| Abstract | We report the results of a stream sediment and water study that was carried out as part of the GEM2 Western Arctic Region Project's HALIP activity in Canada's Arctic Islands. The survey was
complementary to bedrock mapping in three areas of central Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut. The objective of the study was to use regional drainage sediment and water to evaluate the mineral potential in these areas. This activity was part of a larger
project, undertaken to evaluate mineral potential of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP). It also expanded the drainage coverage from the original study conducted in 2013 in the East Fiord area of western Axel Heiberg Island that provided
promising results.
Stream silt and water samples were collected from 72 sites. At 32 of these sites, bulk sediment samples were collected for the heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) component in the <2 mm fraction. Silt and water samples were analysed
by ICP-MS and ICP-ES as well as for carbon content. Water samples were also submitted for alkalinity, anions by ion-chromatography and in situ physico-chemical measurements. Bulk sediment samples were processed and the resulting HMC samples were
picked for indicator minerals of various deposit types. Sampling and analytical techniques followed established NGR methodologies, ensuring data compatibility with the NGR database. Although limited in scope, the study yielded a second drainage
dataset for the northernmost part of Nunavut.
Stream sediment surveys carried out in the Lightfoot River and Geodetic Hills areas of Axel Heiberg Island do not show any clear evidence of mineralization. The most promising geochemical and mineral
data resulted from a survey in the Expedition Fiord area. We highlight some of the results in a pilot mineralogical study of the Heavy Mineral Concentrates (HMC) using the MLA-SEM technique. A comparison of data for the East Fiord (2013) and
Expedition Fiord (2015) areas highlights the presence of sulphides in the HMCs as well as other similarities in the geological setting. Notable differences in water, silt and HMC composition between the two areas are not well understood, and require
further research on (1) the age, composition and volume of mafic intrusions in the two areas; (2) the extent of mechanical mixing between igneous and evaporite rocks in proximity to diapirs; (3) compositional variations in streams with distance from
glaciers; and (4) the role of conduits for fluid flow in the wall-and-basin evaporite structures in the Strand Fiord-Expedition Fiord area. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This report contains databases of geochemical and mineralogical data acquired during regional stream sediment surveys carried out on central Axel Heiberg
Island, Nunavut. The datasets provide additional constraints to previous studies on the regional-scale mineral prospectivity of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP) exposed on Axel Heiberg Island and northern Ellesmere Island. The databases
are being published as a supplement to scientific articles in preparation on multivariate datasets for bedrock and gossans mapped in the Strand Fiord-Expedition Fiord area located in central Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 326018 |
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