| Title | Structural controls and relative timing of gold mineralization of the banded iron formation-associated Tiriganiaq deposit, Meliadine district, Rankin Inlet greenstone belt, Nunavut |
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| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | St. Pierre, B; Mercier-Langevin, P; Blais, J -C; Servelle, G; Simard, M; Côté-Mantha, O; Malo, M |
| Source | Targeted Geoscience Initiative 5: contributions to the understanding of Canadian gold systems; by Mercier-Langevin, P (ed.); Lawley, C J M (ed.); Castonguay, S (ed.); Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8712, 2020 p. 237-250, https://doi.org/10.4095/326041  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is contained in Targeted Geoscience
Initiative 5: contributions to the understanding of Canadian gold systems |
| Related | This publication is related to the following
publications |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Nunavut |
| NTS | 55J/13; 55J/14; 55K/15; 55K/16; 55N/01; 55N/02; 55N/07; 55N/08; 55O/03; 55O/04; 55O/05; 55O/06 |
| Area | Rankin Inlet |
| Lat/Long WENS | -92.8167 -91.2333 63.2667 62.7667 |
| Subjects | economic geology; regional geology; structural geology; tectonics; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; mineral deposits; gold; ore mineral genesis; mineralization; ore controls; structural
controls; mineral exploration; exploration guidelines; greenstone belts; modelling; bedrock geology; lithology; sedimentary rocks; iron formations; turbidites; siltstones; igneous rocks; volcanic rocks; mafic volcanic rocks; intrusive rocks; mafic
intrusive rocks; structural features; faults; splays; folds; shear zones; foliation; veins; dykes; tectonic setting; tectonic history; deformation; kinematic analysis; geometric analyses; structural trends; field relations; traps; Archean; Churchill
Province; Rankin Inlet Greenstone Belt; Meliadine District; Tiriganiaq Deposit; Pyke Fault; Lower Fault; Oxide Formation; Tiriganiaq Formation; Paleoproterozoic; Precambrian; Proterozoic |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; lithologic sections; tables; schematic cross-sections; photographs; drawings; cross-sections; models |
| Program | Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI-5) Gold ore systems |
| Released | 2020 06 11; 2023 03 17 |
| Abstract | The Meliadine gold district is hosted within the Archean (ca. 2660 Ma) polydeformed Rankin Inlet greenstone belt, Nunavut. The district comprises numerous gold deposits and prospects that are spatially
associated with the Pyke Fault and its splays. This includes the currently producing Tiriganiaq deposit, which is hosted within the turbidite-dominated structural hanging wall of the Lower Fault, a west-trending splay of the Pyke Fault.
The 1150
and 1250 'lode series' within the Tiriganiaq deposit are a series of ore zones with complex geometries. Before underground development, the knowledge of gold-grade distribution in these zones was based on surface drilling results and could therefore
not take into account some of the small-scale structural features that control ore grade and ore zone geometry (e.g. <25 m wavelength folding).
New field relationships document the importance of horizontal to shallowly south-dipping ore-bearing
extensional quartz±ankerite veins. These veins are associated with sulphide replacement zones that are preferentially developed in tightly folded banded iron formation (BIF) intervals. Folding and veining are associated with the main phase of
deformation in the deposit area, which corresponds to the second phase (D2) of regional deformation. The D2 deformation at the Tiriganiaq deposit can be further subdivided into two main protracted phases: the first phase (D2A), which is associated
with northeast-southwest-oriented shortening and F2A folding; and the second phase (D2B), which is associated with north-south shortening, further folding (F2B), and reverse shearing and veining (shallowly south-dipping extension veins and moderately
north-dipping shear veins). The 1150 and 1250 lodes provide an excellent example of the complex geometry of the ore-bearing veins found within the shallowly west-plunging F2B folded BIF successions. These zones provide some of the highest gold grades
within the Tiriganiaq deposit and thus highlight the importance of fold hinges and their effect on the generation of favourable traps (thickened BIF intervals), the development of narrow shears (along the limbs), and the development of associated
extensional veins in the competent BIF layers, forming structurally and lithologically controlled high-grade zones. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The main objective of phase 5 (2015-2020) of Natural Resources Canada and Geological Survey of Canada's Targeted Geoscientific Initiative (TGI) program
was to generate new knowledge, methodologies and models to enhance the exploration industry's ability to detect buried ore deposits. This synthesis volume contains 20 individual papers that discuss craton to deposit-scale characteristics of
auriferous deposits, plus some support material pertaining to the TGI-5 Gold project. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 326041 |
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