| Title | Ore mineralogy and mineral chemistry of the Whale Tail zone, Amaruq gold deposit, Nunavut |
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| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Lauzon, M -C; Mercier-Langevin, P; Valette, M; Beaudoin, G; De Souza, S; Côté-Mantha, O; Simard, 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. 267-279, https://doi.org/10.4095/326044  Open Access |
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| 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 |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Nunavut |
| NTS | 66H/07 |
| Area | Whale Lake; Mammoth Lake; Kivalliq Region |
| Lat/Long WENS | -96.7500 -96.6667 65.4333 65.3833 |
| Subjects | economic geology; mineralogy; geochemistry; tectonics; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; mineral deposits; gold; strata-bound deposits; replacement deposits; ore mineral genesis;
mineralization; ore controls; modelling; mineral exploration; core samples; sulphides; arsenopyrite; pyrrhotite; pyrite; gold, native; inclusions; electrum; gangue minerals; silicates; quartz; chlorite; amphibole; biotite; garnet; andalusite;
tectonic history; orogenesis; metamorphism; metamorphism, prograde; metamorphism, retrograde; deformation; bedrock geology; lithology; volcano-sedimentary strata; sedimentary rocks; iron formations; cherts; greywackes; argillites; pelites; igneous
rocks; volcanic rocks; basalts; komatiites; intrusive rocks; diorites; ultramafic rocks; mafic rocks; metamorphic rocks; mineral assemblages; petrographic analyses; electron probe analyses; spectroscopic analyses; Archean; Canadian Shield; Churchill
Province; Rae Craton; Amaruq Deposit; Woodburn Lake Group; Rumble Assemblage; Whale Tail Zone; IVR Zone; Snow Island Suite; Woodburn Lake Greenstone Belt; Rae Domain; Trans-Hudson Orogen; Neoarchean; Paleoproterozoic; Precambrian;
Proterozoic |
| Illustrations | geoscientific sketch maps; composite sections; photographs; photomicrographs; tables; sketches; schematic diagrams |
| Program | Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI-5) Gold ore systems |
| Released | 2020 06 11; 2023 03 17 |
| Abstract | The 6 Moz Au (190 metric t Au) Amaruq deposit is hosted in a sequence of complexly deformed and metamorphosed chert, graphitic argillite, silicate-facies banded iron formation and mafic-ultramafic
volcanic rocks of the Archean Woodburn Lake group in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. The region was affected by Archean and Paleoproterozoic orogeneses and most Au occurrences are interpreted to be associated with the ca 1.91-1.81 Ga Trans-Hudson
event. However, new work indicates that some of the Au may be Early Paleoproterozoic or perhaps even Archean, raising uncertainty about the timing of the Au ore-forming event(s) versus the tectonometamorphic evolution of the region.
The
arsenopyrite- and pyrrhotite-dominant Au mineralization of the Whale Tail zone of the Amaruq deposit was sampled from representative drill core to determine the timing of Au introduction relative to the main deformation and associated metamorphism in
the study area. Petrography and micro-analyses indicate that the sulphides underwent a complete prograde-retrograde metamorphic cycle, with pre-peak metamorphism Au-rich arsenopyrite being replaced by an assemblage of syn-peak prograde Au-rich
löllingite and pyrrhotite. This was followed by retrogression of löllingite to Au-poor secondary arsenopyrite and native Au and electrum inclusions. |
| 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 | 326044 |
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