| Title | Current techniques and applications of mineral chemistry to mineral exploration; examples from glaciated terrain: a review |
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| Author | Layton-Matthews, D; McClenaghan, M B |
| Source | Mineral exploration in weathered and covered terrains; by Salama, W (ed.); Tiddy, C (ed.); Boble, R (ed.); Minerals vol. 12, issue 1, 59, 2021 p. 1-27, https://doi.org/10.3390/min12010059  Open Access |
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| Year | 2021 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20210222 |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | digital; on-line |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Subjects | economic geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; mineralogy; geochemistry; geochronology; Science and Technology; mineral exploration; exploration methods; mineral deposits; nickel; copper;
volcanogenic deposits; sulphide deposits; porphyry deposits; magmatic deposits; glacial deposits; heavy mineral analyses; grain size analyses; mineralogical analyses; geochemical analyses; isotopic studies; radiometric dates; lead lead dates;
electron microscope analyses; x-ray fluorescence analyses; mass spectrometer analysis; glacial history; ice flow; sediment dispersal; dispersal patterns; Methodology; ice-flow directions; Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Quaternary |
| Illustrations | tables; photomicrographs; photographs; schematic representations; flow diagrams; screen captures; location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; ternary diagrams; plots; profiles |
| Program | Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI-6) Ore systems |
| Released | 2021 12 31 |
| Abstract | This paper provides a summary of traditional, current, and developing exploration techniques using indicator minerals derived from glacial sediments, with a focus on Canadian case studies. The 0.25 to
2.0 mm fraction of heavy mineral concentrates (HMC) from surficial sediments is typically used for indicator mineral surveys, with the finer (0.25-0.50 mm) fraction used as the default grain size for heavy mineral concentrate studies due to the ease
of concentration and separation and subsequent mineralogical identification. Similarly, commonly used indicator minerals (e.g., Kimberlite Indicator Minerals - KIMs) are well known because of ease of optical identification and their ability to
survive glacial transport. Herein, we review the last 15 years of the rapidly growing application of Automated Mineralogy (e.g., MLA, QEMSCAN, TIMA, etc) to indicator mineral studies of several ore deposit types, including Ni-Cu-PGE, Volcanogenic
Massive Sulfides, and a variety of porphyry systems and glacial sediments down ice of these deposits. These studies have expanded the indicator mineral species that can be applied to mineral exploration and decreased the size of the grains examined
down to ~10 microns. Chemical and isotopic fertility indexes developed for bedrock can now be applied to indicator mineral grains in glacial sediments and these methods will influence the next generation of indicator mineral studies. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This paper reports methods used to facilitate mineral exploration in glaciated terrain using examples from key studies conducted by the GSC as part of
the Targeted Geoscience Initiative. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 328814 |
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