| Title | Structurally controlled gold: Comparing and contrasting 0.4 Ga central Newfoundland and 2.7 Ga Abitibi greenstone belt |
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| Author | Honsberger, I W ;
Bleeker, W; Sandeman, H A I; Evans, D T W |
| Source | Geological Society of America, Abstracts With Programs vol. 51, no. 1, 2019, 1 pages, https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2019NE-328679 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2019 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20220626 |
| Publisher | The Geological Society of America |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; digital; on-line |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| NTS | 12A/06 |
| Area | Valentine Lake |
| Lat/Long WENS | -57.5000 -57.0000 48.5000 48.2500 |
| Subjects | Economics and Industry; mineralogy; gold; Abitibi Greenstone Belt |
| Program | Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI-5) Gold ore systems - tectonic drivers and conduits |
| Released | 2019 03 17 |
| Abstract | Archean gold deposits of the Abitibi granite-greenstone terrane comprise one of the most prolific structurally controlled gold systems in the world. Gold-bearing vein systems in the Abitibi occur within
and in proximity to long-lived crustal-scale fault zones characterized by footwall sequences of synorogenic clastic rocks and associated alkaline magmatism. In the Paleozoic terrane of central Newfoundland, gold mineralization is also associated with
crustal-scale fault zones that preserve synorogenic clastic rocks. The structurally controlled gold-bearing corridor in central Newfoundland occurs over a horizontal distance comparable to the Abitibi, as it trends northeast from Cape Ray for ~400 km
to Fogo Island. The largest known gold deposit in Newfoundland occurs along this structurally controlled belt at Marathon Gold Corporation's Valentine Lake Gold property, which now reports 4.2 Moz of total gold resource. Recent soil sampling programs
and exploratory drilling on industry land packages adjacent to Valentine Lake confirm additional gold endowment and a clear potential for more structurally controlled resources northeast along strike. Structural analysis of recently discovered
gold-bearing quartz veins along this trend demonstrates that mineralization occurs within an oblique, compressional, left-lateral shear zone, similar to deposits farther southwest at Valentine Lake. Comparing and contrasting the structural and
tectonic evolution of the major gold producing fault zones in central Newfoundland and the Abitibi is useful for identifying recurring processes related to structurally controlled gold mineralization, across >2 billion years of Earth history.
Similarities in present-day fault geometries suggest that mineralized systems in both the Abitibi and central Newfoundland experienced comparable thick-skinned thrust tectonics critical to preservation of upper crustal gold deposits. An important
outstanding question is whether the gold-bearing fault zones in central Newfoundland were initiated during an earlier phase of crustal-scale extensional tectonics, as is inferred for the Abitibi system. This is a key question for interpreting the
primary source(s) of gold-bearing fluids in central Newfoundland. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This contribution compares and contrasts the central Newfoundland gold system with the world-class Abitibi gold system. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 331540 |
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