Isabelle McMartin

Comparison of Cu–Hg–Ni–Pb concentrations in soils adjacent to anthropogenic point sources: examples from four Canadian sites

The extent and variation of Cu, Hg, Ni, and Pb loading in soil profiles (humus, B-horizon, C-horizon) were examined in the vicinity of four Canadian industrial sources of airborne metal particulates located in different ecozones and geological terrains: the Cu smelter at Rouyn-Noranda, Québec; the Cu-Zn smelter at Flin Flon, Manitoba; the Pb–Zn smelter at Trail, British Columbia; and the inactive Pinchi Lake Hg Mine, British Columbia. Three major controlling factors on the metal concentrations in soils have been assessed: (1) distance from the anthropogenic point source, (2) organic matter content, and (3) geology of the substrate. Distance from source largely controls smelter-related metal concentrations in humus, with concentrations decreasing with increasing distance according to specific parameters for each element and at each location. In the B-horizon, variations in organic matter content and substrate geology are important controls on metal concentrations, except in areas close to the source where sub-surface contamination was recognized for certain metals. The metal content of the C-horizon is predominantly determined by the nature and composition of the substrate. Variations in humus/C-horizon and B-horizon/C-horizon metal ratios are useful to help distinguish anthropogenic from natural sources of metal enrichments in soils.

Till sampling and geochemical analytical protocols used by the Geological Survey of Canada

The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has developed field and lab methods protocols to guide till sample collection, processing, geochemical analysis of the till matrix, monitoring of quality assurance/quality control, and archiving procedures for reconnaissance- to local-scale geochemical surveys. The most significant concepts and procedures are described in this paper. Continued and long-term use of these protocols will ultimately allow GSC researchers to integrate and contrast multiple datasets and ensure minimum levels of quality assurance and control for all till geochemical data. This set of protocols is the first established for Canadian till sampling and analysis and represents a contribution to the GSC’s Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) Program. Sharing the GSC’s knowledge on till sampling and analysis with the international community will allow other researchers and explorationists to adopt similar procedures. This sharing of knowledge will ultimately allow comparison of till geochemical datasets from various parts of Canada and internationally as well as ensuring a minimum level of quality assurance and control for all till geochemical data.

Optimal ferromagnetic fraction in till samples along ice-flow paths: case studies from the Sue-Dianne and Thompson deposits, Canada

Iron oxides are minerals resistant to chemical alteration and mechanical abrasion, and which have ferromagnetic properties and a range of chemical compositions. These characteristics are useful as indicator minerals in exploration, for example using till in glaciated terrains. Iron oxide proportions, grain size, and chemical composition of till samples collected near the Sue-Dianne Cu-Au-Ag IOCG deposit in the Great Bear magmatic zone (Northwest Territories, Canada) and magmatic Ni-Cu deposits in the Thompson Nickel Belt (Manitoba, Canada) show that subsamples containing c. 100 grains from the 0.25–1.0 mm grain size ferromagnetic fraction yield a representative mineralogical and compositional range of oxide grains from a till sample. Subsamples with less than 100 grains yield statistically less representative data. The 1–2 mm grain size fraction typically contains too few iron oxide grains and thus using this fraction is not statistically representative. The composition of iron oxides from eight till and five bedrock samples was determined along transects up- and down-ice of the Cu-Au-Ag Sue-Dianne IOCG deposit. At, and immediately down-ice of, the deposit, hematite is the principal oxide and shows dominant BIF and IOCG chemical signatures in the Ca+Al+Mn v. Ti+V discriminant diagram. Up-ice and farther down-ice of the deposit, magnetite and titanomagnetite are the dominant oxides and magnetite shows dominant Kiruna and IOCG signatures. The composition of iron oxides from six till samples along a north–south transect and 11 till samples from a 180 km-long east–west transect, along the older and younger directions of ice-flow, respectively, was determined in the Thompson Nickel Belt (Manitoba, Canada). The proportion of magnetite in till with the signature of Ni-Cu deposits increases for at least 1 km south of the Pipe Ni-Cu deposit along the direction of the older southward ice flow, whereas the glacial dispersal of magnetite with a chemical signature typical of Ni-Cu deposits was limited during the younger westerly ice flow.

Processing of glacial sediments for the recovery of indicator minerals: protocols used at the Geological Survey of Canada

A successful method of mineral exploration in glaciated terrain is the use of indicator minerals recovered from carefully selected glacial sediments, and subsequently traced back to their bedrock source. The successful application of indicator mineral methods relies on efficient and effective recovery as well as the correct identification of a wide variety of indicator minerals. The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has developed protocols for ongoing and future research projects to achieve the highest quality for reporting indicator mineral data. Such protocols include the use of field duplicate samples, blank samples, and base material spiked with known numbers, morphologies, species, and sizes of indicator minerals. Field duplicate samples serve to estimate sediment heterogeneity. Spiked samples are used to monitor the accuracy of the sample processing and mineral identification methods for recovering specific minerals. Blank samples serve to detect potential carry-over contamination. In certain instances, a specific sample processing order is essential and should be communicated to the commercial processing laboratory. Ore-rich samples collected near known mineralization are to be processed last, to reduce chances of carry-over contamination. Repeated indicator mineral counts should be carried out on at least 10% of the heavy mineral concentrates to measure reproducibility (precision) of the mineral counts. All indicator mineral data, original laboratory reports, heavy mineral concentrates, unmounted picked grains, and grain mounts are now archived at the GSC, using specific guidelines.

An orientation study of the heavy mineral signature of the NICO Co-Au-Bi deposit, Great Bear magmatic zone, NW Territories, Canada

ABSTRACT An orientation study around the NICO Co-Au-Bi deposit in the Great Bear magmatic zone of NW Territories, Canada, was initiated in 2007 to establish a practical guide to geochemical and mineralogical exploration for iron oxide copper-gold deposits in glaciated terrain. Bedrock and till samples were collected up-ice, proximal and down-ice from mineralization and host rocks, to characterize their indicator mineral signatures. Results demonstrate that gold grain abundance, size and shape, as well as magnetite and hematite composition, have the best potential to fingerprint the mineralization at NICO. Pristine-shaped gold grains indicative of a local bedrock source and a short distance of glacial transport are relatively abundant in till samples collected immediately down-ice from several mineral occurrences at NICO and none were recovered up-ice. Iron oxide composition using preliminary discriminant diagrams shows some potential, using Ni/(Mn+Cr) versus Ti+V plots. In particular, magnetite and hematite from till samples collected over, or directly down-ice of, the NICO deposit have lower Ti+V compositions compared to magnetite and hematite from till collected up-ice from mineralization. Potential non-ferromagnetic indicator minerals are either not chemically stable in surface sediments (arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrite), not sufficiently coarse-grained or resistant to glacial transport (bismuthinite, tourmaline, ferroactinolite), not abundant enough in the mineralized bedrock (scheelite, molybdenite, cobaltite, allanite), or not sufficiently heavy (tourmaline) to be useful at NICO but may be at other deposits in the region or elsewhere in glaciated terrain. The development of indicator mineral methods, together with till geochemistry, will be tested with further sampling over the Great Bear magmatic zone.

Paleogeography of Lake Agassiz and regional post-glacial uplift history of the Flin Flon region, central Manitoba and Saskatchewan

Detailed mapping and elevation measurements of glacial lake shorelines in the Flin Flon region has permitted the reconstruction of 6 well-defined levels of Lake Agassiz formed around 8.3 ka to 7.9 ka 14C BP. The Stonewall, The Pas, Gimli, Grand Rapids, Drunken Point and Ponton paleo-water planes have been tilted upward to the northeast in the Holocene, with gradients decreasing, from the highest to the lowest level, from about 0.34 m km-1 to 0.22 m km-1 in the study area. The Setting level, lower than the Ponton but less well defined, is also documented here for the first time. This mapping conclusively refutes the view, entrenched in the literature from the 1890s to the 1960s, that there has been negligible differential uplift in the region following final drainage of Lake Agassiz. The finding has major consequences regarding correlation of glacial lakes across the mid-continent, the post-glacial history of large lakes in the region, and for interpretation of earth rheology and its implications for ice sheet reconstruction.