scholarly journals Geology of Ordovician Massive Sulphide Deposits and Their Host Rocks in northern New Brunswick

1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
C R van Staal ◽  
J P Langton
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Massive Sulphide ◽  
Massive Sulphide Deposits ◽  
Sulphide Deposits ◽  
Host Rocks

Reprocessing legacy three-dimensional seismic data from the Halfmile Lake and Brunswick No. 6 volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits, New Brunswick, Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 569-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Bellefleur ◽  
Saeid Cheraghi ◽  
Alireza Malehmir
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Massive Sulphide ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
Deep Zone ◽  
3D Seismic ◽  
Massive Sulphide Deposits ◽  
Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ◽  
Sulphide Deposits

We reprocessed legacy three-dimensional (3D) seismic data from the Halfmile Lake and Brunswick areas, both of which were acquired for mineral exploration in the Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick. Each 3D seismic survey was acquired over known volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits and covered areas with strong mineral potential. Most improvements resulted from a reduction of coherent and random noise on prestack gathers and from an improved velocity model, combined with re-imaging with dip moveout corrections and poststack migration or prestack time migration. At Halfmile Lake, the new imaging results show the Deep zone and a possible extension of the sulphide mineralization at greater depth. True amplitude processing has shown that this anomaly has strong amplitudes and is offset from the Deep zone by a shallowly dipping fault (<15°). With the clearer geological context provided by our results, this anomaly, which appears as a stand-alone anomaly on an original image obtained by Noranda Exploration Ltd., becomes a defendable exploration target. Nonorthogonal acquisition geometry and receiver patches of the Brunswick No. 6 3D seismic survey generated artefacts after dip moveout processing that reduced the overall quality of the seismic volumes. By using a filtering approach based on the application of a weighted Laplacian-Gaussian filter in the Kx–Ky domain, we reduced the noise and improved the continuity of reflections. We also imaged the short and flat reflections observed previously only in the shallow part of prestack time migrated data. These short reflections appear as diffractions on the filtered stacked section with dip moveout corrections, indicating that they originate from small geological bodies or discontinuities in the subsurface.

A Middle Ordovician conodont faunule from the Tetagouche Group, Camel Back Mountain, New Brunswick

1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 540-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Kennedy ◽  
C. R. Barnes ◽  
T. T. Uyeno
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
North America ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
First Record ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Massive Sulphide ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Massive Sulphide Deposits ◽  
Sulphide Deposits

The Tetagouche Group is a 10 000 m geosynclinal sequence of slates, greywackes, rhyolite tuffs, and greenstones underlying parts of northern New Brunswick. It hosts the well-known stratabound massive sulphide deposits of the Bathurst–Newcastle mining area. Few fossils have been found in the group and its age is poorly known. More than 890 conodonts have been recovered from a locality near Camel Back Mountain in the Metabasalt unit. Coelocerodontus? lacrimosus and Protopanderodus liripipus are described as new species. The faunule contains species indicative of the Prioniodis alobatus Subzone of the Amorphognathus tvaerensis Zone and is the first record of the subzone in North America. The subzone equates with the middle Caradocian (approximately the Soudleyan Stage) or late Wildernessian Stage of the Middle Ordovician Epoch. During this interval the Proto-Atlantic Ocean is considered to have been undergoing closure, hence recent interpretations that regard the Metabasalt unit as forming during an earlier phase of opening must be reexamined.

scholarly journals Great Mining Camps of Canada 7. The Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Part 1: Geology and Exploration History

2019 ◽  
pp. 137-154
Author(s):  
Steven R. McCutcheon ◽  
James A. Walker
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Hot Springs ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Massive Sulphide ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Massive Sulphide Deposits ◽  
Sulphide Deposits ◽  
Bathurst Mining Camp

The Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick is approximately 3800 km2 in area, encompassed by a circle of radius 35 km. It is known worldwide for its volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits, especially for the Brunswick No. 12 Mine, which was in production from 1964 to 2013. The camp was born in October of 1952, with the discovery of the Brunswick No. 6 deposit, and this sparked a staking rush with more hectares claimed in the province than at any time since.   In 1952, little was known about the geology of the Bathurst Mining Camp or the depositional settings of its mineral deposits, because access was poor and the area was largely forest covered. We have learned a lot since that time. The camp was glaciated during the last ice age and various ice-flow directions are reflected on the physiographic map of the area. Despite abundant glacial deposits, we now know that the camp comprises several groups of Ordovician predominantly volcanic rocks, belonging to the Dunnage Zone, which overlie older sedimentary rocks belonging to the Gander Zone. The volcanic rocks formed during rifting of a submarine volcanic arc on the continental margin of Ganderia, ultimately leading to the formation of a Sea of Japan-style basin that is referred to as the Tetagouche-Exploits back-arc basin. The massive sulphide deposits are mostly associated with early-stage, felsic volcanic rocks and formed during the Middle Ordovician upon or near the sea floor by precipitation from metalliferous fluids escaping from submarine hot springs.   The history of mineral exploration in the Bathurst Mining Camp can be divided into six periods: a) pre-1952, b) 1952-1958, c) 1959-1973, d) 1974-1988, and e) 1989-2000, over which time 45 massive sulphide deposits were discovered. Prior to 1952, only one deposit was known, but the efforts of three men, Patrick (Paddy) W. Meahan, Dr. William J. Wright, and Dr. Graham S. MacKenzie, focused attention on the mineral potential of northern New Brunswick, which led to the discovery of the Brunswick No. 6 deposit in October 1952. In the 1950s, 29 deposits were discovered, largely resulting from the application of airborne surveys, followed by ground geophysical methods. From 1959 to 1973, six deposits were discovered, mostly satellite bodies to known deposits. From 1974 to 1988, five deposits were found, largely because of the application of new low-cost analytical and geophysical techniques. From 1989 to 2000, four more deposits were discovered; three were deep drilling targets but one was at surface. RÉSUMÉLe camp minier de Bathurst, dans le nord du Nouveau-Brunswick, s’étend sur environ 3 800 km2 à l’intérieur d’un cercle de 35 km de rayon. Il est connu dans le monde entier pour ses gisements de sulfures massifs volcanogènes, en particulier pour la mine Brunswick n° 12, exploitée de 1964 à 2013. Le camp est né en octobre 1952 avec la découverte du gisement Brunswick n° 6 et a suscité une ruée au jalonnement sans précédent avec le plus d’hectares revendiqués dans la province qu’à présent.   En 1952, on savait peu de choses sur la géologie du camp minier de Bathurst ou sur les conditions de déposition de ses gisements minéraux, car l’accès était très limité et la zone était en grande partie recouverte de forêt. Nous avons beaucoup appris depuis cette période. Le camp était recouvert de glace au cours de la dernière période glaciaire et diverses directions d’écoulements glaciaires sont révélées sur la carte physiographique de la région. Malgré des dépôts glaciaires abondants, nous savons maintenant que le camp comprend plusieurs groupes de roches ordoviciennes à prédominance volcanique, appartenant à la zone Dunnage, qui recouvrent de plus vieilles roches sédimentaires de la zone Gander. Les roches volcaniques se sont formées lors du rifting d’un arc volcanique sous-marin sur la marge continentale de Ganderia, ce qui a finalement abouti à la formation d’un bassin de type mer du Japon, appelé bassin d’arrière-arc de Tetagouche-Exploits. Les gisements de sulfures massifs sont principalement associés aux roches volcaniques felsiques de stade précoce et se sont formés au cours de l’Ordovicien moyen sur ou proche du plancher océanique par la précipitation de fluides métallifères s’échappant de sources chaudes sous-marines.   L’histoire de l’exploration minière dans le camp minier de Bathurst peut être divisée en six périodes: a) antérieure à 1952, b) 1952-1958, c) 1959-1973, d) 1974-1988 et e) 1989-2000, au cours desquelles 45 dépôts de sulfures massifs ont été découverts. Avant 1952, un seul dépôt était connu, mais les efforts de trois hommes, Patrick (Paddy) W. Meahan, William J. Wright et Graham S. MacKenzie, ont attiré l’attention sur le potentiel minier du nord du Nouveau-Brunswick, ce qui a conduit à la découverte du gisement Brunswick n° 6 au mois d’octobre 1952. Dans les années 50, 29 gisements ont été découverts, résultant en grande partie de l’utilisation de levés aéroportés, suivis de campagnes géophysiques terrestres. De 1959 à 1973, six gisements ont été découverts. Ce sont essentiellement des formations satellites de gisements connus. De 1974 à 1988, cinq gisements ont été découverts, principalement grâce à l’utilisation de nouvelles techniques analytiques et géophysiques peu coûteuses. De 1989 à 2000, quatre autres gisements ont été découverts. Trois étaient des cibles de forage profondes, mais l’un était à la surface.

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