Indicator mineral content and geochemistry of glacial sediments from northwest Alberta (NTS 84L, M): new opportunities for mineral exploration

Current Techniques and Applications of Mineral Chemistry to Mineral Exploration; Examples from Glaciated Terrain: A Review

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min12010059 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 59

Author(s):

Daniel Layton-Matthews ◽

M. Beth McClenaghan

Keyword(s):

Mineral Exploration ◽

Mineral Chemistry ◽

Heavy Mineral ◽

Optical Identification ◽

Glacial Sediments ◽

Volcanogenic Massive Sulfides ◽

Kimberlite Indicator Minerals ◽

Indicator Mineral ◽

Automated Mineralogy ◽

Indicator Minerals

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.

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Application of indicator mineral methods to mineral exploration

10.4095/293858 ◽

2014 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M B McClenaghan ◽

A Plouffe ◽

D Layton-Matthews

Keyword(s):

Mineral Exploration ◽

Indicator Mineral

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Indicator mineral methods in mineral exploration

Geochemistry Exploration Environment Analysis ◽

10.1144/1467-7873/03-066 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 233-245 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

M. Beth McClenaghan

Keyword(s):

Mineral Exploration ◽

Indicator Mineral

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Analisis Kandungan Mineral Pasir Pantai Bajul Mati Kabupaten Malang Menggunakan XRF dan XRD

Fullerene Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.37033/fjc.v5i2.154 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 58

Author(s):

Sumari Sumari ◽

Yana Fajar Prakasa ◽

Muhammad Roy Asrori ◽

Dinar Rachmadika Baharintasari

Keyword(s):

Metal Oxide ◽

Mineral Content ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

Beach Sand ◽

X Rays ◽

Sample Holder ◽

Mineral Material

Mineral exploration in Indonesia has not been evenly distributed, so a study with title analysis of the sand mineral content of Bajul Mati Malang Regency was carried out using XRF and XRD. The aims of this study to determine the percentage of mineral that containing in the sand of Bajul Mati beach in Malang Regency. The instruments used XRF and XRD where the samples were placed in a sample holder and irradiated with X-rays then. The result of analysis of mineral content and metal oxide in Bajul Mati beach sand showed that the beach sand of Bajul Mati has the big potential to be used as a base for making nanomaterials. The results of analysis of XRF showed that the content of SiO2 was 46.7% and the results of analysis of XRD showed that the SiO2 mineral has the quartz phased. Bajul Mati beach sand has the potential to be a source of mineral material.

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Exploration Potential of Fine-Fraction Heavy Mineral Concentrates from Till Using Automated Mineralogy: A Case Study from the Izok Lake Cu–Zn–Pb–Ag VMS Deposit, Nunavut, Canada

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10040310 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 310 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

H. Donald Lougheed ◽

M. Beth McClenaghan ◽

Dan Layton-Matthews ◽

Matthew Leybourne

Keyword(s):

Mineral Exploration ◽

Fine Fraction ◽

Test Site ◽

Massive Sulfide ◽

Heavy Mineral ◽

Morphological Data ◽

Indicator Mineral ◽

Automated Mineralogy ◽

Sediment Cover ◽

Liberation Analysis

Exploration under thick glacial sediment cover is an important facet of modern mineral exploration in Canada and northern Europe. Till heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) indicator mineral methods are well established in exploration for diamonds, gold, and base metals in glaciated terrain. Traditional methods rely on visual examination of >250 µm HMC material, however this study applies modern automated mineralogical methods (mineral liberation analysis (MLA)) to investigate the finer (<250 µm) fraction of till HMC. Automated mineralogy of finer material allows for rapid collection of precise compositional and morphological data from a large number (10,000–100,000) of heavy mineral grains in a single sample. The Izok Lake volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit, one of the largest undeveloped Zn–Cu resources in North America, has a well-documented fan-shaped indicator mineral dispersal train and was used as a test site for this study. Axinite, a VMS indicator mineral difficult to identify optically in HMC, is identified in till samples up to 8 km down ice. Epidote and Fe-oxide minerals are identified, with concentrations peaking proximal to mineralization. Corundum and gahnite are intergrown in till samples immediately down ice of mineralization. Till samples also contain chalcopyrite and galena up to 8 km down ice of mineralization, an increase from 1.3 km for sulfide minerals in till previously reported for coarse HMC fractions. Some of these sulfide grains occur as inclusions within chemically and physically robust mineral grains and would not be identified visually in the coarse HMC visual counts. Best practices for epoxy mineral grain mounting and abundance reporting are presented along with the automated mineralogy of till samples down ice of the deposit.

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Thermoluminescence of quartz from Shihu gold deposit, western Hebei province, China: some implications for gold exploration

Open Geosciences ◽

10.2478/v10085-010-0010-y ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Ye Cao ◽

Shengrong Li ◽

Meijuan Yao ◽

Huafeng Zhang

Keyword(s):

Gold Deposit ◽

Cross Sections ◽

North China Craton ◽

North China ◽

Mineral Exploration ◽

Gold Deposits ◽

Quartz Veins ◽

The North ◽

Indicator Mineral ◽

Gold Bearing

AbstractThermoluminescence (TL) of monomineralic separates have been widely used in various geosciences fields in order to trace the thermal history and aid in prospecting for gold deposits. Quartz is a ubiquitous mineral in the Shihu gold deposit, which is situated in the northern part of the Taihang orogenic belt in the North China craton (NCC). The deposit is hosted by ductile-brittle faults within an Archean metamorphic core complex of the Fuping Group. This deposit is characterized by gold-bearing quartz-polymetallic sulfides and quartz veins. New TL results have been obtained for quartz, in which four type-TL glow curves were identified. The gold-bearing quartz present type III glow curves that consist of two peak glow curves at the middle and high peak temperatures with the similar TL intensity. In addition, the cross-sections of peak temperatures and TL intensity highlight the valuable area where the Au-bearing quartz present weak TL intensity and low-middle peak temperatures. Our results significantly enhance the usefulness of quartz in metallogenic studies of the North China craton and as an indicator mineral in mineral exploration of the Taihang Mountain region.

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