scholarly journals Kimberlite indicator mineral chemistry of the Bucke and Gravel kimberlites and associated indicator minerals in till, Lake Timiskaming, Ontario

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
M B McClenaghan ◽  
I M Kjarsgaard ◽  
B A Kjarsgaard
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Indicator Mineral ◽  
Indicator Minerals

scholarly journals Investigating the diamond potential of southern West Greenland

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 69-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Monrad Jensen ◽  
Karsten Secher
Keyword(s):  
Structural Control ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Large Samples ◽  
Indicator Mineral ◽  
The Government ◽  
Indicator Minerals ◽  
Diamond Potential

Southern West Greenland hosts a province of ultramafic alkaline rocks, including swarms of dykes traditionally described as kimberlites and lamproites (Larsen 1991; Jensen et al. 2002). Since the mid-1990s, commercial diamond exploration has been focused on the Sarfartoq region and the region south-east of Maniitsoq (Fig. 1), and has resulted in numerous reports of diamond-favourable indicator minerals from till sampling, finds of kimberlitic dykes, and recovery of diamonds from kimberlitic rocks. A new digital compilation of company data released from confidential status (Jensen et al. 2003a) presents a comprehensive overview of exploration activities and results that have emerged since the Survey’s first compilation of occurrences of kimberlitic and related rocks (Larsen 1991). The new compilation in a GIS (geographic information system) environment allows for refined assessment of the distribution, structural control and possible spatial and petrogenetic relationships that characterise the kimberlitic occurrences. In 2003, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the Government of Greenland’s Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum (BMP) went further than has been customary in investigating the economic potential of specific sites. Four areas were temporarily closed to application for exploration licences, pending sampling and testing for diamond content of large samples of more than one tonne each from significant kimberlitic occurrences. Additional characterisation and research initiated on these and other occurrences include magnetic mapping, detailed petrography and studies of mantle xenoliths, as well as indicator mineral chemistry. An extensive programme to determine the ages of kimberlitic and related rocks was also initiated in 2003.

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

Minerals ◽  
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.

Analyzing the occurrence of environmental indicator minerals using clustering techniques and mineral networks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Williams ◽  
Sally Potter-McIntyre ◽  
Justin Filiberto ◽  
Shaunna Morrison ◽  
Daniel Hummer
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Learning Algorithms ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hydrothermal Systems ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Environmental Indicator ◽  
Clustering Techniques ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Indicator Mineral ◽  
Indicator Minerals

<p>Indicator minerals have special physical and chemical properties that can be analyzed to glean information concerning the composition of host rocks and formational (or altering) fluids. Clay, zeolite, and tourmaline mineral groups are all ubiquitous at the Earth’s surface and shallow crust and distributed through a wide variety of sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic, and hydrothermal systems. Traditional studies of indicator mineral-bearing deposits have provided a wealth of data that could be integral to discovering new insights into the formation and evolution of naturally occurring systems. This study evaluates the relationships that exist between different environmental indicator mineral groups through the implementation of machine learning algorithms and network diagrams. Mineral occurrence data for thousands of localities hosting clay, zeolite, and tourmaline minerals were retrieved from mineral databases. Clustering techniques (e.g., agglomerative hierarchical clustering and density based spatial clustering of applications with noise) combined with network analyses were used to analyze the compiled dataset in an effort to characterize and identify geological processes operating at different localities across the United States. Ultimately, this study evaluates the ability of machine learning algorithms to act as supplementary diagnostic and interpretive tools in geoscientific studies.</p>

scholarly journals Porphyry indicator minerals and their mineral chemistry as vectoring and fertility tools

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
J J Wilkinson ◽  
D R Cooke ◽  
M J Baker ◽  
Z Chang ◽  
C C Wilkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Indicator Minerals

scholarly journals Chemical studies of kimberlite indicator minerals from stream sediment and till samples in the southern Mackenzie region (NTS 85B, C, F, G), Northwest Territories, Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
I R Smith ◽  
S J A Day ◽  
R C Paulen ◽  
D G Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Stream Sediment ◽  
Chemical Analyses ◽  
Great Slave Lake ◽  
Chemical Studies ◽  
Kimberlite Indicator Minerals ◽  
Indicator Mineral ◽  
Indicator Minerals ◽  
Field Area

Till (n=196) and stream sediment (n=60) samples were collected in the area south and west of Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories (NTS 85B, C, F, and G), over the course of 3 summer field seasons. Samples were processed to recover kimberlite and other indicator minerals. This report summarizes results of the kimberlite indicator mineral (KIM) studies, including measures of KIM mineral types, abundances, and chemistry (major, trace, and rare earth elements). KIMs were present in 24% of the samples collected, and only 183 KIM grains in total were recovered, of which Cr-pyrope garnets were the most abundant (65.6%). Chemical analyses revealed strong similarities to the Drybones Bay and Mud Lake kimberlites which are situated 50 to >100 km to the northeast, roughly aligned with prominent glacially streamlined landform flowsets in this field area. Results suggest there is little evidence for undetected kimberlite outcrop or sub-crop in the study area.

Overview of surficial geochemistry and indicator mineral surveys and case studies from the Geological Survey of Canada's GEM Program

2021 ◽  
pp. geochem2021-070
Author(s):  
M.B. McClenaghan ◽  
W.A. Spirito ◽  
S.J.A. Day ◽  
M.W. McCurdy ◽  
R.J. McNeil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Stream Sediment ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Northern Canada ◽  
Indicator Mineral ◽  
Indicator Minerals

The Geological Survey of Canada carried out reconnaissance-scale to deposit-scale geochemical and indicator-mineral surveys and case studies across northern Canada between 2008 and 2020 as part of its Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) program. In these studies, surficial geochemistry was used to determine the concentrations of up to 65 elements in various sample media including lake sediment, lake water, stream sediment, stream water, or till samples across approximately 1 000 000 km2 of northern Canada. As part of these surficial geochemistry surveys, indicator mineral methods were also used in regional-scale and deposit-scale stream sediment and till surveys. Through this program, areas with anomalous concentrations of elements and/or indicator minerals that are indicative of bedrock mineralization were identified, new mineral exploration models and protocols were developed, a new generation of geoscientists was trained, and geoscience knowledge was transferred to northern communities. Regional- and deposit-scale studies demonstrated how transport data (till geochemistry, indicator mineral abundance) and ice-flow indicator data can be used together to identify and understand complex ice flow and glacial transport. Detailed studies at the Izok Lake Zn-Cu-Pb-Ag VMS, Nunavut, the Pine Point carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn in the Northwest Territories, the Strange Lake REE deposit in Quebec and Labrador as well as U-Cu-Fe-F and Cu-Ag-Au-Au IOCG deposits in the Great Bear magmatic zone, Northwest Territories demonstrate new suites of indicator minerals that can now be used in future reconnaissance- and regional-scale stream sediment and till surveys across Canada.

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