Open AccessIndicator mineral signatures of the Halfmile Lake Zn-Pb-Cu volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick: Part 1 - bedrock data
Author(s) -
G Budulan,
M B McClenaghan,
Daniel LaytonMatthews,
Daniel Crabtree,
M Pyne,
Seán McClenaghan
Publication year - 2015
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.4095/295586
Subject(s) - bedrock , pyrite , geology , galena , arsenopyrite , sphalerite , geochemistry , weathering , mineral , sulfide minerals , pyrrhotite , silicate minerals , jarosite , mineralogy , chalcopyrite , silicate , geomorphology , chemistry , organic chemistry , copper
Till and bedrock sampling was conducted during the summer of 2007 around the Halfmile Lake Zn-Pb-Cu volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, Bathurst Mining Camp, northern New Brunswick, as part of the Geological Survey of Canada's Targeted Geoscience Initiative-3(TGI-3). The overall purpose of this study was to document the indicator minerals and their compositions in till and bedrock that are characteristic of a volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposit. Data are reported in two parts: Part 1 includes the bedrock indicator minerals, and Part 2 the tillindicator minerals. The potential indicator minerals identified in mineralized bedrock samples from the Halfmile Lake deposit included chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, pyrite, ferro- and nonferromagnetic pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, magnetite, gold, goethite, and beudantite. These minerals showeddistinct characteristics either in their abundances or chemical compositions that make them viable indicator minerals. Many of these minerals are susceptible to degradation under surface weathering conditions and glacial transport, and these processes would inhibit the deposition and/or preservationof these minerals in surface till. Other trace sulphides and oxides that were identified are not abundant enough, too fine-grained, or too common.