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The geochemical survey is part of the South Mountain Batholith (SMB) Pleistocene mapping project, which consisted of two main components.  The first component was regional mapping designed to: 1) identify and classify surficial deposits into mappable lithostratigraphic units; 2) determine the spatial and temporal relationships between these deposits; and 3) identify source areas of these deposits.  The second component of the Pleistocene survey was to carry out a regional geochemical survey in order to: 1) distinguish tills on the basis of their geochemistry; 2) identify patterns of geochemical dispersion from known bedrock sources; 3) interpret these patterns in light of increased knowledge of the surficial geology of the South Mountain Batholith; and 4) provide a geochemical database that would aid in evaluation of the economic potential of the batholith through the identification of areas of elevated background geochemistry.  The data are published in Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines Preliminary Maps 87-011, 87-012, 87-013 and 88-052.  A compilation of the geochemistry for the entire South Mountain Batholith area can be found in Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines Open File Report 90-006.

Nova Scotia Department of Mines and Energy