Survey Metadata
Till, Indicator minerals
Alberta
2003
Till sampling, NTS 84L, M, northwest Alberta, 2003-2005.
Location map
(requires an Internet connection)
Primary Publications (see below for full list)
| Index | Publication |
|---|---|
| 1 | Plouffe, A., Paulen, R.C., Smith, I.R. (2006). Indicator mineral content and geochemistry of glacial sediments from northwest Alberta (NTS 84L, M): new opportunities for mineral exploration. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5121/Alberta Geological Survey Special Report 77. ( more) |
Survey Description
Approximately 300 till samples and a few glaciofluvial samples were collected in the Zama Lake and Bistcho Lake areas in northwest Alberta in 2003 and 2004. Samples were collected by truck, all-terrain vehicle and helicopter, on road exposures, natural bluffs, hand-dug pits and borrow pits. In hand-dug pits, samples were collected below the most oxidized soil horizons at an average depth of 1 metre. In excavated pits, samples were often from below 4 metres. A 25 kg sample was collected on average every 10 km, and a 1-2 kg sample every 5 km in areas with reasonable road access. Sampling density is typically much less throughout most of the study area which has minimal or no road access.
Approximately 50 of the 25 kg samples were sent for heavy mineral, including KIM, and gold grain identification. In 2005, five sites were resampled after anomalous concentrations of sphalerite grains in till were found. Additional samples were also collected. These samples, along with regional samples near the anomaly that had not been analyzed previously (21 in total), were submitted for KIM, MMSIM and gold grains.
The following Open Files were published:
| Publication | Data | Comments |
| GSC OF 5121/AGS Special Report 77 | till geochemistry; KIM and gold grain data for selected samples | KIMs identified from optical properties alone |
| GSC OF 5545/AGS Special Report 87 | EMP analyses of KIMs and sphalerite grains | EMP analyses of grains previously identified from optical properties alone (OF 5121) |
| GSC OF 5692/AGS Special Report 96 | sphalerite and KIMs in 19 bulk till samples | previously, only geochemistry was published for these samples (OF 5121) |
| GSC OF 7541 | Pb and S isotopes of sphalerite and galena grains | grains from till samples previously published in OF 5121 |
Data Description:
Digital.
Quantities Analysed:
<0.063 mm fraction of till for 37 minor elements by ICP-MS after aqua regia digestion; for major elements by ICP-ES after LiBO 2 fusion and dilute nitric acid digestion; for 31 minor elements by ICP-MS after LiBO 2 fusion and dilute nitric acid digestion.
Geochem Maps Available:
Proportional dot map showing concentrations of Zn and Pb in till. Maps showing distribution of samples with sphalerite and galena grains.
Other Analyses:
Heavy mineral and gold grain analyses; Pb and S isotopes.
Publication History
| Index | Publication |
|---|---|
| 1 | Plouffe, A., Paulen, R.C., Smith, I.R. (2006). Indicator mineral content and geochemistry of glacial sediments from northwest Alberta (NTS 84L, M): new opportunities for mineral exploration. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5121/Alberta Geological Survey Special Report 77. ( more) |
| 2 | Plouffe, A., Paulen, R.C., Smith, I.R., Kjarsgaard, I.M. (2007). Chemistry of kimberlite indicator minerals and sphalerite derived from glacial sediments of northwest Alberta. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5545/Alberta Geological Survey Special Report 87. ( more) |
| 3 | Paulen, R.C., Plouffe, A., Smith, I.R. (2008). An update of kimberlite and base metal indicator minerals in glacial sediments from the Zama Lake region, northwest Alberta (NTS 84L and 84M). In Program with abstracts, seventeenth annual Calgary Mining Forum, "New mines, prospects & advances"; p. 35. ( more) |
| 4 | Plouffe, A., Paulen, R.C., Smith, I.R., Kjarsgaard, I.M. (2008). Sphalerite and and kimberlite indicator minerals in till from the Zama Lake region, northwest Alberta (NTS 84L and 84M). Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5692/Alberta Geological Survey Special Report 96. ( more) |
| 5 | Paulen, R.C., Paradis, S., Plouffe, A., Smith, I.R. (2009). Base metal exploration using indicator minerals in glacial sediments, northwestern Alberta, Canada. In Proceedings of the 24th International Applied Geochemistry Symposium, volume II, D.R. Lentz, K.G. Thorne, K-L Beal (ed.). Conference hosted by the International Association of Geochemistry (IAGC) and the International Association of Geoanalysts (AAG), Fredericton, June 1-4, 2009, p. 557-560. ( more) |
| 6 | Paulen, R.C., Paradis, S., Plouffe, A., Smith, I.R. (2011). Pb and S isotopic composition of indicator minerals in glacial sediments from NW Alberta, Canada: implications for Zn-Pb base metal exploration. Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis v. 11, no. 4, p. 309-320. ( more) |
| 7 | Paulen, R.C., Plouffe, A., Smith, I.R., Paradis, S. (2011). Isotopic fingerprinting of base metal indicator minerals to decipher their provenances: an example from northwest Alberta. In Geohydro, 2011, Proceedings of the joint meeting of the CANQUA and International Association of Hydrogeologists, Quebec City, August 2011, Doc-2297, 7 p. ( more) |
| 8 | Paulen, R.C., Plouffe, A., Paradis, S., Smith, I.R. (2014). Lead and sulphur isotopes of sphalerite and galena grains recovered from till samples, northwest Alberta. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 7541, 20 p. ( more) |
Project History
| Index | Year | Project |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2003-2009 | Northwest Alberta and northeast British Columbia kimberlite exploration project, 2003-2006 ( more) |
Geographic Extent
| Minimum Latitude | Maximum Latitude | Minimum Longitude | Maximum Longitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| 58° | 60° | -120° | -118° |
The geographic extent of the survey is defined by the following polygons:
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Covers NTS 84L (Zama Lake) and 84M (Bistcho Lake) in northwest Alberta. Cameron Hills are located in the northeastern part of the Bistcho Lake map sheet.
Keywords
- Date modified: