Targeted Geoscience Initiative 4 (TGI4): Gold Ore Systems
The scientifica research and results of this project are available via GEOSCAN
Gold is recognized globally as a symbol of wealth, success and fortune. It plays an important role in Canada’s economy. In 2010, gold production ranked second for the total value of mined metals in Canada and first in the number of operating mines in the country.1 Despite recent increases in exploration, Canadian gold reserves have significantly declined in the last two decades. In 1990, Canadian gold reserves were 1542 tonnes, but by 2008, these reserves decreased to 947 tonnes.2
New gold deposits will be found buried far beneath the surface and to find them, it is important to understand why some areas of Canada are endowed with gold and others are not. Knowing what controls the location of these gold districts (90 percent of historical gold production is from the Canadian Shield2) is critical to lowering the exploration risk inherent in searching for new deposits. For example, why do many deposits occur along major crustal structures or faults?
The Gold Ore Systems Project will collect data about the nature, location and depth of gold deposits. Scientists will then translate the data into information and knowledge for finding deeply buried deposits. Recent major gold discoveries in Ontario and Quebec highlight the lack of knowledge about the processes that result in a deposit and the processes that leave markers in the surrounding geological environment.
Some gold deposit types are underexplored and relatively poorly understood, which creates scientific and exploration challenges as well as new opportunities.
The project will study three main gold deposit types:
- banded-iron formation-hosted deposits
- intrusion-related deposits
- large, fault-related Archean gold districts
Being largely field-oriented, the project will bring together geochemistry, three-dimensional reconstruction and geology to improve gold exploration models. Research field activities will take place in Canada’s mining districts and emerging camps, most of which are in the Canadian Shield.
For more information about the Gold Ore Systems Project, contact:
Mike Villeneuve, Program Manager
Geological Survey of Canada
Natural Resources Canada
601 Booth Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0E8
Tel.: 613-995-4018
E-mail: TGI-IGC@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca
1 Natural Resources Canada
2 Facts and Figures 2010, Mining Association of Canada