Mineral exploration

Cemented tungsten carbides also find use as a support for polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutting tips, or as a matrix alloy with cobalt, nickel, copper, and iron, ia which diamond particles are embedded. These tools are employed ia a variety of iadustries including mineral exploration and development oil and gas exploration and production and concrete, asphalt, and dimension stone cutting. 

Green, G.R., Ohmoto, H., Date, J. and Takahashi, T. (1983) Whole-rock oxygen isotope distribution in the Fukazawa-Kosaka area, Hokuroku district, Japan, and its potential application to mineral exploration. Econ. Geol. Mon., 5, 395—411. 

Mineral exploration, the search for economic ore deposits, requires somewhat different reference samples than those used in ore valuation. Soil or sediment and water samples are frequently used in the search when mineralized areas of abundant outcrop or those covered only by thin locally derived overburden are being evaluated. In such cases, it is virtually impossible not to detect the mineralization from an analysis of ore elements in these types of samples. Later, as the mineral deposits closest to the surface were exploited and then played out, new deposits occurred at progressively greater depths, and these sample types were less and less effective as markers in the search (Hoffman 1989). 

Another major change was the shift from extensive use of field laboratory exploration techniques to the laboratory techniques hke ICP-AES and INAA. These produce a higher quality data than had resulted from the dc arc and other field techniques, with respect to both repeatability of measurement and improved detection limits. The metrology laboratory certifications for As and Hg in soils and sediments as key environmental toxins provided strong support to mineral exploration programs. 

Paulen, R.C., Prior, G.J., Plouffe, A., Smith, I.R., McCurdy. M.W. Friske, P.W.B. 2007. Cretaceous shale of northern Alberta A new frontier for base metal exploration. In Milkereit, B. (ed.) Exploration in the New Millennium, Proceedings of the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Mineral Exploration, 1207-1213. 

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 and Alberta Geological Survey, Special Report 77. 

Mann, A.W., Birrell, R.D., Fedikow, M.A.F., de Souza, H.A.F. 2005. Vertical ionic migration mechanisms, soil anomalies, and sampling depth for mineral exploration. Geochemistry - Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 5, 201-210. 

Till geochemical and indicator mineral methods in mineral exploration ... 

KEYWORDS till, geochemistry, indicator mineral, mineral exploration, glacial sediment... 

Several syntheses have reviewed the application of till geochemical and indicator mineral methods to mineral exploration in glaciated terrain (Coker DiLabio 1989 DiLabio Coker 1989 Kujansuu Saarnisto 1990 Kauranne et al. 1992 Bobrowsky et al. 1995 Shilts 1996 McClenaghan et al. 1997, 2001 Thorleifson McClenaghan 2003, 2007 ... 

Averill, SA. 2001. The application of heavy indicator mineralogy in mineral exploration with emphasis on base metal indicators in glaciated metamorphic and plutonic terrains. In McClenaghan, M.B., Bobrowsky, P.T. Hall, GE M. Cook, S.J. (eds) Drift Exploration in Glaciated Terrain, Geological Society of London, Special Publication No. 185, 69-81. 

McClenaghan, M.B. 2005. Indicator mineral methods in mineral exploration. Geochemistry Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 5, 233-245. 

McClenaghan, M.B., Thorleifson, LH. DiLabio, R.N.W. 1997. Till Geochemical and Indicator Mineral Methods in Mineral Exploration. In Gubins, A.G. (ed) Proceedings of Exploration 97, 233-248. 

Paulen, R.C. McMarun, I. (eds) 2009. Application of till and stream sediment heavy mineral and geochemical methods to mineral exploration in western and northern Canada, Geological Association of Canada Short Course Notes 18. 

Thorleifson, L.H. McClenaghan, M.B. 2007. Indicator Mineral Methods in Mineral Exploration. Exploration 07, Short Course Notes, Toronto, Canada, September 9, 2007. 

Soil geochemistry is widely applied in mineral exploration, and with advancing knowledge of speciation and residence phases of trace elements in soils, a variety of partial and selective extractions for chemical analysis have been developed over the past decades. Each of these methods has been designed to target and dissolve only those elements that are adsorbed onto labile phases in soil, from carrier fluids and gases that transported them from a deposit to the surface (e.g. Hall etal. 1996). 

For agriculture and environment related projects, the <2-mm soil fraction is routinely analyzed and used as a standard, whereas for mineral exploration the <63-pm fraction is used. The latter better reflects bio-accessibility and both fractions are analyzed using different chemical digestions. 

New Brunswick s bedrock geology is well mapped and largely well understood. Because of NB s mineral wealth, a great deal of mineral exploration work has been carried out since the 1950s. The bedrock in NB is also diverse in age. The oldest Precambrian rocks can be found in the Saint John area, whereas some of the younger ones, in the form or Triassic basalts, occupy more than half of the Island of Grand Manan. Most of NB s rocks are of Middle Paleozoic age. The triangle between Moncton, Fredericton, and Bathurst is occupied by a thick sequence of Carboniferous rocks that host... 

Keywords Overbank sediment, geochemistry, mineral exploration, MMI, Thomson Orogen... 

KEYWORDS geochemical mapping, overbank sediment, mineral exploration, energy... 

Some regional geochemical surveys have been carried out in parts of Australia, but no national coverage exists. Since the inception of the concept of regional geochemical surveys in the 1960s, they have proven to be a reliable tool for mineral exploration. 

Compile an atlas of geochemical maps for use by the mineral exploration industry to identify areas... 

Caritat, P. de Lech, M.E. 2007. Thomson Region Geochemical Survey, Northwestern New South Wales. Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration Open File Report, 145, 1021p. + CD-ROM. 

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