Dendrochemical variation over the Cross Lake VMS mineralization – a tool for mineral exploration and decoupling anthropogenic input from background signals

Kozuskanich, John C.; Kyser, T. Kurt; MacFarlane, William R.; Hamilton, Stewart M.

doi:10.1144/1467-7873/09-201

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Other studies exploring for VMS deposits also found no evidence for translocation of elements in black spruce (Kozuskanich et al, 2009), although sampling of sapwood in spruce can result in significant differences in parts of the same ring especially if the tree was stressed (Prohaska et al, 1998). The ring widths measured in this study were the same for the samples taken from different oriented cores, thus indicating a lack of stress for the age of the rings sampled, and sapwood was avoided in most samples.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 50%

“…Also shown is the number of samples that have concentrations of these elements above detection limits. The quality of the analyses was monitored using a tree core standard prepared by QFIR (Kozuskanich et al, 2009) and NIST 1547 peach leave standard, each of which were measured for every 15 samples. The practical detection limit for all elements, including Pb isotopes, is 0.01 ppb.…”

Section: Sample Collection and Analytical Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The particular mechanism or mechanisms a plant employs mostly depends on the kind of root system it has, such as spreading lateral roots or deep sinker roots. A variation on the use of plants is the use of trees cores, which reflect a time sequence of element migration in the area (Kozuskanich et al, 2009;Watmough, 1997). A temporal record is required due to the global influence of anthropogenic activity (Kelley and Hudson, 2007;Lahd Geagea et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A temporal record is required due to the global influence of anthropogenic activity (Kelley and Hudson, 2007;Lahd Geagea et al, 2008). Tree rings that reflect pre-global industrialization because of their age should be a more reliable record of elements that may have migrated from deposits below as opposed to those that were deposited from atmospheric sources (Kozuskanich et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Using Pb isotopes in surface media to distinguish anthropogenic sources from undercover uranium sources

Kyser

Lahusen

Drever³

et al. 2015

Comptes Rendus. Géoscience

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 50%

Section: Sample Collection and Analytical Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Using Pb isotopes in surface media to distinguish anthropogenic sources from undercover uranium sources

Kyser

Lahusen

Drever³

et al. 2015

Comptes Rendus. Géoscience

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Till and vegetation geochemistry at the Talbot VMS Cu-Zn prospect, Manitoba, Canada: implications for mineral exploration

Geffen

Kyser

Oates

et al. 2012

GEEA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Proterozoic Talbot VMS occurrence in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake terrane is buried under more than 100 m of Palaeozoic dolomites and Quaternary glacial till. Structurally controlled anomalies of Zn, Cu, Ag, Pb, Au, Mn, Hg, Cd, Co, Bi and Se in the clay fraction of till depth-profiles indicate upward element migration from the buried volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralisation and near-surface chemostratigraphic deposition. Principal component analysis and molar element ratios indicate that separation of the <2 µm clay fraction reduces chemical heterogeneity and increases trace-element yield relative to the <250 µm fraction of the till. The greatest anomalies occur at or below 30 cm depth and over faults, suggesting that elements were deposited in the till after upward migration through structures. The ratio Zn/Al in the <250 µm fraction can be used as a proxy for Zn in the clay fraction, producing high-contrast anomalies. Carbon isotopic compositions indicate that these anomalies are related to organic carbon in the clay fraction. Humus, moss and black spruce bark are of limited use for exploration in this environment, because they accumulate atmospheric Pb and Cd, most likely from the Flin Flon smelter at 160 km NW. Black spruce tree rings that formed before smelter operations commenced indicate Zn and Mn anomalies in an uncontaminated sampling material. Much of the initial vertical migration of elements to the surface at the Talbot prospect was driven by upward advection of groundwater through fractures in the dolomite, resulting from a combination of subsurface karst collapse and remnant hydrostatic pressure during glacial retreat.

show abstract

Dendrochemistry and soil clay geochemistry applied to exploration for deep U mineralization at the Halliday Lake Prospect, Athabasca Basin, Canada

Stewart

Kyser

Griffiths

et al. 2016

GEEA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drilling at the c. 750 m deep Halliday Lake prospect in the Athabasca Basin has identified features favourable for unconformity-related U mineralization such as sandstone enrichments in pathfinder elements, graphitic metapelite gneiss, sandstone and basement hosted faulting, hydrothermal alteration and sub-economic U mineralization. Soils, jack pine ( Pinus banksiana ) and black spruce ( Picea mariana ) tree cores were collected on a 250 m sampling grid to assess their effectiveness as exploration geochemical media for concealed mineralization. The <2 µm soil clay-size fractions comprise mixtures of quartz, chlorite, illite, kaolinite, and plagioclase with the plagioclase reflecting basement boulders transported in the Quaternary cover. Basement rocks in the till impart a geochemical signature enriched in K, Ba, Bi, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Li, Mn and Ni, complicating the interpretation of some pathfinder elements in the <2 µm soil clay-size fraction. Tree cores have Mo, Co, Cu and S enrichments in areas of thin overburden also associated with sandstone hosted hydrothermal alteration and pathfinder element enrichment. Radiogenic Pb isotope ratios in the <2 µm soil clay-size fraction are associated with drill holes hosting sub-economic U mineralization whereas barren drill holes are spatially associated with common Pb isotope ratios. Radiogenic tree core Pb isotope ratios are supportive of the <2 µm soil clay-size fraction Pb isotope ratios.

show abstract

Dendrochemical variation over the Cross Lake VMS mineralization – a tool for mineral exploration and decoupling anthropogenic input from background signals

Cited by 6 publications

References 24 publications

Using Pb isotopes in surface media to distinguish anthropogenic sources from undercover uranium sources

Using Pb isotopes in surface media to distinguish anthropogenic sources from undercover uranium sources

Till and vegetation geochemistry at the Talbot VMS Cu-Zn prospect, Manitoba, Canada: implications for mineral exploration

Dendrochemistry and soil clay geochemistry applied to exploration for deep U mineralization at the Halliday Lake Prospect, Athabasca Basin, Canada

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About