The Williams Brook Gold Discovery – Northern New Brunswick
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE 24TH INTERNATIONAL APPLIED GEOCHEMISTRY SYMPOSIUM FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA JUNE 1ST-4TH, 2009 EDITED BY DAVID R. LENTZ, KATHLEEN G. THORNE, & KRISTY-LEE BEAL VOLUME I All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher. ISBN 978-1-55131-136-4 ©2009 AAG PROCEEDINGS OF THE 24TH INTERNATIONAL APPLIED GEOCHEMISTRY SYMPOSIUM FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK CANADA JUNE 1ST-4TH, 2009 EDITED BY DAVID R. LENTZ KATHLEEN G. THORNE KRISTY-LEE BEAL VOLUME I NORTH ATLANTIC MINERALS SYMPOSIUM ................................................................................ 501 Mass change constraints and hydrothermal alteration of felsic volcanic rocks that host the Restigouche Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit, Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada ............................................................................................................................................503 Amanuel Bein1 & David R. Lentz1 ..............................................................................................503 Results of 2008 exploration program Mount Pleasant Property: geochemistry, mineralogy, and deposit modeling of Sn-In and WO3-MoS2 zones...........................................................................507 Trevor Boyd1 & Gustaaf Kooiman1 ............................................................................................507 The Nash Creek Zn–Pb–Ag deposit, Tobique −Chaleurs Zone, New Brunswick, Canada ...........511 Derek Brown1 & James Walker2 ................................................................................................511 The Williams Brook gold discovery – northern New Brunswick ...................................................515 Heather Campbell1 & Art Hamilton1..........................................................................................515 Age constraints and Grampian orogenesis of the Lower to Middle Ordovician Tyrone Igneous Complex, Northern Ireland .............................................................................................................519 Mark R. Cooper1, Quentin G. Crowley2,3, David M. Chew3, Steve P. Hollis4 & Stephen R. Noble2 ....................................................................................................................................................519 Molybdenum and tungsten mineralization associated with late-stage granitoid magmatism in the Appalachian Orogen of Newfoundland: an overview and a summary of recent developments.....523 Andrew Kerr1, Tim van Nostrand1, Lawson Dickson1, & Edward Lynch2 .................................523 Distribution and geochemistry of Cu-rich massive sulfides at the Brunswick No. 12 Deposit, Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick. .......................................................................................527 Sean H. McClenaghan1, David R. Lentz2, & Erin M. Powe2......................................................527 Lithogeochemistry of Ordovician Sedimentary Rocks: Implications for VMS Exploration in the Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC), Canada .........................................................................................531 Steven R. McCutcheon1 & James A. Walker1 .............................................................................531 Evaluating Bromine Geochemistry as a Prospecting Tool For Potash in Western Newfoundland 535 Jackie O’ Driscoll1, Robert Boehner2, Lawrence Winter1 & Roland Butler1 .............................535 Mesothermal, auriferous quartz veins of the Golden Promise deposit, central Newfoundland: their setting and the nature of wall rock alteration ..................................................................................539 Hamish Sandeman1, Heather Rafuse1, David Copeland2 and Jeff Morgan3 ..............................539 Cathodoluminescence: A tool to discriminate the tectonic history in gold-bearing veins in the Brunswick Subduction Complex, Canada.......................................................................................543 Sabine Schwarz1, David Lentz1, & James Walker2.....................................................................543 Ireland’s historic mine sites inventory ............................................................................................547 Gerry Stanley1, Eibhlin Doyle1, Vincent Gallagher1, Fionnuala Ni Mhairtin1, & Jane Brogan2 ....................................................................................................................................................547 Metallogeny of the gold-enriched Cambro-Ordovician rocks in the Annidale area, south-central New Brunswick, Canada.................................................................................................................551 Kathleen G. Thorne1, Susan C. Johnson2, Malcolm J. McLeod2, & Leslie R. Fyffe1.................551 Early Devonian felsic volcanic rocks and associated Zn–Pb mineralization, Tobique–Chaleurs Zone, New Brunswick, Canada.......................................................................................................555 James A. Walker1 .......................................................................................................................555 Sulfide petrology and geochemistry of the Key Anacon Main Zone and East Zone massive sulfide deposits, Bathurst Mining Camp, NB, Canada ...............................................................................559 Joseph D.S. Zulu1, David. R. Lentz1, & James A.Walker2 ..........................................................559 ix TECHNICAL EDITORS (Listed in alphabetical order) Mark Arundell David Lentz U. Aswathanarayana Ray Lett Roger Beckie Matthew Leybourne Chris Benn Steven McCutcheon Robert Bowell Beth McClenaghan Charles Butt Nancy McMillan Bill Coker Paul Morris Hugh deSouza Lee Ann Munk Sara Fortner Dogan Paktunc David Gladwell Roger Paulen Wayne Goodfellow Ernie Perkins Eric Grunsky David Quirt William Gunter Andy Rencz Gwendy Hall David Smith Jacob Hanley Cliff Stanley Russell Harmon Gerry Stanley David Heberlein Nick Susak Brian Hitchon Bruce Taylor Andrew Kerr Ed Van Hees Dan Kontak James Walker Kurt Kyser Lawrence Winter xiii NORTH ATLANTIC MINERALS SYMPOSIUM EDITED BY: ANDREW KERR GERRY STANLEY LAWRENCE WINTER SMTEVE CCUTCHEON 501 502 Proceedings of the 24th IAGS, Fredericton, 2009 Mass change constraints and hydrothermal alteration of felsic volcanic rocks that host the Restigouche Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit, Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada Amanuel Bein1 & David R. Lentz1 1Department of Geology, University of New Brunswick, 2 Bailey Drive, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3 CANADA (e-mail: [email protected]) ABSTRACT: An immobile-element lithogeochemical study of the volcanic rocks that host the Restigouche volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit in the Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) discriminated seven geochemical units (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G). The units are stratigraphicaly in ascending order and the massive sulfide horizon occurs between units A-D and A-E. Hydrothermal alteration of these tholeiitic, transitional, and transitional-calc-alkaline volcanic rocks is characterized by general additions of MnO, MgO, Fe2O3, LOI (H2O), Zn, Ga, and Pb, and loss of Na2O, SiO2, and Ba. K2O, and CaO are leached from the footwall sequence, but CaO is enriched in the hanging wall. Using constant Al2O3 with the isocon method of Grant (1986), the study demonstrates the immobile nature of TiO2, Zr, Nb, Y, Nd, and Th. Net mass loss in units B, C, D, F, and G and mass addition in the sulfide horizon between A and E are consistent with hydrothermal alteration and mineralization processes that formed the Restigouche VMS deposit. Also, compositional additions and losses of various components are attributed to chlorite, sericite, and carbonate alterations of the host rocks. KEYWORDS: Restigouche, massive sulfide, immobile elements, Isocon method, hydrothermal alteration INTRODUCTION change calculations for 92 samples from The Restigouche massive sulfide deposit the 7 geochemical groups. is located in the northwestern part of the Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC), 60 km west GEOLOGICAL SETTING of the city of Bathurst, northern New The Ordovician felsic volcanic pile that Brunswick. The property is currently hosts the Restigouche massive sulfide controlled by Blue Note Mining and the deposit in the BMC is composed of 7 company reports show that the deposit geochemically distinct groups; A, B, C, D, has an estimated reserve of 1.3 Mt E, F, and G (Bein & Lentz 2009). The grading 6.53% Zn, 5.05% Pb, and 99.6g/t units A, B, C, D, E, and F are in Ag as of 2007 (Art Hamilton, pers. stratigraphically ascending order and each communication). group consists of hydrothermally altered The present study was commenced in effusive and volcaniclastic rhyodacitic- order to define the geological and dacitic rocks of tholeiitic, transitional, lithogeochemical characteristics of the transitional-calc-alkaline magmatic nature. volcanic rocks hosting the Restigouche The massive sulfide lens occurs between deposit. Using lithogeochemical footwall unit A and hanging wall units D techniques, the first phase of this study and E. Finlow-Bates & Stumpfl (1981) discriminated hydrothermally altered described that the felsic volcanic rocks volcanic rocks that host the Restigouche that host the Restigouche VMS deposit deposit into 7 geochemical groups, with are intensely