Testing the fault valve enrichment mechanism at the Triangle mine

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Gold is an important economic resource in Canada, particularly in northern Quebec where gold mining has**been historically very productive, and continues to be so. Once a potential new deposit is found, its value must**be estimated from its size and the amount of gold it contains. The estimate of the quantity of minable gold can**be developed from direct sampling and an understanding of the geologic processes which concentrate gold in**ore deposits. In some cases, for example in the Lamaque-Sigma-Triangle mines in Val d'Or, the processes**which formed the deposit are very poorly understood. In this project, we seek to test whether one possible**process, known as the "fault-valve mechanism", caused the gold enrichment at the Lamaque site, currently**owned and operated by Eldorado Gold Lamaque. We will study the geological fractures that contain gold,**determine the depth in the earth at which they formed, and use this information to estimate the temperatures**and pressures of the fluids that transported the gold to the site. We will then estimate the fluid pressure changes**that were caused ancient earthquakes at the site in order to predict how much gold would be precipitated from**solution in the fluids. These results will determine how gold was enriched at the Lamaque site and can be used**to assist in estimation of the value of newly identified deposits in the future.