Metallogeny of the Upper Beaver deposit

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Upper Beaver is a Au-Cu mineral deposit associated with magnetite-bearing veins and breccias, and hosted by altered volcanic and plutonic rocks. It is thus a type of mineralization that is different from the typical lode gold veins of the Kirkland Lake and Larder Lake area. The origin of the Upper Beaver deposit is presently poorly constrained and several deposit models have been proposed to classify it, including Archean intrusion-related and Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) deposit types. Understanding the origin and setting of the Upper Beaver deposit has important implications to orient mineral exploration for similar types of mineralization in the Superior Province. The proposed research program will investigate the regional tectonic and magmatic setting of the Upper Beaver deposit environment in order to integrate the deposit-scale studies to the larger scale. In this context, the proposed research program will aim to document several relevant aspects of the deposit in order to constrain its origin: 1) the structural geology of the deposit breccias in order to place constraints to their origin; 2) document the mineralogical paragenesis and its spatial distribution in 3 dimensions; 3) geochronology to constrain magmatic and hydrothermal events; and 4) use stable isotope (H, C, O, S) and fluid inclusion to decipher the origin and evolution of the hydrothermal fluids that formed the deposit. In addition, the research program will measure the petrophysical properties of representative samples and along downhole surveys to provide key data needed to interpret geophysical surveys in mineral exploration. Collectively, these results will be integrated into a regional framework that will be useful for more efficient predictive targeting for this type of Au-Cu mineralization by the Canadian mining industry.