Copper-platinum group element mineralization of the Midcontinent rift-related Marathon deposit, Ontario

该项目将重点关注与中大陆裂谷相关的Coldwell杂岩的马拉松钯矿床的可变矿化带，特别是高PGE-低硫W地平线、低PGE-高硫下墙带和成分中间主带。两名理科学生和一名PDF学生将把新的岩心扫描技术与更传统的块状岩石和矿物化学数据、透射式和反射式显微镜观察、地质测绘和岩心测井相结合，其中包括高分辨率的化学和矿物填图。这一整合的目的是确定矿化类型(例如，高PGE-低硫与低PGE-高硫)与区域和矿床规模的构造、岩石结构、矿物学以及矿物结构和化学之间的关系。这项研究的最终目标包括两个方面：i)开发可利用的、经济的和可扩展的勘探战略，可用于识别和引导Coldwell复合体中的高品位PGE矿化；ii)进一步完善马拉松钯矿床的内部一致的矿床模型。 通过这项研究开发的载体，以及一个精炼的矿藏模型，将有助于世代矿业在马拉松和Coldwell Complex的其他地方识别更多的铜-前列腺素E资源。由于这些载体是可扩展的，并植根于生成矿化的基本机制，加拿大资源公司可以在勘探的不同阶段(例如，早期区域规模勘探与晚期矿床规模勘探)应用它们来识别整个加拿大的镍-铜-铂矿。此外，在矿床专家的支持下，从特征良好的超镁-镁-镍-铜-PGE矿化系统扫描大量钻芯，将为Enersoft提供机会，在这些技术通常不会应用的环境中测试和增强其人工智能算法。最终，这将提高岩心扫描及其相关技术在一套新的矿藏和岩石学环境中的适用性。

This project will focus on the variably mineralized zones of the Marathon Palladium deposit of the Midcontinent Rift-related Coldwell Complex, specifically the high PGE-low sulfur W Horizon, the low PGE-high sulfur Footwall Zone, and the compositionally intermediate Main Zone. Two BSc students and one PDF will integrate novel core-scanning technology, including high resolution chemical and mineral mapping, with more traditional bulk-rock and mineral chemical data, transmitted- and reflected-light microscopy observations, geologic mapping, and core logging. The aims of this integration are to identify relationships between the style of mineralization (e.g., high PGE-low sulfur vs. low PGE-high sulfur) and regional- and deposit-scale structures, rock textures, mineralogy, as well as mineral textures and chemistry. The ultimate goals of this study are two-fold i) development of accessible, economic, and scalable exploration strategies that can be used to identify and vector towards high-grade PGE mineralization in the Coldwell Complex and ii) further refinement of an internally consistent mineral deposit model for the Marathon Palladium deposit. The vectors developed through this study, along with a refined mineral deposit model, will aid Generation Mining in identifying additional Cu-PGE resources at Marathon and elsewhere in the Coldwell Complex. Since these vectors are scalable and grounded in the fundamental mechanisms that generated the mineralization, they can be applied at various stages of exploration (e.g., early-stage regional-scale exploration vs. late-stage deposit-scale exploration) by Canadian resource companies to identify Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization throughout Canada. Additionally, scanning large volumes of drill core from a well-characterized ultramafic-mafic Ni-Cu-PGE mineralized system with support from experts on the deposit will provide Enersoft the opportunity to test and enhance their artificial intelligence algorithms in an environment in which these technologies are not typically applied. Ultimately, this will enhance the applicability of core scanning and the associated technologies to a new set of mineral deposits and petrologic environments.