Metallogeny of the Upper Beaver deposit

上海狸是一个与磁铁矿脉和角砾岩共生的金铜矿床，赋存于蚀变火山岩和深成岩中。因此，它是一种不同于柯克兰湖和拉德湖地区典型矿脉的矿化类型。目前对上海狸矿床的成因认识较差，已提出了多种矿床模式进行分类，包括太古宙侵入岩和铁氧化物-铜-金(IOCG)矿床类型。了解上海狸矿床的成因和背景，对指导优胜省同类矿化的找矿具有重要意义。拟议的研究计划将调查上海狸矿床环境的区域构造和岩浆环境，以便将矿床规模的研究整合到更大的规模。在此背景下，拟议的研究计划将致力于记录矿床的几个相关方面，以限制其成因：1)矿床角砾岩的构造地质，以限制其成因；2)记录矿物学共生及其三维空间分布；3)地质年代学，以约束岩浆和热液事件；以及4)使用稳定同位素(H，C，O，S)和流体包裹体来破译形成矿床的热液流体的起源和演化。此外，该研究计划将测量具有代表性的样品和井下调查的岩石物理性质，以提供在矿产勘探中解释地球物理调查所需的关键数据。总体而言，这些成果将被整合到一个区域框架中，这将有助于加拿大采矿业更有效地预测这类金铜矿化。

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.