Metallogeny of the Upper Beaver deposit

上河狸是一个与含磁铁矿脉体和角砾岩伴生的金铜矿床，赋存于蚀变火山岩和深部岩体中。因此，它是一种不同于柯克兰湖和拉德湖地区典型矿脉的成矿类型。目前对上河狸矿床成因的认识尚不明确，提出了太古宙侵入岩型和铁-氧化铜-金（IOCG）型矿床模式。认识上比弗矿床的成因和成矿环境，对在苏必利尔省找矿具有重要意义。本研究计划将对上比弗沉积环境的区域构造和岩浆背景进行研究，以便将沉积尺度的研究与更大尺度的研究相结合。在此背景下，拟议的研究计划将旨在记录该矿床的几个相关方面，以约束其起源：1)矿床角砾岩的构造地质，以约束其起源；2)三维记录了矿物学共生及其空间分布；3)地质年代学对岩浆和热液事件的约束；4)利用稳定同位素（H、C、O、S）和流体包裹体分析形成矿床的热液流体的成因和演化。此外，该研究项目还将测量代表性样品的岩石物理性质，并进行井下调查，为矿产勘探中的地球物理调查提供解释所需的关键数据。总的来说，这些结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的目标。

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.