The Importance of Mineral Exploration to Northern BC...

Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships


The Importance of Mineral Exploration to Northern BC: Innovative Earth Science

Research for all British Columbians

Christa Pellett | May 23, 2019


About Geoscience BC

Vision

• To be a leading partner and provider of credible andrelevant earth science and data in British Columbia

Mission

• To generate and publicly share high quality andunbiased earth science and data that:

• Improves our collective level of geoscience knowledge

• Informs responsible natural resource developmentand investment decisions

• Catalyzes socio-economic opportunities, and

• Stimulates innovation and geosciencetechnologies

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About Geoscience BC

Our collaboration with the resources sectors,academia, communities, Indigenous groupsand government develops and shares unbiasedand credible earth science research and data.

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Completed & Current Research Projects

• Geoscience BC has funded227 projects, of which:

• 184 are completed• 43 are current

• Research findings and data available online and summarized in annual Summary of Activities.

Strategic Research

Area

Completed

Research Projects

Current

Research Projects

Minerals 127 29

Energy - Oil & Gas 23 7

Energy –

Geothermal10 2

Water 24 5

Total 184 43

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Strategic Objectives

Identifying New Natural Resource Opportunities

Advancing Science & Innovative Geoscience Technologies

Facilitating Responsible Natural Resource Development

Enabling Clean Energy

Understanding Water

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Minerals Energy Water


Identifying New NaturalResource Opportunities

Search Multiple Scale Value Added Mapping Project - MDRU

• Project goals:• Interpret data from parts of Geoscience BC’s

Search Phase I project to produce a structural framework map and dataset

• Use available imagery of ASTER data to develop an alteration intensity map

• Maps and Final Report to be released soon

http://www.geosciencebc.com/s/SeArchProject.asp



Four regional-scale projects are in development

• Central Interior Copper Gold Research Series• Mackenzie to Williams Lake

• Year 1: archived till reanalysis, surficial mapping/till sampling suitability, drift thickness maps, soil gas studies

• Year 2: New till sampling, rock property studies and geophysical interpretations, overburden drilling

• Golden Triangle Regional Project• Acquisition of privately held geophysical data in 2019



Four regional-scale projects are in development

• Vancouver Island North• Airborne geophysical surveying in 2019

(magnetics/radiometrics)

• Kootenay Region Geoscience Project Generation• Project generation and priority setting for geoscience in

the Kootenays


Detrital Gold as a Deposit-Specific Indicator Mineral by LA-ICP-MS Analysis• Report released December, 2018

• Identify which type of deposit gold grains

(‘placer’) have came from

• Heterogeneity of gold at the trace level was

far greater than expected

• Micro-inclusions act as 'sinks' for certain

trace elements

More work planned for

2019/20SEM Image of ablated gold grain



Detrital Gold as a Deposit-Specific Indicator Mineral by LA-ICP-MS Analysis• Analyse existing collections of gold from

throughout BC to augment existing

compositional databases

• Same as other gold in area?

• Which source type?

SEM Image of ablated gold grain



Characterization and extraction of Rare Earth Elements from East Kootenay coalfields

• UBC

• REEs: batteries, magnets,

electronics

• Coal deposits have been

identified as potential new

sources




• Quantify and characterize REEs in coal deposits and processingproducts

• Database of REE concentration in East Kootenay coalfields

• Extraction studies


Producing Clean Coal using the Water-Based Roben Jig Process

Advancing Science and Innovative Geoscience Technologies

• Canadian Carbonization Research Association

• traditional organic liquids can negatively affect

coal rheology and coke strength, resulting in an

undervaluation of exploration samples

• 3-year project to verify the jig as a tool to help

evaluate coal deposits with respect to coal and

coke quality at the exploration phase.


Producing Clean Coal using the Water-Based Roben Jig Process


• This phase: final test of clean coal produced from

the Jig in a larger pilot scale coke oven, to assess

complete coke characteristics and quality.


Carbon Mineralization Potential Assessment for BC

• Project will evaluate BC’s potential to capture

GHG in its serpentinized belts

• Serpentinites have a very high potential to react

to atmospheric CO2, form carbonate minerals,

and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG)

• Companies mining ultramafic ores may be able

to profit by capturing GHG in their waste

materials



• Bradshaw Research Initiative for Minerals and

Mining

• Determine the mineralogical and physical rock

properties

• Determine distribution of serpentinized rock

packages across BC

• Establish geometry and distribution at property

scale (2)

• Establish a BC Mineral Carbonation Sequestration

Potential Index



Halogens in Spruce Treetops and Integration with Existing Data

• TREK Project (2015): over 420 spruce treetop

samples collected and analyzed

• Previous projects on Halogens – refinement

of analytical and sampling techniques

• New Project: use archived samples and

analyze for halogens



Porphyry Vectoring Techniques in Advanced Argillic Altered Rocks

Advanced argillic alteration zones form

the largest near-surface footprint of

porphyry copper systems• These “lithocaps” may hide, rich porphyry

copper mineralization at depth

• This project will establish a new set of

criteria to vector towards rocks with the

greatest potential for mineralization


Schematic cross section showing main components

of advanced argillic alteration above a porphyry

mineralization (after Sillitoe, 2010).


Preservation and Curation of Significant Geological Suites

Smithers Exploration Group Restoration of the Collection of Cordilleran Rock Suites

• SEG has a collection of significant northern

Cordilleran rock suites, which will be

expanded to include samples from newer

mines and deposits

• Digital rock and mineral museum (interactive, 360°)

• Public access to digital renditions of inaccessible

samples.

Below BC


Earth Data Store Collaboration

• Access to standardized temporal and spatial

earth observation data (satellite)

• Applications to see how a region evolves

over time

• Visual interactive maps and deep learning

algorithms

Imagery from www.urthecast.com



Biodiversity in Ecosystem Reclamation

• DNA bar-coding to measure and ensure

environmental sustainability

• Track biodiversity against pre-mining

benchmarks

• Conventional soil, plant and larger animal

sampling as well to better understanding of

food-web structure

• Partnership with TRU IR Chair in Ecosystem

Reclamation

Malaise trap for the capture of flying insects

(photo courtesy of Thompson Rivers University

and Highland Valley Copper)



• 2 NRCan stations in 2012

• BC Seismic Research Consortium created

o Geoscience BC

o CAPP

o BCOGC

o NRCan

• Now a total of 13 stations in NEBC

• Dedicated project seismologist on staff


Induced Seismicity

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Clarke Lake

• Feasibility: using mature oil & gas wells for geothermal power / heat

• Current study: Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for a geothermal pilot

plant

Enabling Clean Energy

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Geothermal


• Graduate research projects in BC

• Up to ten awards of $5,000 each to support research

Scholarship Program

• $520,000 invested in students since 2007; more to come in 2019

• Next intake: Spring 2020


New Website | Stay up to Date | Find Data More Easily

• Sign up for project updates

• Find information and data

more easily than ever before

• Don’t forget you can still use

the Earth Science Viewer

online mapping application!


Thank You

The Importance of Mineral Exploration to Northern BC...

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