2003-2004 Field Campaign
A new crop of data acquisition projects
Robert Marquis et Pierre Verpaelst
Géologie Québec
In order to promote the remarkable mineral potential
of Québec, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles,
through Géologie Québec, pursues with consistency
and determination its efforts to acquire new geoscience data throughout
Québec.
Field projects carried out by Géologie Québec
were targeted in the wake of a vast client consultation conducted
to help develop triennial plans for all of Québec’s
territory. These plans are useful to constrain which geological
settings are considered to be particularly prospective for new discoveries.
The results of fieldwork conducted by Géologie
Québec crews during the summer 2003 throughout Québec
will be exclusively unveiled next November, during the Québec
Exploration 2003 event. Until then, here is a sneak preview
of the new crop of data acquisition projects planned by Géologie
Québec for the summer 2003.
Location
of projects 2003-2004
Three-year plan for the Abitibi and
the Baie-James region
Established in conjunction with the mining industry,
Géologie Québec’s three-year plan for the Abitibi
and the Baie-James region for the 2003-2006 period will cover all
field projects carried out in the Abitibi region starting in the
summer 2003. This work includes the Lac Olga project, in the Baie-James region. This project had initially been scheduled for the previous
three-year plan covering the 2000-2003 period. The new plan also
includes the Grenville Front project east of Chibougamau.
Baie-James region
In the Baie-James region, two inventory surveys
will be conducted to link the geology of the Matagami and Chibougamau
areas, and to better understand the Grenville Front east of Chibougamau.
A metallogenic component is included in each of these projects.
A "Quaternary" component is also planned to complement
the Grenville Front project east of Chibougamau. Furthermore, a
metallogenic study of the Mistassini basin, launched in 2002, will
continue this year with the cooperation of the Institut national
de la recherche scientifique (INRS) and the Mistissini Geological
Resources Centre.
Abitibi
Southeast of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, an inventory
survey along the Grenville Front will be completed by a metallogenic
study in the adjacent Urban-Barry area. As in the Chibougamau area,
a Quaternary component is also planned to round off this project.
In the Rouyn-Noranda area, two complementary metallogenic studies
will detail the mineral potential of the Blake River Group. Finally,
a metallogenic study undertaken last year along the Destor-Porcupine
fault in the Duparquet area will be completed.
From now on, 3D
modelling of geoscience data will be systematically integrated
to regional metallogenic syntheses in the Abitibi region. In partnership
with the Unité de recherche et de service en technologie
minérale (URSTM) of the Université du Québec
en Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Mira Geoscience, two new digital
products at the leading edge of technology will be developed this
year. The first concerns a particularly prospective segment of the
Destor-Porcupine fault for gold deposits, in the Duparquet area.
The second will present the unified geology of the main mining camp
in Québec, the Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde district.
Far North
This year, Géologie Québec will complete
the mapping coverage at 1:250,000 scale of the Far North west of
Ungava Bay and the Labrador Trough. Two geological surveys will
be conducted in the Kogaluk Bay (34N) and Lac Minto (34F and 34G)
areas, along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay. The MRN will also
continue its cooperative effort with the Geological Survey of Canada,
in the search for kimberlite indicator minerals. This search was
very successful over the last two years, and has renewed interest
for diamond exploration in the Far North.
Based on consultations conducted with our clientele,
we have also developed a three-year data acquisition plan for 2003-2006.
This plan provides for synthesis work covering stratigraphy, geochemistry,
structure, metamorphism, and mineral deposits for this vast area,
as well as mapping of the area located between the 54th and 55th
parallels in 2004 and 2005.
Grenville
This year, geoscience work in the Grenville basically
involves the completion of a mapping project in the area north of
Mont-Laurier (31O/02), within the scope of a synthesis of the Central
Metasedimentary Belt, and the conclusion of a study of tectonic
nappes in the Pontiac area. A study of the nickel, copper and platinum
group element potential is also planned for the Mauricie region.
Finally, a lake sediment survey is planned in the Côte-Nord
area north of Baie-Comeau (22F-K-N). The latter will be conducted
in partnership with mining companies and regional agencies, as a
preliminary phase leading to regional mapping to be conducted over
the next few years.
Consultations were conducted over the past year,
in order to develop a three-year action plan for the Grenville.
We are currently conducting a comprehensive review of previous work,
in order to pinpoint gaps in our knowledge of the Grenville. We
will then be able to define priorities to address over the coming
years. This plan will be submitted in the fall 2003, for application
in 2004-2007.
Appalachians
Géologie Québec continues to implement
its three-year action plan for the Appalachians. We will begin phase
2 of the plan this year, with two projects to update the geology
in the southern (22B/01 and 08) and central (22B/16) Gaspe region
and with a metallogenic study in the central Gaspe. These studies
are specifically focussed on base and precious metal deposits in
sedimentary settings in the south, and in a volcanic environment
in the central part. We will also complete a ground gravity survey
of the Gaspésie region this year, launched in 2002 in partnership
with SOQUEM and Hydro-Québec.
Industrial
minerals
A survey of sand and gravel resources in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
region will begin this season. This project should last from three
to six years, according to the human and financial resources allocated
for the project. A two-year survey of the peat resources in the
Bas-Saint-Laurent region will also be launched this year. A number
of visits of peatlands throughout the province will complete the
ice peat study. A few industrial mineral deposits, namely slate
and limestone occurrences, will be examined within the scope of
a synthesis study conducted in Southern Québec. To complete
the rare metals project, potential assessments of a few areas of
interest will be conducted. Finally, the gravity survey undertaken
last year in the Gaspésie region will be completed.
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