Summary
Geochemistry is an essential tool in mineral exploration. Research in the development of techniques and the understanding of geochemical processes and resultant exploration applications in Canada has lagged behind other parts of the world, particularly Australia. The purpose of this project and these results was to provide the mineral-exploration community with easy access to surficial geochemistry data and related information to facilitate exploration and discovery of BC porphyry deposits.
For a selected group of 15 porphyry deposits, geochemical information available in print form has been compiled, digitized and updated to meet modern geospatial standards, and paired with spatial datasets related to the physiographic setting, glacial history, surficial materials and other geological factors that may influence geochemical distributions. These data packages are presented as 15 self-extracting data archives in ArcGIS(r) .mpk map package format that allow the user a high degree of flexibility to visualize the data with their own constraints. Users can thus visually and mathematically interrogate data to reveal relationships within the datasets, and potentially develop new models of geochemical dispersion in postglacial environments.
Examples of how such data can be utilized to understand the relative importance of surficial processes, terrain and climate in producing modern geochemical signals in these types of environments are briefly discussed.