string(10) "[Minerals]"

The Metamorphic, Structural and Thermochronological Evolution of the East Kootenay Metallogenic Province, Southeastern British Columbia

Lead Researcher(s):  D. Pattison

Project ID:  2017-009

Key Research Organization(s):  University of Calgary

Project Location:  Southeast BC

Strategic Focus Area:  Minerals

Summary



This project helped reconstruct the geological evolution of rocks in British Columbia’s mineral-rich East Kootenay region. New data about the age of the rocks was generated by dating the minerals biotite and muscovite and examined the contact between two important tectonic domains - the Purcell Anticlinorium and the Kootenay Arc. This new earth science data provides valuable regional geological information which will support mineral exploration activity in BC’s Southeast Region.

The Need

The East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia hosts numerous rich mineral deposits, including the world-class Sullivan zinc, lead and silver deposit, and has potential to host many more.

However, it is difficult to identify where to focus mineral exploration activities because there is an incomplete understanding of the complex rock units and their relationships to each other. A clearer understanding of the geological history of the area helps to better understand the region’s mineral potential.

Project Goals

This Minerals project fits under Geoscience BC’s Strategic Objective of ‘Identifying New Natural Resource Opportunities’ and our goal to:

  • Undertake research that adds value to existing or ongoing data sets through ground-truthing studies, data interpretation and mining camp compilations.

Specifically, this project looked for clues in the rocks that reveal how deeply they were buried, what temperatures they reached, and how they were deformed, to provide information about the relationship between the Purcell Anticlinorium and the adjacent Kootenay Arc.

Project Benefits

The new earth science information generated by this project will increase exploration efficiency by enabling smarter targeting based on a deeper understanding of the rocks and structures.

In addition to identifying mineral opportunities, the availability of new regional earth science data provides Indigenous groups, regional districts, governments and communities with a better understanding of the resources in their area leading to more informed land-use and resource management decisions.

Survey Area

The area of investigation for this project lies between Creston, Nelson, and Crawford Bay in the East Kootenays in BC’s Southeast Region.

Geologically, it is on the eastern limb of the Purcell Anticlinorium and the Kootenay Arc, both regionally important tectonic units associated with mineral deposits in the region.

Deliverables