Geoscience BC Releases Reports 2010-1 and 2010-3

January 18, 2010 -Geoscience BC is pleased to announce the release of two reports:
  • Geoscience BC Summary of Activities 2009, Report 2010-1
  • Geoscience BC Report 2010-3: An Assessment of Soil Geochemical Methods for Detecting Copper-Gold Porphyry Mineralization through Quaternary Glaciofluvial Sediments at the Kwanika Central Zone, North-Central British Columbia
Both reports are now available for download from the Data Releases Section of Geoscience BC's website (www.geosciencebc.com/s/DataReleases.asp).
Geoscience BC Summary of Activities 2009, Report 2010-1 This annual technical publication includes twenty-five technical papers, highlighting the work of current Geoscience BC projects (including the QUEST-South and Horn River Basin Aquifer Projects). The entire volume is accessible online from the Summary of Activities section of Geoscience BC's website, and limited print and CD versions of the volume will available Wednesday and Thursday (January 20 and 21) at Geoscience BC's booth (F27) at AME BC's Mineral Exploration Roundup conference at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver.

The contents of Summary of Activities 2009 are as follows:

QUEST-South Project
"QUEST-South geophysics: new airborne gravity survey in southern British Columbia" (Simpson, K.A.)

"QUEST-South geochemical database upgrades - new survey and sample reanalysis data, southern British Columbia" (Jackaman, W. and Reichheld, S.A.)

Minerals Projects
"Comparative study of partial and selective extractions of soils over blind porphyry copper-gold mineralization at Kwanika and Mount Milligan, central British Columbia: fieldwork, soil conductivity and pH results" (Heberlein, D.R.)

"Porphyry indicator minerals (PIMs): exploration for concealed deposits in south-central British Columbia" (Bouzari, F., Hart, C., Barker, S. and Bissig, T.)

"Terrain mapping, glacial history and drift prospecting in the northwest corner of McLeod Lake map area, central British Columbia" (Sacco, D.A., Ward, B.C., Maynard, D., Geertsema, M. and Reichheld, S.)

"Quaternary geology and till geochemistry of the Nadina River map area, west-central British Columbia" (Ferbey, T.)

"Geochemical and physical variations in the Late Triassic Nicola Arc and metallogenic implications, central British Columbia: preliminary results" (Bissig, T., Vaca, S., Schiarizza, P. and Hart, C.)

"Enhancing geophysical interpretation and mineral deposit modelling through knowledge of physical rock properties: magnetic susceptibility studies for porphyry deposits in the QUEST and QUEST-West areas" (Mitchinson, D.E. and Bissig, T.)

"Characterization of placer- and lode-gold grains as an exploration tool in east-central British Columbia" (Mortensen, J.K. and Chapman, R.)

"Preliminary study of the magmatic evolution, mineralization and alteration of the Red Chris copper-gold porphyry deposit, northwestern British Columbia" (Norris, J.R., Hart, C.J.R., Tosdal, R.M. and Rees, C.)

"Coherent and clastic rocks in the Southwest Zone alkalic porphyry copper-gold system, Galore Creek, northwestern British Columbia" (Byrne, K., Tosdal, R.M. and Simpson, K.A.)

"Volcanic facies, deformation and economic mineralization in Paleozoic strata of the Terrace-Kitimat area, British Columbia" (Pignotta, G.S., Mahoney, J.B., Hardel, B.G. and Meyers, J.L.)

"Isotopic investigation of the Adanac porphyry molybdenum deposit in northwest British Columbia: final project report" (Smith, J.L. and Arehart, G.B.)

"Geology of the Deer Park map area, southeastern British Columbia" (Höy, T.)

"Ultramafic intrusions, detailed geology and geobarometry of the Jurassic Bonanza Arc in the Port Renfrew region, southern Vancouver Island" (Canil, D.)

"New results of geological mapping and micropaleontological and lead isotopic studies of volcanogenic massive sulphide--hosting stratigraphy of the middle and late Paleozoic Sicker and Buttle Lake Groups on Vancouver Island, British Columbia" (Ruks, T., Mortensen, J.K. and Cordey, F.)

"Development of a Google Earth query tool for wider dissemination of British Columbia data to the geoscience community" (Cadell, W.M. and Mulligan, G.)

"QUEST and QUEST-West Property File: analysis and integration of Property File's Industry File documents with British Columbia's MINFILE" (Barlow, N.D., Flower, K.E., Sweeney, S.B., Robinson, G.L. and Barlow, J.R.)

"MINFILE update of the QUEST project area, central British Columbia" (Owsiacki, G. and Payie, G.)

Oil and Gas Projects
"Near-surface volcanic rocks in the southeastern Nechako Basin, south-central British Columbia: interpretation of the Canadian Hunter seismic reflection surveys and first-arrival tomographic inversion" (Hayward, N. and Calvert, A.J.)

"Improved nearsurface velocity models from the Nechako Basin seismic survey, south-central British Columbia, part 1: traveltime inversions" (Smithyman, B.R. and Clowes, R.M.)

"Passive source seismic studies of the sediments, crust and mantle beneath the Nechako Basin, south-central British Columbia" (Cassidy, J.F., Kim, H., Idowu, O., Kao, H., Dosso, S., Frederiksen, A., Mercier, J-P., Bostock, M., Frassetto, A. and Zandt, G.)

"Horn River Basin aquifer characterization project, northeastern British Columbia: progress report" (Hayes, B.J.R.)

"Biostratigraphic and sedimentological studies of natural gas-bearing Triassic strata in the Halfway River map area, northeastern British Columbia: progress report" (Golding, M.L., Ferri, F., Mortensen, J.K., Zonneveld, J-P. and Orchard, M.J.)

"Tectonic history, biostratigraphy and fracture analysis of upper Paleozoic and lowest Triassic strata of east-central British Columbia" (Henderson, C.M., Zubin-Stathopoulos, K., Dean, G., Spratt, D. and Chau, Y.P.)


Geoscience BC Report 2010-3: An Assessment of Soil Geochemical Methods for Detecting Copper-Gold Porphyry Mineralization through Quaternary Glaciofluvial Sediments at the Kwanika Central Zone, North-Central British Columbia

by D.R. Heberlein (Heberlein Geoconsulting) and H. Samson (Serengeti Resources Inc.)

As part of a Geoscience BC funded study, a geochemical orientation survey was carried out over the blind Central Zone Cu-Au porphyry deposit at Serengeti's Kwanika project in north-central BC. The objective of this study was to test various widely used partial and selective extractions in a challenging cover environment to determine which performs the best at detecting the mineralization. In addition, the study aims to provide the mining industry with guidance on the optimum combination of soil horizon and extraction methods for detecting deeply buried mineralization in areas of thick glacial cover.

Results of this study show that in order to be successful, a soil sampling program over Quaternary glacial sediments in north-central British Columbia should collect the Ah horizon samples and use aqua regia-low detection limit ICP-MS analyses. In addition field based soil pH and conductivity measurements should be utilized in order to identify potential reduced chimneys over blind sulphide mineralization.

Geoscience BC Report 2010-3 can be accessed through the Data Releases section of our website (www.geosciencebc.com/s/2010-003.asp). The results of this report will also be presented at Roundup in the Tuesday morning technical session "The Power of Public Geoscience."


Geoscience BC Geoscience BC is an industry-led, industry-focused not-for-profit society. Its mandate includes the collection, interpretation and marketing of geoscience data and expertise to promote investment in resource exploration and development in British Columbia. Geoscience BC is funded through grants from the Provincial Government and works in partnership with industry, academia, government, First Nations and communities to attract mineral and oil & gas investment to BC. www.geosciencebc.com