the importance of mineral exploration to northern bc...
TRANSCRIPT
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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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Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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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Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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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Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
Identifying New NaturalResource Opportunities
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
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
Identifying New NaturalResource Opportunities
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
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Identifying New NaturalResource Opportunities
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Identifying New NaturalResource Opportunities
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Identifying New NaturalResource Opportunities
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
Identifying New NaturalResource Opportunities
• Quantify and characterize REEs in coal deposits and processingproducts
• Database of REE concentration in East Kootenay coalfields
• Extraction studies
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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.
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
Producing Clean Coal using the Water-Based Roben Jig Process
Advancing Science and Innovative Geoscience Technologies
• 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.
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Advancing Science and Innovative Geoscience Technologies
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
• 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
Advancing Science and Innovative Geoscience Technologies
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Advancing Science and Innovative Geoscience Technologies
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Advancing Science and Innovative Geoscience Technologies
Schematic cross section showing main components
of advanced argillic alteration above a porphyry
mineralization (after Sillitoe, 2010).
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Advancing Science and Innovative Geoscience Technologies
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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)
Facilitating Responsible Natural Resource Development
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
• 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
Facilitating Responsible Natural Resource Development
Induced Seismicity
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Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
• 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
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
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!
Forging opportunities through earth science partnerships
Thank You