Government Geoscience Stimulates Mineral Exploration in the Superior Province, Northern Québec

This paper summarizes new geologic information, and highlights exploration opportunities in the northeastern part of the Superior Province since 1997, as a result of the Far North Program undertaken by Geologie Quebec. The first phase of the program was a regional lake-sediment geochemical survey, where 26,000 samples were collected north of 55°N from an area of approximately 350,000 km2. The resulting database attracted many mining companies to the region and led to numerous mineral discoveries. The second phase, started in 1998, consisted of extensive geological mapping, supplemented by U-Pb geochronological work; by 2003, more than twenty, 1:250,000 mapping projects were completed. The Far North Program is now in its final phase and it will produce a comprehensive geological and metallogenic synthesis of the new data from the areas surveyed. About forty previously unknown volcano-sedimentary belts, numerous mafic-ultramafic intrusions and sixteen different mineral deposit types have been identified. Since 1997, this has resulted in a surge of exploration activity that has seen more than $38 million in expenditures by private industry. SOMMAIRE Le present article presente un resume des nouvelles informations geologiques disponibles et decrit des cibles d'exploration mises au jour depuis 1997 dans le nord-est de la Province du lac Superieur et qui decoulent du programme d'exploration du Grand Nord de Geologie Quebec. La premiere etape de ce programme a consiste en un echantillonnage geochimique regional de sediments lacustres, ou 26 000 echantillons ont ete preleves au nord du 55e parallele, sur une superficie de pres de 350 000 km2. La base de donnees ainsi constituee a attire de nombreuses societes minieres dans la region et de nombreuses decouvertes minerales ont ete faites. Amorcee en 1998, la deuxieme etape a consiste en une cartographie geologique systematique, appuyee par des datations geochronologiques U-Pb. Et, en 2003, plus de 20 cartes a l'echelle 1:250 000 avaient ete completees. Le programme du Grand Nord en est maintenant a sa derniere etape, laquelle aboutira a la production d'une synthese geologique et metallogenique a partir des nouvelles donnees provenant des regions etudiees. Environ une quarantaine de bandes volcano-sedimentaires, de nombreuses intrusions mafiques et ultramatiques, et seize types de gisements mineralogiques differents y ont ete decrits. Depuis 1997, ce programme a entraine des investissements d'exploration par l'entreprise privee depassant les 38 M$.