Structural Controls of Mineralization of the Sixtymile, Yukon Gold project

Demand for metals, including gold, is ever increasing particularly as modern technologies, including sustainable energy production, rely on such finite resources. As easily accessible surficial deposits in traditional mining areas such as the Sixtymile gold district, YK, deplete ever more advanced approaches to exploration are required that search deeper in the ‘bedrock’. However, exploration for gold in the bedrock of the Sixtymile gold district requires advanced knowledge of the subsurface distribution of rock types, which is controlled by geological processes such as faulting. As such, this project aims to identify, locate, and characterize the faults and related geologic structures in the bedrock that may host gold in the Sixtymile gold district. Faults are important geologic structures that provide pathways for the flow and depositions of large volumes of gold-forming fluids in the otherwise impermeable bedrock. Gaining a better understanding of these structures increases the rates of gold exploration success. Such knowledge also helps design efficient extraction designs/techniques to minimizes environmental effects of mining.

Faculty Supervisor:

Alexander L. Peace

Student:

Jeremy Rimando

Partner:

Flow Metals Corp

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Other

University:

McMaster University