EconomicGeology

Vol. 79, 1984, pp. 1749-1758

Methods of Explorationfor Strata-BoundMineral Deposits

in the Appalachian-CaledonianOrogen
M. J. GALLAGHER
British GeologicalSurvey,MurchisonHouse,West Mains Road, EdinburghEH9 3LA, Scotland

Abstract

In responseto a questionnaireon the topic of strata-boundmineral depositsin the

Caledonian-Appalachian orogen circulated in 1980-1981, 82 contributionswere received:
United States(20), Canada(17), Denmark--for Greenland(3), Ireland (3), United Kingdom
(10), Norway (6), and Sweden(23).
On the basisof 68 strata-boundmineral depositsfound in the past, the most successful
methodsof explorationhavebeen geologicmappingand groundelectromagneticsurveys,
followed by geologicinterpretation and prospecting.Boulder tracing found Laisvall and
many other depositsin Sweden.The Brunswick12 depositin Canadawas discoveredby
airbornemagneticand groundelectromagneticmethods.
Reportsfrom 58 districtsillustratethat a wider rangeof methodsis currentlybeing used
for strata-boundmineralexplorationin the Appalachian-Caledonian orogenthan in the past.
Geologic interpretation and ground electromagnetictechniquesare proving to be most
effective,followedby mappingandsoilandtill sampling.Photogeology,generalprospecting,
boulder tracing,drainagegeochemistry,and airbornetechniquesare alsoachievingconsid-
erable success. Outstandingresultsare being obtainedfrom magneticand gravity surveys
in the Bathurst area of Canada.

Introduction widely appliedmethodsin past exploration.A com-

A QUESTIONNAIRE,designed to evaluate a wide bination of these methods, often accompaniedby
range of geological,geochemical,and geophysical ground geophysicaltechniques,in particular elec-
methodsusedin explorationfor strata-boundmineral tromagneticsurveys,has been responsiblefor the
deposits,wascirculatedamongInternationalWork- discoveryof mostof the SwedishCaledonianstrata-
ing Group membersof the Correlationof Caledonian bound sulfidedeposits(Stephenset al., 1979). The
StrataboundSulphidesProject (IGCP 60) in 1980 Laisvall lead deposit (Rickard et al., 1979) was
to 1981. Informationwas requestedregardingex- originallydiscoveredby boulder tracing, followed
ploration methods that resulted in discoveries and by prospectingand mapping.Elsewherein Sweden,
on current methodsof exploration.The 82 contri- till and drainagegeochemistryprovided discovery
butions are summarized in Table i and the results information.Geochemicaland geophysicalmethods
in Tables 2 and 3. Becausemany of the returns are usually employed to define drill targets that,
were not classified in terms of the relative success ultimately, result in discovery.
of the methodsused,only a qualitativetreatmentof A similar picture emergedfrom Norway, where
the resultshasbeen possible.The resultsrelate to prospectingand geologicinterpretationwere the
terrains ranging from arctic to subtropicalso that
conditionsof weathering and glaciationare also
wide ranging,requiringadaptationof geochemical TABLE1. Summaryof QuestionnaireReturns
and geophysicalmethods. Becauseof these varia-
Past Current General
tions, the resultshave simply been grouped geo- Groupt Country discoveries methods statements
graphicallyand are expressedin Figures i and 2
where the radiusof each entry is proportionalto 1 Sweden 22 8 1
the numberof recordsof methodsutilized. As many Norway 5 5 1
returns were not classified,it was not possibleto 2 United Kingdom 4 9
includeall of the informationprovidedby the con- Ireland 3 3
tributors. Denmark 3
(Greenland)
Methods Successful in Past Discoveries
3 Canada 17 13 1
In Sweden,geologicinterpretation,mapping,and United States 17 17 3

bouldertracing,includingprospectingfor mineral-
ized boulders by amateurs, have been the most SeeFigures1 and 2

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by Society of Economic Geologists, Cesar Ricardo Vargas
 1750 M. J. GALLAGHER

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 EXPLORATION METHODS 1751

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 1752 M. J. GALLAGHER

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 EXPLORATION METHODS 175:3

Drilling

Trenching

Gravity

Magnetic

IP

VLF

EM

Magnetic

EM

Till

Soil

Drainage

Photo geology

Prospecting

Boulder tracing

Interpretation

Mapping

Drilling

Trenching

Gravity

VLF

EM

Magnetic

EM

Till

Soil

Drainage

Photo geology

Prospecting

Boulder tracing

Interpretation

Mapping

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by Society of Economic Geologists, Cesar Ricardo Vargas
 1754 M. J. GALLAGHER

Drilling

Trenching

Gravity

Magnetic

IP

VLF

EM

Magnetic

EM

Till

Soil

Drainage

Photo geology

Prospecting

Bouldertracing

Interpretation

Mapping

Drilling

Trenching

Gravity

IP

VLF

EM

Magnetic

EM

Till

Soil

Drainage

Photo geology

Prospecting

Bouldertracing

Interpretation

Mapping

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by Society of Economic Geologists, Cesar Ricardo Vargas
 EXPLORATION METHODS 1755

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 1756 M. 1. GALLAGHER

::::; ......

....
.... ß:::::::::

EM
GEOPI

FIG. 1. Methodsof explorationusedin the pastdiscoveryof strata-bound

mineraldepositsin the
Appalachian-Caledonian
orogen.

mostwidely usedmethods.When allied with ground sampling(Parker, 1980). At Avoca (Platt, 1977;
geophysicalsurveys(electromagnetic)
thesemethods Pointon,1980; Sheppard,1980) inducedpolarization
havebeen extremelysuccessful.Other groundgeo- surveysfollowedby drilling and undergroundde-
physicaltechniques(very low frequency-electro- velopmentwere usedin modernexplorationof pre-
magnetic and induced polarization) and soil geo- viouslyexploiteddeposits.
chemistryhave alsobeen used successfullyin Nor- Mostof the discoveriesin the Appalachian
region
way. The geologic environment of some of the are attributableto localprospectors,
particularlyin
depositsis describedby Kollung (1979) and Lutro Alabamawhere they were madebeforemapping,
(1979). interpretation, and geophysical-geochemical tech-
In Britain and Ireland where there has been a
niqueswere applied (Smith et al., 1973; Stow and
limited number of past discoveries,geologicinter- Tull, 1980). Elsewherein the United Statesand in
pretation, mapping, and prospectinghave all been Canada,prospecting,mapping,and geologicinter-
used successfully,supplementedby geochemical pretation have been used in various combinations,
sampling(soilandtill) and groundgeophysicaltech- supplemented by geochemicalmethods(soil,drain-
niques (induced polarization and electromagnetic), age, till) and geophysical
techniques,both airborne
followed by drilling. The recent discoveryof the (electromagnetic and magnetic)and ground(elec-
Foss,Ben Eagach,andLoch Lyon depositsis directly tromagnetic,inducedpolarization,gravity,andvery
attributableto drainagegeochemistry(Coatset al., low frequency).The giantBrunswickdeposits(Luff,
1980; 1984). Very low frequency-electromagnetic1977, 1980) were found by the combination of
mappingprovided a valuablecontrol in overburden airbornemagneticsurveysand groundelectromag-

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by Society of Economic Geologists, Cesar Ricardo Vargas
 EXPLORATION METHODS 1757

EM
GEOPH,

FIG. 2. Methodsof explorationin currentusefor strata-bound

mineralizationin the Appalachian-
Caledonianorogen.

netic surveys,supplementedby geologicinterpre- drillingof discretetargets.Geochemical

methods
tation. (drainage,
soil,andtill), mapping,
andinterpretation
In summary,successful aretheprincipalexploration
explorationin the Appa- methods usedin Britain
lachian-Caledonian andIreland;they are supplemented
orogenicbelt is characterized
by by a wide range
emphasison local prospectorrecords (especiallyof groundgeophysical techniques(electromagnetic,
inducedpolarization,
boulder-tracinginformation),geologicmapping,and andverylow frequency-elec-
by a limited number tromagnetic).In Ireland, streamgeochemistry
interpretation,supplemented is
of geochemicaland geophysicalmethods(mainly beingfollowed by deepsoilgeochemistry andground
groundelectromagnetic,seeFig. 1). geophysicalmethods,particularlyelectromagnetic
and inducedpolarizationtechniques.Resulting
Current Exploration Methods anomaliesare drilled. In East Greenland, geochem-
Comparisonof Figure 2 with Figure I reveals ical techniques are of primaryimportance,particu-
thata widerrangeof exploration methodsiscurrently larly the samplingof heavy mineralconcentrates
being used than in the past. In Scandinavia,inter- which are more sensitive than stream sediment sam-
pretationand mapping,prospecting,and boulder plesin tracingcoppermineralization (Stendal,
1979;
tracingare widely used,supplemented by a range 1982; Stendaland Hock, 1981). Lithogeochemical
of geochemical(drainage,soil, and till), airborne sampling is alsoconsidered a valuableexploration
geophysical(slingram,magnetic),and groundgeo- method.
physical(electromagnetic,very low frequency-elec- In Canada,mappingand geologicinterpretation
tromagnetic,magnetic)techniques,followed by are supplemented by a wide rangeof geochemical

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by Society of Economic Geologists, Cesar Ricardo Vargas
 1758 M. J. GALLAGHER

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Acknowledgments
East Greenland(72-74 ø N): Jour. Geochem.Explor., v. 15,
The cooperationof the organizationsandindivid- p. 261-69.
ualsnamedin Table 2 is gratefullyacknowledged, Stephens,M. B., Thelander, T., and Zachrisson,E., 1979,
togetherwith the constructivecommentsof H. Sten- Compilation andbibliography of stratabound sulphidedeposits
in the SwedishCaledonides:SverigesGeol. Undersokning,
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unpub. rept. 22.51.2, 36 p.
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by Society of Economic Geologists, Cesar Ricardo Vargas