Titanite as an indicator mineral for alkalic Cu-Au porphyry deposits in south central British Columbia
department or school: Science, Faculty of
department or school: Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Celis, Antonio
issued: 2015-08-28T16:10:07Z
issued: 2015
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Exploration success in large parts of the Quesnel and Stikine terranes in south-central British Columbia (BC) has been limited due to extensive coverage by glacial sediments (Ward et al., 2009), where traditional geophysical and geochemical exploration methods have proven to be limited or impractical (Gent et al., 2011). The occurrence of resistate minerals such as apatite, epidote, garnet, magnetite, rutile and titanite as alteration products in porphyry deposits suggests that they could be utilized as porphyry indicator minerals (PIMs) to provide a new tool to increase exploration success in covered terrains (Bouzari et al., 2011). Titanite (CaTiSiO5) is a common accessory mineral in alkalic Cu-Au porphyry deposits that is known to record various magmatic and hydrothermal processes in its texture and chemical composition (). In this research, titanite hosted in bedrock from the Mount Polley, Mount Milligan and Copper Mountain alkalic porphyry Cu-Au deposits of south-central BC, as well as in surrounding till sediments, was characterized based on petrography, heavy mineral separation, and Electronic Microprobe (EMP) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled-Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) chemical analyses. The main objective is to determine key diagnostic features of titanite that are related to alkalic porphyry alteration and mineralization. Titanite typically forms as replacement of mafic minerals, such as augite, biotite and magnetite during K-silicate and Na-Ca alterations. Thus, four types of titanite were defined based on key petrographic and chemical features: primary magmatic (MAG), metasomatic (MET), secondary (SEC) and altered (ALT) titanites. Titanite recovered from till sediments near studied alkalic deposits preserve the texture and chemical signatures obtained in the rock, despite surficial weathering. Therefore, the above classification of titanite constitutes a useful mineralogical tool for exploration for alkalic Cu-Au porphyry deposits in cover…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/54679
note: TITANITE AS AN INDICATOR MINERAL FOR ALKALIC PORPHYRY CU-AU DEPOSITS IN SOUTH-CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA by Antonio Celis BSc, Universidad de Concepción, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Geological Sciences) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) November 2015 © Antonio Celis, 2015 ii Abstract Exploration success in large parts of the Quesnel and Stikine terranes in south-central British Columbia (BC) has been limited due to extensive coverage by glacial sediments (Ward et al., 2009), where traditional geophysical and geochemical exploration methods have proven to be limited or impractical (Gent et al., 2011). The occurrence of resistate minerals such as apatite, epidote, garnet, magnetite, rutile and titanite as alteration products in porphyry deposits suggests that they could be utilized as porphyry indicator minerals (PIMs) to provide a new tool to increase exploration success in covered terrains (Bouzari et al., 2011). Titanite (CaTiSiO5) is a common accessory mineral in alkalic Cu-Au porphyry deposits that is known to record various magmatic and hydrothermal processes in its texture and chemical composition (). In this research, titanite hosted in bedrock from the Mount Polley, Mount Milligan and Copper Mountain alkalic porphyry Cu-Au deposits of south-central BC, as well as in surrounding till sediments, was characterized based on petrography, heavy mineral separation, and Electronic Microprobe (EMP) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled-Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) chemical analyses. The main objective is to determine key diagnostic features of titanite that are related to alkalic porphyry alteration and mineralization. Titanite typically forms as replacement of mafic minerals, such as augite, biotite and magnetite during K-silicate and Na-Ca alterations. Thus, four types of titanite were defined based on key petrographic a…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2015-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0166663
language: eng
degree discipline: Geological Sciences
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/ca/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/54679