The Murray Deposit, Restigouche County, N. B. A Geochemical--Geophysical Discovery
In 1955, the results of a regional, geological interpretation of the northern portion of New Brunswick were used as a basis for selecting, for intensive exploration, three areas in which structural and stratigraphie conditions were believed to be favourable. Airborne electromagnetic work, in one of these areas, provided the justification for acquiring the Murray group. Even though the initial results were discouraging, this geological interpretation, combined with the fortuitous discovery of copper-bearing float, was sufficient reason for carrying out further work using geochemical methods. This work finally resulted in that discovery of the Murray massivesulphide deposit, after about eighteen months of coordinated exploration on the property. While this deposit is a typical New Brunswick-type basemetal occurrence, extensive leaching has produced a fossil gossan that rendered it an elusive target for exploration techniques of limited penetration. Full credit for localizing the target area is given to the geochemical techniques, but geophysical surveys were needed to provide the necessary information as to the nature of the occurrence, and to indicate the most favourable drilling sites. The electromagnetic and magnetic data were interpreted to be indicative of a good non-magnetic conductor. On this basis, it was correctly predicted that massive pyrite would be encountered in drilling. As in other New Brunswick deposits, variable quantities of galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite are associated with the massive-sulphide mineralization. A test self-potential survey also produced a significant anomalous pattern. The geochemical data which led to the discovery of this deposit are presented in this paper, along with the geophysical data obtained by various methods in order to compare their effectiveness.
Keywords:
chalcopyrite, Gossan Creek, heavy metals, Northumberland County, New Brunswick, sphalerite, Data, Deposits, exploration, New Brunswick, sulphide, Sulphides, Survey, Surveys
