Tertiary Mineral Deposits of Vancouver Island
DAVID J. T. CARSON, Geologist, Noranda Exploration Company, Ltd., Toronto, Ont.
The metalliferous deposits of Vancouver Island have generally been assigned to the Mesozoic "Coast Range Orogeny." However, a metallogenic study by the writer has revealed that several important classes are early or middle Tertiary. Included are porphyry coppers, and gold-quartz, arsenic and copper-arsenic veins. The porphyry coppers and many gold-quartz veins within and adjacent to Oligocene-Eocene quartz diorite intrusive complexes. Arsenic and copper-arsenic veins have a close spatial relationship to sills and laccoliths of Oligocene dacite porphyry which intrude the late Cretaceous Nanaimo Group.
Keywords:
copper, dacite, quartz diorite, tertiary, Vancouver Island, Deposits, Diorite, Intrusions, quartz, Vancouver Island, Veins
