Western Canadian marine placer potential

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 87, No. 977, 1994

J. Vaughn Barrie, Pacific Geoscience Centre, Geological Survey of Canada, Sidney, British Columbia

Placer mineral deposits may exist in the nearshore and shelf regions off western Canada. These deposits could contain gold, il-menite or zircon as well as sand and gravel aggregate. Two deposit types typical of the British Columbia offshore are: (1) modem and relict gold/titanium beach deposits; and (2) reworked relict titanifer-ous shelf deposits. The preservation of drowned beach heavy mineral concentrations resulted from a rapid relative sea level rise across the shallow shelves approximately 10 500 years ago, particularly off the Queen Charlotte Islands. This same transgression submerged an outwash fluvial system that had been exposed for at least 3200 years, draining areas of known gold placers.

Keywords: Exploration, Placer mineral deposits, Marine mineral resources, Offshore mineral extraction, Queen Charlotte Islands, Gold deposits.