Conference program
November 22, 2011 |
Massive volcanogenic sulphide deposit potential in the Abitibi – 2011 update |
An update to the mineral potential favourability for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits in the Abitibi was completed in 2011. The work outlined 3,611 high-favourability zones, which contain more than 365 targets that were unstaked as at April 9, 2011. A favourability map was produced at 1:500,000 scale and published on the Ministry’s site. The favourability zones were entered into GESTIM. All VMS data modelling for the 2011 version was done using the ModelBuilder tool in ArcGIS 9.3. The process for calculating the Abitibi’s VMS potential is now fully programmed and can be automatically executed in just a few hours. The possibility of quickly testing new parameters or different calibration sets represents a significant improvement to the mineral potential assessment process and will be applicable to all future metallogenic models developed by the MRNF. The current data analysis uses 22 parameters compared to 26 in 2005. Parameters were weighted using a set of 51 VMS mines, which were themselves weighted as a function of their productivity. Each parameter was weighted using the Weight of Evidence method. Parameters were then combined using a fuzzy logic approach. Twelve mines not involved in the weighting were used to validate the map’s predictive ability. A minimum favourability threshold was established using a quantile-quantile plot based on the calculated favourability for the VMS mines. The threshold, which encompasses 94% of VMS producers, was then used to create high-favourability zones (HFZ). The portions of these zones that remained unstaked as at April 9, 2011 were subsequently designated as targets. Since the publication of its results in May 2011, more than 153 mining titles had been acquired on the targets as of September 12, 2011. |
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