Research: Geoscience BC targets hidden copper-gold

[caption id="attachment_1003732315" align="alignnone" width="550"] Brady Clift, Geoscience BC's manager, minerals, with a prospector at a recent open house. Credit: Lorne Clarke[/caption] VANCOUVER – Geoscience BC is aiming to help unearth copper-gold deposits hidden below glacial sediments in British Columbia's Central Interior region with a $2.9-million series of research programs. The Central Interior Copper-Gold Research (CICGR) series will focus on attracting mineral exploration across a 50,700-sq.-km area of the province by studying the potential for undiscovered copper-gold deposits below the glacial sediment left by receding glaciers between the Mount Milligan and Gibraltar and Mount Polley mines. “The till that covers much of the Central Interior makes it hard to see the rocks hidden below,” said Christa Pellett, Geoscience BC's vice-president, minerals. “The Central Interior Copper-Gold Research series will help to understand the composition and thickness of the till, and to focus the search for copper-gold deposits.” Initially, the CICGR will include two projects. A Surficial Exploration project will combine analysis of new and existing till samples with high-resolution satellite imagery to trace till samples and geochemical anomalies back to their source, which could help identify areas prospective for exploration. Another project, Identification of New Porphyry Potential Under Cover in Central British Columbia, will use existing public geophysical data to identify, map and model prospective copper-gold deposits. The results from both projects will also guide future CICGR research, which is expected to include a drill program to understand the thickness and composition of the till and potentially the bedrock beneath. For more information, visit Geoscience BC's CICGR website.