GSC steps in at Ft. MacKay

The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) is assuming an active role in the northeastern Alberta exploration play that has attracted such companies as Lac Minerals (TSE), Tintina (TSE), NSR Resources (TSE), and Ultrasonic Industrial Sciences (ASE).

“The GSC will take an active role in identifying and solving problems related to analytical methodologies, mineralogy and metallurgy of these rocks,” the survey’s Ottawa-based chief scientist, James Franklin, said in a letter to The Northern Miner.

Key to the GSC efforts is the collection of a “representative suite of bulk test samples.” Several analytical techniques will then be applied in both commercial and research labs. The GSC will also test for the loss of gold, if any, during the analytical process and use a “range of procedures to test for dealing with the presence of complex organic mixtures,” Franklin said. Tintina Vice-president Shahe Sabag welcomed the GSC’s accelerated participation.

“I’m very encouraged to see the GSC taking an active role to the problems that are not just particular to us but to every company in the area,” he said. The play, centred around Ft. MacKay, has sparked considerable controversry. Interest in the region was triggered by Focal Resources (ASE), which last year reported attention-grabbing values from drilling on its Bradley prospect, including a 5-ft. interval grading 0.41 oz. gold, 0.53 oz. silver, 1.99 oz. platinum, 0.08 oz. rhodium, 2 oz. osmium, 1.68 oz. ruthenium, 0.17 oz. palladium and 6.74 oz. iridium.

These results were obtained by labs using methods other than fire assay and could not be reproduced when the Alberta Stock Exchange required Focal to retain a lab to carry out a fire-assay check program.

GSC scientists in Alberta analyzed Ft. MacKay area samples by two methods: dissolution and analysis by solution-mode Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS); and direct analysis by in situ laser ablation microsampling ICP-MS. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis also revealed the presence of gold.

These tests showed “geochemically anomalous quantities of gold . . . in metamorphosed and altered Precambrian granitic rocks and in overlying sedimentary rocks of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.”

Separately, the Alberta Geological Survey recently found what the GSC calls “significant gold in Lower Cretaceous coals in core” from an area known as Firebag River, about 60 km northeast of Ft. MacKay.

The controversial aspect of the microanalytical work undertaken by the GSC’s Institute for Sedimentary and Petroleum Geology in Calgary relates to the problem of reproducibility by more conventional techniques.

“Direct micro-analytical . . . results have generally not been reproduced by established, non-proprietary, bulk (macro-scale) analytical meythods commonly used in industry,” the GSC noted in its recent announcement. “Fire assay is the usual referee-umpire method used by industry for assessing drill core. Flux constituents and pretreatement steps are dictated by the sample matrix and form of gold mineralization, and thus modifications to fire assay procedures may be necessary in order to obtain good precision and accuracy,” the GSC said.

The GSC will publish its findings, but there was no word on how long the process might take.