La prospection au Canada

Abstract

This book deals with prospecting in Canada in as much detail as is possible in one volume of medium size. It is a textbook on conventional prospecting but discusses advanced, sub-surface techniques only sufficiently to provide introductory, up-to-date information on what they involve. Petroleum is discussed briefly for general in formation only. Prospecting is an important activity in Canada because mining forms a large sector of her economy, because of her large potential mineral areas, and because of the non-renewable nature of mineral resources. Canada has long been noted for her competent full-time and part-time conventional prospectors-men without advanced scientific or engineering training, many of whom attended adult-education classes in prospecting or studied alone. They searched for outcropping lodes and, in earlier times, for placer gold . Conventional prospecting is still significant and limited opportunities for it are expected to continue for many years. It has, however, been largely replaced by more advanced methods used mainly to search for deposits buried by overburden or ba rren rock. Analysis of histories of one hund red ore deposits fo und a nd brought into production in the 20 years from the end of World War II to 1966 indicated virtually that conventional prospecting was responsible for forty, geological studies entirely or mainly for thirty-two, and geophysics entirely or mainly for twenty-eight. The ratio of geophysical discoveries was higher in the latter part of the period. Geochemical studies assisted in several discoveries. The writer's experience in geological work and in advising prospectors and companies was supplemented by advice from many qualified persons and by critical readings of many sections of the manuscript by authorities in the Department and outside it.