Preface to Special Issue on Metallogeny and Setting of Gold Systems in Southern New Brunswick: Implications for Exploration in the Northern Appalachians

Abstract

The presence of numerous gold occurrences peripheral to the Early Devonian Saint George batholith in southwestern New Brunswick (Fig. 1⇓) has been known for several decades, and in many cases has been documented in historical reports. Although it was suspected that there was a link between the granitic intrusions and the gold mineralization, sound evidence for such a genetic relationship was lacking until the recent discovery of the Clarence Stream gold deposit by a local prospector in 1999. As research at Clarence Stream progressed, it became evident that the mineralizing event was closely linked with the emplacement of a felsic intrusion, namely the I-type Magaguadavic granodiorite. This granodiorite-gold association and the extensive nature of the felsic intrusions that comprise the Saint George batholith in southwestern New Brunswick exemplified similarities to the newly recognized intrusion-related gold (IRG) systems as first introduced by Thompson et al. (1999). This specific class of gold deposits, whose genetic model was developed based on the various economic deposits in the Tintina belt in Yukon and Alaska, are typically found in provinces formerly mined for tin and tungsten, are genetically linked to reduced I-type intermediate intrusions (i.e., granodiorite), and have a strong Au-As-Sb-Bi signature (Thompson et al., 1999; Lang et al., 2000; Thompson and Newberry, 2000; Lang and Baker, 2001). To further investigate this granodiorite-gold association, it was deemed necessary to conduct a regional study of the area. This regional approach took on …