The Mineralogical Composition of the Carbonate Rocks of the Kirkland lake-Larder Lake Gold Camp

Abstract

<p>The quartz-carbonate horizon of the Kirkland Lake-Larder Lake area of Ontario is the subject of continuing controversy over its origin, and relationship with the surrounding rocks and the many gold occurrences.</p> <p>Part of the essential information required is the carbonate mineralogy of the rocks. In the past the carbonate minerals have been identified by optical and presumably chemical means.</p> <p>In the present study the carbonate mineralogy was determined using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopic techniques. To the author's knowledge, this is the first time these techniques have been employed in an analysis of the quartz-carbonate rocks of the Kirkland Lake-Larder Lake area.</p> <p>The quartz-carbonate rocks consist mainly of quartz, magnesite, dolomite, chlorite, albite and muscovite with accessory amounts of pyrite, rutile, talc and possibly leucoxene and ankerite.</p> <p>A semi-quantitative estimate of the percentages of quartz, dolomite and magnesite was made using X-ray diffraction, and two series of prepared standards.</p> <p>The possibility of a correlation between the carbonate mineralogy and known gold deposits was also explored. The data obtained in this study tend to tentatively suggest a positive correlation between magnesite in the quartz-carbonate rocks and the known gold deposits.</p>