Figure 2 - uploaded by Ron Yehia
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Map showing the location of Ryder's sample points around the SW flank of Mount Cayley (map modified from Ryder, 1983). The 2012 samples were collected from the four creeks on the SW flank of Mount Cayley (labelled Terminal, Turbid, Shovelnose and Hook), just upstream from where they cross the Squamish Valley road before draining into the Squamish River. The location of the Turbid and Shovelnose warm springs (WS), higher up on the flank of Mount Cayley, is also indicated. High Falls creek, also sampled in 2012, is located approximately 12 km south of Hook creek (not shown on map).
Source publication
When exploration budgets are limited, cost-effective surveying techniques can add considerable value to an exploration program by increasing the return on investment. In western (British Columbia and the Alberta cordillera) and northwestern (Yukon and Northwest Territories) Canada, where water is abundant, sampling creeks, streams and springs and t...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... Mount Cayley area was chosen for this pilot project because it was a target site for geothermal exploration back in the early 1980s. In 1982, a hydrogeochemistry survey was conducted along the SW flank of the volcanic complex in order to identify anomalously mineralized surface waters associated with geothermal fluids upstream (Ryder, 1983; Figure 2). Results from this survey provided historical data for comparison with our survey. ...
Citations
... The photometer field survey technique was conceived by the lead author and field tested on a geothermal exploration program carried out by Alterra Power Corp in 2012 ( Yehia et al., 2013). The geothermal industry relies heavily on water analysis for early stage exploration. ...
... Water geochemistry can provide useful information in support of many resource sectors, such as mineral (Taufen 1997;Leybourne and Cameron, 2010), geothermal (Yehia et al., 2013), and environmental (Saha and Sahu, 2015). Building on the successful outcome of Geoscience BC Report 2015-17 (Yehia and Heberlein, 2015), and on the wealth of data available in the TREK project area (Angen et al., 2015;Jackaman et al., 2015;Lett and Jackaman, 2015;Bordet and Hart, 2016), this project aimed to extend the real-time hydrogeochemical survey methodology to a regional setting, while at the same time investigating the effects of seasonal variations, and the potential for rapid, field-based detection of anomalous hydrogeochemically detectable mineral occurrences. ...
Executive Summary Building on the successful outcome of a 2014 Geoscience BC project (Report 2015-17) this project aims to add to the wealth of data available in the TREK project area. It extends the real-time hydrogeochemical-survey methodology to a regional setting while at the same time investigating the effects of seasonal variation. Stream water samples were collected and analysed in an area immediately southwest of Nazko, BC. Underlying bedrock consists of widespread Tertiary basalts (Endako Group) overlying older volcanic and sedimentary rocks belonging to the early to middle Cretaceous Skeena Group and middle to late Jurassic Hazelton Group. One hundred and fifty-five water samples were collected and analyzed at Nazko during sampling campaigns in June, August and October 2016. A suite of cations and anions was analysed for by portable photometer and electrochemical voltammeter. Nineteen samples were also sent to an ALS Environmental laboratory in Burnaby, BC for cations and anions analysis. Considering the above average precipitation during the field season, results still provide a good understanding of how the analyte responds to seasonal variations. Results show a good correlation between field and laboratory analyses with acceptable levels of accuracy and precision. Anomalous values for Cu and As were detected in streams draining two known mineral occurrences.
... The photometer field survey technique was conceived by the lead author and field tested on a geothermal exploration program carried out by Alterra Power Corp in 2012 (Yehia et al., 2013). The geothermal industry relies heavily on water analysis for early stage exploration. ...
... It was chosen mainly for its portability, ease of use, reagent selection (Table 1) and cost. Early results from the geothermal project at three main locations in the Coast Mountains of southwestern BC demonstrated the photometer's reliability and showed that meaningful results could be achieved rapidly in the field (Yehia et al., 2013). MYAR Consulting subsequently received cost-sharing funding from Canada's National Research Council (NRC), under the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), to test the technique's potential for mineral exploration. ...
Executive Summary Hydrogeochemistry, or aqueous geochemistry, is used extensively in the exploration for geothermal resources, but has not seen widespread use in mineral exploration. Leybourne and Cameron (2010) and other workers, have demonstrated it to be an effective technique for identifying commodity and pathfinder element dispersion patterns from both outcropping and concealed mineralization. Furthermore, it is a potentially useful technique for exploring areas with difficult access, such as the coastal mountain ranges of British Columbia. A range of analytical instruments called portable spectrophotometers, or photometers, is available for field-based water testing providing potentially significant time advantage over stream sediments. They provide low cost near-real time field analysis for a diverse suite of anions and cations to relativity low detection limits. This proof of concept study was carried out around the Poison Mountain copper-gold porphyry prospect, in order to test the effectiveness Palintest® Photometer 8000 by comparing results from water samples analyzed in the field with laboratory analyses of the same samples. The study also compared the water results with conventional stream sediment geochemistry from the same sample locations. Sampling was carried out in August and, again, in October 2014. Results demonstrate that the photometer can be an effective tool for performing rapid and low cost hydrogeochemical surveys. The instrument was found to have good accuracy and precision, and results for most analytes compared well with laboratory water analyses. Stream sediment results provided complementary information to further validate element distribution patterns obtained from the photometer analyses results collected from the same localities. Water analyses yielded much lower absolute concentrations than the stream sediments particularly in the October results compared to those measured in August. This study shows that the photometer can provide good quality water analyses, at a lower cost and with shorter turnaround time than by analyzing the same parameters at a local laboratory. However, in order to obtain a comprehensive suite of analytical determinations, the use of high-sensitivity analytical equipment in a commercial laboratory is still required. The big advantage of using the field portable photometer is that it provides same-day indications of areas that might be worthy of follow up.
