RECONNAISSANCE AND DETAILED GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS FOR GOLD IN EASTERN NOVA-SCOTIA USING PLANTS, LAKE SEDIMENT, SOIL AND TILL

Reconnaissance-level geochemical surveys of similar sample density and areal extent were conducted using lake sediment and twigs of balsam fir (Abies balsamea). Both sample media successfully delineate Au districts in eastern Nova Scotia. A moderately good spatial relationship between the data sets for Au and As suggests that either sample medium may be used to identify gold-bearing zones. Detailed sampling near gold mineralization permitted comparison of distribution patterns of Au, As and Sb in outer bark of red spruce (Picea rubens), and several size fractions of till and B-horizon soil. Gold and As are enriched in all sample media (and in most size fractions) over a zone of glacial dispersal from the concealed mineralization. Appreciable enrichment of Sb occurs only in the spruce bark. Results show that either soil or spruce bark could be used to establish targets for more labour-intensive close-spaced sampling of heavy mineral concentrates in till.