PRECAMBRIAN RIFT - GENESIS OF STRATA-BOUND ORE DEPOSITS

Study of deep seismic reflections has detected a Precambrian rift valley below flat-lying sediments in southern Alberta. The anomalous magnetic and gravity trends show that the rift is continuous across Alberta and British Columbia (through the Kimberley lead-zinc field) and possibly the Coeur d'Alene mining district of Idaho. There is evidence that these ore bodies were deposited in a Precambrian rift under conditions similar to those prevailing in the hot-brine areas of the modern Red Sea.