“The best place to find a new mine is in the shadow of an old mine” is more than just a quaint sayingOctober 17, 2017
Source: Broadway Gold
The old adage “the best place to find a new mine is in the shadow of an old mine” is more than just a quaint saying. The phrase, well known to many in the world of resource exploration, is actually based on scientific principles that have led to recent significant discoveries.
Today, hitting pay dirt by using only surface exploration techniques is becoming a much harder and costlier prospect for junior explorers, even those in possession of development-stage projects with advanced exploration potential. Instead, forward-thinking geological teams are setting their sights on historic Mining camps in the hopes that where there was once fire, the potential for another spark remains.
Blue Sky Country: Modern exploration techniques unlock potential value
“Exploration for new mineral deposits using surface techniques has resulted in fewer discoveries because most of the easy-to-find, near-surface deposits have been found,” explains Stanley Korzeb, economic geologist for the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (MBMG), and a research professor at Montana Tech. “Future mineral exploration is now focusing on deep deposits that have no surface expression, but are related to ore deposits exploited by past mining efforts. Most historic mines were developed on Epithermal Vein Systems, and geologic studies have shown a relationship between epithermal vein systems and porphyry systems.”
Korzeb says that based on these studies, historic mining districts are being reexamined for deep mineral resources using advanced deep-drilling techniques and new geophysical techniques, such as short-wave infrared spectroscopy, lithogeochemical analysis and isotope geochemistry.
In the state of Montana, where Korzeb’s research is focused, some mining districts have not been studied since the 1930s, while others were last explored more recently in the 1980s.
Through his research work at the MBMG, Korzeb is currently focused on the reexamination of historic mining districts for potential exploration targets. To understand the future exploration potential and genesis of mineral resources in historic mining districts, he is using the latest methods for fluid inclusion, lithogeochemistry, isotope geochemistry, age dating and mineralogical techniques, in conjunction with geologic data generated by past mining and exploration efforts.
In essence, Korzeb’s work is proving the scientific basis behind the maxim that “the best place to find a new mine is in the shadow of an old mine.” If you can locate the metal and fluid source that developed the mineral resources exploited by past mining efforts, you may discover a deep porphyry system or another type of deposit with future mining potential.
