First Strike!

Done, published! This scientific publication, the first of a series dealing with the application of our automated mineralogy techniques to drift prospection, is published and available for downloading. This first paper describes the application of our ARTGold^TM technology for the detection of platinum group minerals in glacial sediments. The secret is simple, first lower the detection limit and then improve recovery of very small grains, considering these minerals are about 20x less abundant that gold grains and with an average size of 20 µm. The technique enable counting grains from the background signal in area not reputed for their platinoid potential, such as the Abitibi, where such minerals were apparently never reported in quaternary sediments. Still, they are all over! Our conclusion is that these minerals does not originate from classical mafic-ultramafic PGE enriched systems, but are rather indicative of orogenic gold mineralization. Since these minerals are recovered and counted along with gold grains, complex gold-platinum-palladium minerals or aggregates are unequivocally suggesting the association. The method seems to be to only one capable to efficiently detect these metals in the secondary environment.

The paper, authored by Mme Sheida Makvandi Ph.D. and Philippe Pagé Ph.D., plus a few other of our scientists, is now available for downloading from "Minerals" peer-reviewed journal at the following link, and will be included in a special edition on "The Application of Automated SEM-Based Identification of Detrital, Diagenetic and Indicator Mineral Phases"

Download at: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/11/3/264/pdf

''There are those who follow the rules... and those who define them''

Back scattered electron image of a "Minakawaite" detrital grain, a rhodium antimonide, that has been recovered from a till sample from the Cape-Smith belt. This seems to be the first reported occurrence of this mineral outside of its type locality in Japan!