Geology of the Hercynian thrust-related Little Dipper Harbour gold occurrence, southern New Brunswick

Abstract

At Little Dipper Harbour, gold-bearing quartz veins cut altered Carboniferous sandstone and conglomerate of the Balls Lake Formation. South of the gold prospect, 200m away, the Carboniferous sedimentary unit is overthrust by early Cambrian volcanics of the Coldbrook Group. The quartz veins are sometimes sulfide bearing. Chalcopyrite and galena are primary, minor covellite is secondary. Gangue minerals are quartz, chlorite, and barite. The host rocks are bleached, locally sericitized and silicified. The veins are enclosed by a narrow layer of illitic sericite schist. This is a narrow envelope l-25cm wide that encloses the gold bearing-quartz veins. The gold bearing veins lie on the southern limb of a northeast trending anticline. Two main generations of quartz veins are present in the study area. The earliest generation, which encloses the gold mineralized veins averages 002/61°W, and was created from tensional forces running east-west. This was before or during thrusting