Nyrstar
Myra Falls
Imaged a VMS deposit at ~300 m depth in mountainous terrain
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Muon geotomography imaged the Price deposit, a multi-metal VMS ore body at Nyrstar’s Myra Falls underground mine in BC, Canada. The survey was conducted on the side of a mountain.
SITUATION
The ore body is located under a provincial park in an environmentally sensitive area. Exploration drilling from the surface was to be avoided. This polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit contains zinc, copper, lead and silver, providing good density contrast from the surrounding rock.
IDEON SOLUTION
Using muon detector locations at a depth of about 300 m in mountainous terrain the Price deposit was mapped in 3D.
OUTCOME
The muon geotomography results agreed well with measurements from underground drill core data.
“Because this technology has the potential to detect and image deposits at depth, it will refine the exploration search area, which will reduce the amount of expensive drilling required and further efforts to minimize environmental impact”
Rick Sawyer, P. Geo,
Manager, Exploration and Geology
Nyrstar Myra Falls Ltd.
Deposit: Zinc-copper-lead-silver (Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit)
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Price deposit shown with a slice of the 3D density model from muon geotomography
Closeup of ore shell model with section of density profile from muon data. Detectors are shown as cubes.