Mr Daniel Parvaz
PhD Student
Visit personal website »
The aim of my project is to develop new exploration tools for secondary Cu deposits by testing the hypotheses that: gossans (oxidised surficial sulphide deposits) can be classified, using mineralogical and geochemical criteria, into different types and that these gossan-types can be used to predict the existence of potentially economic secondary copper deposits at depth. Five gossans will be studied: the Phoenix and Three Hills deposits, with known secondary Cu mineralisation; two ‘barren’ gossan sites, to be identified during fieldwork; and the West Apliki prospect, which is as yet undeveloped, with the objective of testing this exploration method. A classification scheme for gossans known to be formed from high- and low-Cu protoliths will be devised on the basis of the presence/absence of relict minerals and replacement textures and the mineralogy and elemental composition of weathering phases, including clays. The extent and nature of the weathering in gossans from high-Cu protoliths will be assessed by carrying out mass balance calculations using bulk and mineral geochemical data.
