Yellowknife Geoscience Forum
November 18-20, 2008

Now available for Download:

 

General Information    Delegate Registration    Schedule at a Glance (PDF)       Exploration & Geoscience       Energy in Canada's North       Mining & Environmental Management       Geoscience Outreach       Regulatory       Diamonds       Posters    Gold Workshop    Submit Abstract    Technical Program Sessions & Chairs    Charles Camsell Talk    Keynote Address    Students!    Map of Yellowknife (PDF)    Map of the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Venue (PDF)    Google Earth File with locations for coffee shops, hotels,    restaurants, venues, etc. (KMZ)	ICE BREAKER Monday, November 17 7:00-10:00 p.m. Join us at the
ALL SPEAKERS, POSTER PRESENTERS, AND CHAIRS MUST REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE.  BADGES WILL BE CHECKED AT EVERY VENUE.  Both full and single day registration passes are available.  Click here for more information.

2008 SESSION DESCRIPTIONS & CHAIRS

CHARLES CAMSELL TALK

Speaker Biography
Mark Hannington received a PhD. from the University of Toronto in 1989 and spent 15 years as a Research Scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada before joining the University of Ottawa in 2005. His research combines the study of active volcanoes on the ocean floor, and associated metal depositing hot springs (“black smoker vents”), with research on ancient volcanic environments that host many of the world’s largest and most valuable mineral deposits on land. During the last 24 years, Dr. Hannington has participated on 25 research cruises to submarine volcanoes on the East Pacific Rise, the Juan de Fuca Ridge, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland, New Zealand, Antarctica, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea. This work has focused on understanding the origins of base and precious metal deposits at submarine volcanoes and has led to the discovery of a number of previously unknown mineral deposit types on the seafloor. Recently, Dr. Hannington’s work has made important contributions to the understanding of natural loading of metals to the oceans from volcanic and hydrothermal sources, including metals with potential far-field environmental significance. His comparisons between modern volcanoes and ancient volcanic environments in Canada are also leading to new and improved models for land-based mineral exploration. Dr. Hannington is the chief editor of the international research journal Economic Geology, which deals with the geosciences applied to mineral deposits. Economic Geology is one of the oldest scientific publications in North America and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Dr. Hannington is only the 5th editor of the journal and the first to be located outside the United States.

KEYNOTE

M.D. Hannington, Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Centre, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa

Exploration of submarine hydrothermal systems in the western Pacific region and elsewhere is leading to enhanced models of arc metallogeny, with implications for understanding the origin and distribution of ancient ore deposits. An analysis of the formation conditions, tectonic settings, and likelihood of preservation of submarine hydrothermal systems in the western Pacific sheds light on the observed time-space relationships of diverse mineral deposit types in ancient greenstone belts. Microplate tectonics that characterize the western Pacific today also were likely important in Archean and Paleoproterozoic volcanic belts.  In such complex settings, oblique collisions, opposing subduction zones, and rapid changes in stress regimes (e.g., from compressional to tensional and back to compressional) are common, causing juxtaposition of diverse styles of mineralization. Similar factors are considered to have been important for the metallogenic evolution of volcanic arcs of the Superior province. Major ore deposits of the southern Abitibi belt, for example, were formed within a span of ~50 m.y., in response to successive arc rifting, back-arc basin development, and exhumation of the adjoining accretionary complexes along major arc-parallel crustal-scale faults. Active marginal basins of similar size and representing similar stages of this evolution are well represented in the western Pacific and contain a similar suite of mineral deposit types. Examples from the eastern Manus Basin and adjoining New Ireland Basin (PNG) and in the Lau-Tonga-Kermadec arc-backarc system illustrate these similarities. However, much greater spatial and temporal resolution of magmatic and structural events will be needed to recognize these relationships in ancient greenstone belts and thereby achieve the same level of confidence in prediction of ore deposit locations that is presently possible in modern submarine volcanic arcs.

STUDENTS!

There will again be cash prizes of $1000 each for the best technical oral and poster presentations. Please note that in order to be eligible for the poster award, students are required to give 3-5 minutes oral presentation in front of their poster.  The conference organizers thank the NAPEGG Education Foundation for sponsoring these awards.

The winners will be announced in Capitol Theatre 1 on Thursday, November 20 at 4:30 pm.