Mineral exploration in the Thompson nickel belt, Manitoba, Canada, using seismic and controlled-source EM methods

Seismic reflection and electromagnetic (EM) data were acquired near Thompson, Manitoba, Canada, to map the subsurface extent of the Paleoproterozoic, nickel ore-bearing Ospwagan Group. These data are supplemented by surface and borehole geology and by laboratory measurements of density, seismic velocity, and electrical conductivity, which indicate that Ospwagan Group rocks are generally more seismically reflective and electrically conductive than the Archean basement rocks that envelop them. The combined seismic/EM interpretation suggests that the Thompson Nappe (cored by Ospwagan Group rocks) lies blind beneath the Archean basement gneisses, to the east of the subvertical Burntwood lineament, in a series of late recumbent folds and/or southeast-dipping reverse faults. The EM data require that the shallowest of these fold/fault structures occur within the basement gneisses or perhaps less conductive Ospwagan Group rocks. The results of this study demonstrate how seismic and deep sounding EM methods might be utilized as regional exploration tools in the Thompson nickel belt.