In the inaugural year of the joint Geological Survey of Canada - British Columbia Geological Survey Branch - Yukon Geology Program Ancient Pacific Margin NATMAP project, substantial progress was made in documenting the nature of Yukon-Tanana Terrane in Yukon and northern British Columbia and how the different parts may have been linked paleogeographically. When ca. 425 km of displacement on the Tintina Fault are restored, the Finlayson Lake massive sulphide district lies north of and along strike from the Glenlyon and Wolf Lake - Jennings River study areas. Stratigraphic sections from the component study areas illustrate similarities and differences along strike; both the similarities and differences with the Finlayson Lake stratigraphy affirm the potential of this belt to host volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralization.

Geological mapping of Yukon-Tanana Terrane in Little Salmon Range has outlined a coherent stratigraphic succession in rocks that were previously described as strongly foliated and lineated mylonitic tectonites. The widespread occurrence of primary sedimentary and volcanic textures and the lateral continuity of the units are incompatible with the previous interpretation of the area. A laterally continuous volcanic arc sequence occupies the core of a broad synclinorium and rests unconformably on disparate clastic units to the east and west. The volcanic sequence is structurally overlain by an allochthonous sheet of distal turbidites. The occurrence of massive sulphide and exhalite within the volcanic sequence attests to the high mineral potential of this largely unexplored region.

Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian metavolcanic rocks of Yukon-Tanana Terrane in southern Finlayson Lake and Frances Lake map areas occur in three thrust sheets, locally modified by a Cretaceous normal fault. The lower thrust sheet, the Big Campbell sheet, comprises the Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian metavolcanic stratigraphy that hosts the main volcanichosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits of the district. Metavolcanic rocks in the middle thrust sheet, the Money Creek sheet, include the Upper Devonian Waters Creek and Early Mississippian Tuchitua River formations. The former comprises primarily felsic metavolcanic rocks and carbonaceous phyllite and is extensively intruded by sheets of comagmatic porphyry. The latter comprises primarily intermediate metavolcanic, volcaniclastic and epiclastic rocks. The upper thrust sheet, the Cleaver Lake sheet, is in part made up of Late Devonian calc-alkaline basalt and rhyolite, the Cleaver Lake formation, and comagmatic felsic to ultramafic plutonic rocks. Of these, the Waters Creek formation and the formations in the Big Campbell sheet have the highest potential to host VHMS deposits.

The Marg (Cu-Zn-Pb-Au-Ag) volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit is hosted within metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks of the Devonian-Mississippian Earn Group and Mississippian Keno Hill Quartzite. These rocks form part of the Selwyn Basin, an off-shelf sequence that developed at the continental margin prior to Cordilleran deformation and accretion. Geological mapping and re-analysis of drill core was completed to re-assess the deposit and property-scale economic potential. The Marg deposit is deformed by at least three generations of structures that developed during Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous time and are geometrically correlative with regional-scale structures such as the Robert Service Thrust and the Tombstone strain zone. The Marg deposit occurs within a southeasterly plunging, complex fold structure, a significant part of which has been removed by erosion. Discovery of additional stratigraphy comparable to the Marg sequence and new sulphide occurrences within the claims underscores both property and regional exploration potential. The presence of probable rift-related volcanism and mineralization within the Selwyn Basin, and the similarities of this mineralization to that within 'suspect' terranes, has implications for both regional tectonics and exploration.

Detailed mapping of Yukon-Tanana Terrane in Glenlyon map area has identified two Carboniferous volcanic successions, and their subvolcanic intrusions. The early-to mid-Mississippian Little Kalzas succession consists predominantly of calc-alkaline volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks which formed in a continental arc setting. Minor alkali basalt occurs stratigraphically below and above the calc-alkaline rocks.The Little Salmon succession, of mid-Mississippian to early Pennsylvanian age, represents a second cycle of continental arc magmatism. It consists of calc-alkaline andesite and volcaniclastic rocks near Little Salmon Lake, but passes laterally along strike to alkali basalt of within-plate affinity. The occurrence of alkaline magmatism within these continental arc sequences suggests episodic rifting of the arc. The occurrence of Mn-rich exhalite within the rifted arc sequence of the Little Salmon succession suggests that this environment may also have been favourable for production and deposition of metal-rich solutions.

for a copy of this paper please contact the Yukon Geological Survey; geology@gov.yk.ca.

Recent discoveries of at least two types of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits hosted in varying terranes have greatly expanded the mineral potential of the Yukon Territory. Kuroko style deposits at Kudz Ze Kayah and Wolverine are hosted by an Early Mississippian felsic metavolcanic and carbonaceous sedimentary package within the Yukon-Tanana Terrane in the Finlayson Lake area. The massive sulphide lenses at Wolverine have spectacular grades and constitute a geological resources, as of November 1996, of 5,311,000 tonnes with 1.81 g/t Au, 359.1 g/t Ag, 1.41% Cu, 1.53% Pb and 12.96% Zn. New discoveries at the Fyre Lake and Ice properties continue to expand the volcanic hosted massive sulphide potential of the Finlayson Lake area. Fyre Lake is a copper-cobalt-gold Besshi-type deposit hosted by chlorite schist. Towards the end of the season DDH 65 at Fyre Lake intersected 31.3 m of 2.29% Cu, 0.53 gpt Au and 0.07% Co. The enigmatic, ""Cyprus-type"", Ice occurrence has copper-cobalt mineralization in mafic volcanic rocks that are interpreted to belong to the Slide Mountain Terrane. The last hole of the season, DDH IC96-34 intersected 20.56 m of massive pyrite, chalcopyrite and bornite with grades of 5.2% Cu, 0.6 gpt Au, 25 gpt Ag and 0.6% Co. Prior to discovery of Ice, volcanic hosted massive sulphide mineralization was unknown in the Slide Mountain Terrane in the Yukon. The Yukon-Tanana and Slide Mountain Terranes are not restricted to the Finlayson Lake area but cover a considerable portion of the Yukon Territory. West of Dawson the Yukon-Tanana Terrane contains several exhalite occurrences in the Devono-Missisippian Nasina Assemblage and the Permian Klondike Schist. Devono-Mississippian strata in the Yukon-Tanana Terrane may correlate with similar aged units in the Pelly-Cassiar Platform and Selwyn Basin where there are several massive sulphide occurrences. The Marg Deposit occurs at the northern edge of the Selwyn Basin; the MM, Bnob and Chzerpnough properties are hosted by extension related, pyritic, brecciated, felsic metavolcanic rocks within the Pelly-Cassiar Platform. The Yukon-Tanana Terrane extends westward into the Delta District of Alaska where there are at least 26 stratiform and replacement massive sulphide deposits and occurrences. Strata potentially correlative with the Yukon-Tanana Terrane hosts several volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits and occurrences in northern British Columbia.

The Wolverine polymetallic volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposit occurs in a highly deformed but coherent stratigraphic succession of early Mississippian to early Permian metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Yukon-Tanana Terrane. The deposit is part of the emerging Finlayson Lake volcanic-hosted massive sulphide district and contains a geological resource of 6,237,000 tonnes grading 12.66% zinc, 1.33% copper, 1.55% lead, 370.9 g/t silver and 1.76 g/t gold. Local stratigraphy consists of four major units including (from oldest to youngest): (1) quartz-and feldspar-phyric volcaniclastic, carbonaceous sedimentary and porphyritic intrusive rocks; (2) interbedded argillite, aphyric rhyolite and magnetite-carbonate-pyrite exhalite; (3) fragmental rhyolite; and (4) interbedded carbonaceous argillite, greywacke, basalt and rhyolite. The mineralization consists of pyrite and sphalerite, with lesser pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, galena, tetrahedrite-tennantite and arsenopyrite. Mineralization occurs as massive stratiform, massive replacement and sulphide stringer veins. Sulphides are typically massive, fine-grained, layered and locally brecciated. Styles of hydrothermal alteration identified in the host rocks include proximal silicification and more distal chloritization, sericitization and, in places, carbonatization. Future research will be focussed on identifying the salient physico-chemical controls on the mineralization process and their implications for volcanic-hosted massive sulphide exploration in the district and elsewhere.

for a copy of this paper please contact the Yukon Geological Survey; geology@yukon.ca.

The Yukon-Tanana Terrane (YTT) in the Finlayson Lake region (FLR), southeastern Yukon, Canada is host to five volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits (total -34 Mt) that have been discovered since the mid-1990's. In this thesis, field, lithogeochemical and Nd isotopic data are presented for felsic and mafic igneous rocks in the FLR to understand the tectonic setting, style of magmatism, and their relationships to VHMS mineralization. All rocks in the FLR were built upon a continental (or continent-derived) substrate of pre-Mississippian (>365 Ma) age. The Fire Lake unit (FLU) reflects Devonian-Mississippian (-365-360 Ma) arc and back-arc magmatism built upon a composite basement of oceanic and continental (or continent-derived) crust above an east-dipping subduction zone. Models proposed herein for the magmatic and tectonic evolution of FLU include: 1) arc magmatism punctuated by back-arc basin generation; 2) ridge propagation into an evolving arc with subsequent evolution to back-arc magmatism; and/or 3) ridge-subduction (slab-window) with eventual back-arc basin magmatism. The Kudz Ze Kayah (KZK) unit overlies the FLU and consists predominantly of crustally derived Devonian-Mississippian (-360-356 Ma) felsic volcanic and high-level subvolcanic rocks and variably carbonaceous sedimentary rocks; the latter are crosscut and overlain by alkalic mafic rocks. The high field strength element (HFSE)-enriched (A-type) felsic rocks and alkalic mafic rocks in the KZK unit are inferred to represent magmatism within an ensialic back-arc basin upon evolved crust. The Wolverine succession (WS) unconformably overlies the KZK unit and consists of a lower succession of felsic volcanic and subvolcanic rocks with carbonaceous sedimentary rocks; the upper portion of the succession, above the Wolverine VHMS deposit, consists predominantly of aphyric rhyolitic rocks that are overlain basalt flows. Felsic rocks ofthe WS are broadly similar to those in the KZK unit and represent ensialic back-arc basin magmatism. However, the succession is younger (-356-346 Ma), and post-dates a period of uplift, deformation, and erosion prior to commencement of back-arc magmatism. Back-arc spreading eventually evolved to true seafloor spreading within the WS. Massive sulphide deposits in the FLR are preferentially associated with rocks indicative of high temperature magmatism (e.g., boninites, A-type felsic rocks) and extensional tectonic activity (e.g., back-arc rifting and spreading).