A Metal Earth Atlas of Seismic Reflection and Magnetotelluric Transects Across the Superior Province

Abstract

The seismic reflection and magnetotelluric conductivity sections published in these folios were generated from geophysical data archived by the Metal Earth project, a CAD$104 million applied R&D program that commenced in March 2017. The project comprised a consortium of Canadian and international researchers from academia, government and industry, and was led by the Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC) at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Funding consisted of CAD$49.2 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), CAD$5 million in funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), a CAD$1 million donation from the Harquail family’s Midas Touch Foundation, and cash and in-kind contributions from private sector and government survey partners. Metal Earth used state-of-the-art equipment to transform our understanding of the processes responsible for metal endowment and ore localisation during Earth’s early evolution, particularly within the Superior Province (or Superior Craton) of Canada. This included the collection of new seismic reflection and magnetotelluric data along 18 transects across the Superior Province, each with differential metal endowment and styles of mineralisation. The processed geophysical data from each transect have been standardised and are published here to facilitate assessments between regions with differential metal endowment.