IM

GEOCHEMISTRY IN MINERAL EXPLORATION

particularly where the introduced metal is derived from the immedi-

ately underlying bedrock.

10-2. Glacial Overburden

The development, detection, and interpretation of geochemical

anomalies in glacial overburden are complicated by the diverse

nature and origin of glacial deposits, as reviewed in Chapter 7. Sands,

clays, gravels, and morainal deposits of varying composition and

permeability may be intermixed or stratified. Over short distances

the cover may range in depth from a few inches to many tens or even

hundreds of feet. Eroded material, scoured and plowed up from the

surface over which the ice moved, may have been transported for

distances ranging from a few feet to many miles from its place of

origin. The glacial debris may have been further subjected to water

transport and sorting, and the resultant glaciofluvial deposits distrib-

uted over wide areas as out wash fans and lake-bed sediments. The

direction of ice movement, which is the principal factor conditioning

the form of a glacial anomaly, may change during the course of a

single period of glaciation. Complexities in the local deposits and in

the local glacial history naturally lead to a corresponding complexity

in the dispersion processes and the resulting geochemical patterns.

Any or all of these factors can add materially to the difficulties of

conducting geochemical surveys in glacial terrain.

Useful syngenetic anomalies normally develop only in moraine

deposits, particularly in ground moraine, by mechanical dispersion

of ore material eroded by the ice. Where conditions are favorable,

epigenetic anomalies of hydromorphic and biogenic origin may be

found in any class of glacial or glaciofluvial deposit.

Syngenetic Anomalies. The particle size of the eroded ore material

may range from large boulders down to the finest clays.

Glacially transported boulders are characteristically distributed in

fan-shaped patterns extending outward from the bedrock source in

the direction of ice movement. Boulder fans have been observed to

extend for many miles from the source (Figures 7-19 and 10-1). More

commonly, a well-defined boulder fan cannot be traced for more

than one or two miles (Figure 10-2).

Fine-grained metal-bearing particles or "micro-boulders," too

small or too decomposed to be identified by eye, may likewise be

dispersed mechanically to form fan-shaped patterns of abnormally

high metal content that are more or less coextensive with boulder

fans (Figures 10-2 to 10-5). The homogeneity of such anomalies is

dependent on the grain size of the particles and the degree of mixing,

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