Mineral Exploration

the BCGS the opportunity to present program highlights, geoscience informa- tion, publications, and new exploration concepts and targets. The BCGS is headquartered in Victoria and is a branch in the Mines and Mineral Resources division of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. It consists of three sections: Cordilleran Geoscience, Resource Information and the Mineral Development Office. The Cordilleran Geoscience section is responsible for generating new geo- science knowledge, largely through field-based studies and surveys. The Resource Information section is respon- sible for maintaining and developing the provincial geoscience databases and disseminating geoscience data online through MapPlace, the award-winning web service. This section is responsible for evaluating, approving and archiving mineral and coal exploration assessment reports filed by the exploration and min- ing industry. The Mineral Development Office links the province's mineral and coal resources with the investment community, distributes and promotes the BCGS's technical data, and co- ordinates the technical outputs of the Regional Geologist Program. The BCGS supports the mineral exploration industry through the proj- ects it undertakes. Field projects in 2015 were mainly directed at B.C.'s pro- lific porphyry belts. These multi-year studies were conducted in the Nicola Arc of the Quesnel Terrane in B.C.'s Interior Plateau and in Stikine Terrane in northwest B.C. Projects in the Nicola Arc focused on mapping and establish- ing a stratigraphic framework along the arc between Merritt and Likely. In northwest B.C, mapping in the Stikine Terrane was carried out in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), through the second iteration of the Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Program. In recent years, the BCGS has expanded and developed new mineral-exploration methodologies. A n important theme of the 2015 studies was porphyry indicator miner- als (PIMs) as an exploration tool. A new BCGS partnership with the Canadian Mining Innovation Council investigated PIMs in till from Highland Valley, con- tinuing the work that was completed at Gibraltar, Mount Polley and Woodjam by the BCGS and the GSC under the Targeted Geoscience Initiative 4 (TGI-4) program. Another explora- tion methodology project, completed 70 W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 Photograph : Government of British Columbia GEOSCIENCE 2015-16

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