An integrated approach to the search for gold in a mature, data-rich brownfields environment: A case study from Sigma-Lamaque, Quebec

The greater than 1300 participants in the 2015 Integra Gold Rush Challenge, the biggest gold exploration crowdsourcing competition to date, were given access to six terabytes of historic data collected at the c. 12 Moz Au Sigma-Lamaque gold deposits, Val-d'Or district, Quebec, and asked to identify targets with the highest potential for the next big gold discovery at the property. This paper describes our approach to exploration targeting at Sigma-Lamaque with particular emphasis on (i) integrating and interrogating the available data; (ii) identifying mappable expressions/key ingredients of ore-forming processes using spatial data modelling (in particular inversion modelling and advanced filtering of the available geophysical data); (iii) developing a conceptual model in the framework of a mineral systems approach; and (iv) translating the conceptual model into an effective tool for targeting gold in the Val-d'Or district.