GLACIAL DISPERSAL OF MERCURY FROM BEDROCK MINERALIZATION ALONG PINCHIFAULT, NORTH CENTRAL BRITISH-COLUMBIA

Mineralized occurrences of Hg in bedrock are abundant along Pinchi Fau lt, in north central British Columbia, two of which have been mined in the early to mid 20th century. Distribution patterns of mercury conce ntrations measured in the clay sized fraction (< 2 mu m) of till revea l anomalous levels on and down-ice from the fault Mercury in the till is interpreted to be of detrital origin. In other words, during glacia tion, glacier ice eroded bedrock and older sediments enriched in mercu ry and transported them in a down-ice direction, finally depositing th e sediment load at a distance from the source. Consequently, the area with anomalous mercury concentrations in the till is several orders of magnitude larger than the area of mercury mineralization in bedrock.