The Bathurst Mining Camp

The Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) occupies a roughly circular area of approximately 70 km diameter in the Miramichi Highlands of northern New Brunswick. The area boasts some 46 mineral deposits with defined tonnage and another hundred mineral occurrences, all hosted by Cambro-Ordovician rocks that were deposited in an ensialic back-arc basin.

The Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) virtual field trip contains the following:

• Maps showing the surface distribution of the groups and formations that comprise  the BMC
• Schematic stratigraphic columns of the rock groups
• Digital photos of the rock units* from type-sections and other significant exposures
• Links to the New Brunswick Stratigraphic Lexicon and to digital Fieldtrip Guidebooks (see links to PDF files below);
• A listing of Fieldtrip Stops that pertain to corresponding rock formations/units.

All graphic- and photo-images may be downloaded and used freely. Questions regarding this virtual field trip or the Bathurst Mining Camp should be directed to jim.walker@gnb.ca.

*Photo-image descriptions include the NTS Map Sheet and geographic coordinates (NAD83) of each image’s location.

Maps

The rocks in the BMC are divided into 5 groups, which are tectonically as well as lithologically distinct, i.e., they represent 4 major nappes (themselves internally imbricated) and autocthonous basement rocks that were juxtaposed by D1 thrusting during closure of the back-arc basin from the Late Ordovician to Early Silurian. Continued collision between Gondwana and Laurentia (into the Middle Devonian) produced three further deformational events (D2, D3, D4)  that distorted the rocks of the BMC into their current complex geometry. Since the discovery of the No. 6 and No.12 base-metal deposits in 1952 and 1953, the BMC has been the major focus of mineral exploration in the Province, with expenditures on the order of $225 million (year 2000 dollars) over the past  30 years (Cranstone 2002).

Approximate outline of Bathurst Mining Camp

Interactive Stratigraphy

Rock Units		Tectonostratigraphy
Fournier	Aerial extent	Group Distribution
	Description
	Field trip stops
California Lake	Aerial extent
	Description
	Field trip stops
Tetagouche	Aerial extent
	Description
	Field trip stops
Sheephouse Brook	Aerial extent
	Description
	Field trip stops
Miramichi	Aerial extent
	Description
	Field trip stops

Field Trip Guidebooks

• Guidebook to the Metallogeny of the Bathurst Camp (10 MB)
• Field Guide to Massive Sulphide Deposits (11 MB)
• Geology and Massive Sulphides of the Bathurst Camp (6 MB)
• Massive Sulphide Deposits and Geology in Northern New Brunswick (3 MB)
• The Geologic Setting of Gold Occurrences in Northern New Brunswick (2 MB)

Related Publications

• Van Staal, C.R., 1994. The Brunswick Subduction Complex in the Canadian Appalachians: Record of the Late Ordovician to Late Silurian collision between Laurentia and the Gander Margin of Avalon: Tectonics, v. 13.
• Van Staal, C.R., 2003. Geology and Tectonic History of the Bathurst Supergroup, Bathurst Mining Camp, and Its Relationship to Coeval Rocks in Southwestern New Brunswick and Adjacent Maine – A Synthesis: Economic Geology, Monograph 11, 2003.
• McCutcheon, S.R., Walker, J.A., and McClenaghan, S.H., 2001. The Geological Setting of Massive Sulphide Deposits in the Bathurst Mining Camp: A Synthesis. In Current Research 2000. Edited by B.M.W. Carroll. New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy, Mineral Resource Report 2001-4.
• Cranstone, D. 2002.  The discovery and mining of massive zinc-lead-silver sulphide deposits in New Brunswick – past and future.  In Current Research 2001.  Edited by B.M.W. Carroll.  New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy; Minerals, Policy and Planning Division, Mineral Resource Report 2002-4, pp.11-40.