A Master thesis about the Garpenberg deposit located in Bergslagen, a lithotectonic domain, with a mining history that might date back as far as 350 BC. Marble- and skarn-hosted sulfide deposits are found in the area, which creates the opportunity to mine both limestone and sulfidic ore in a single mine. Garpenberg is such a location hence this thesis, which aims to quantify the factors governing spectrophotometric lightness in marble at the Dammjön ore body. The work is mainly based on five drill cores which were logged and sampled. A total of twenty-seven samples were characterized using lithogeochemical analysis and thin-section analysis. The amount of Acid Insoluble Residue (AIR), magnetic minerals and the spectrophotometric lightness were determined for the same samples. The calcite marble was divided into seven different varieties; 1) calcite marble breccia, 2) light, 3) grey, 4) green, 5) banded salmon pink, 6) ophicalcite and 7) spotted calcite marble. The dolomite marble is white to grey in color and skarn minerals are common and varies between 5-20 vol.%. Grey and light calcite marble are the varieties with the highest spectrophotometric lightness, and it could be shown that the lightness increases with a decreasing amount of titanium, aluminum and zirconium which are chemical proxies for mineralogical impurities of originally volcaniclastic origin. High-quality calcite marble is a potentially economic by-product at the Garpenberg mine, the lightest samples are nearly as light as the light standard used during analysis (92.45 out of 100%). The lightest marble is also the chemically most pure which means that the calcium oxide (CaO) and total-carbon content are high. Key geological factors detrimental to lightness and purity are the primary composition, which is determined by the admixture of volcaniclastic material in the limestone precursor. Hydrothermal alteration with the addition of silicates, sulfides and oxides forms a halo around the massive sulfide lenses. Dolomite marble, which is more proximal to ore, is richer in manganese and sulfides, and not as light as the calcite marble at Dammsjön.

Shea Creek est un gisement d'uranium liée à la discordance entre un socle métamorphique et des roches sédimentaires d'origine fluviatile, d'âge Paléo-protérozoïque et situé dans la partie ouest du bassin d'Athabasca. Ce gisement majeur est le plus profond connu actuellement dans le bassin (entre 680 m et 1000 m de profondeur). Il rassemble en un même lieu tous les types de minéralisation associés à une discordance connus de par le monde. Cette étude s'appuie sur l'analyse de plus de 1200 échantillons du halo d'altération qui entoure le gisement et sur l'utilisation des données d'exploration minière. L'objectif est double. Il s'agit d'une part de déterminer des guides sédimentologiques, pétrographiques, minéralogiques et géochimiques pour la prospection des corps minéralisés en zone profonde et d'autre part d'utiliser ces critères pour construire une représentation tridimensionnelle simplifiée (minéralisation et halo d'altération) permettant de préciser le modèle génétique de ce gisement profond. La localisation des différentes zones minéralisées dépend non seulement des phénomènes d'altération liés aux circulations hydrothermales contrôlées par la tectonique, mais aussi de la nature du remplissage sédimentaire et de son évolution diagénétique. L'architecture de la zone minéralisée de Shea Creek montre que les corps minéralisés sont localisés dans des structures en grabben remplies par des alternances de grès propres et de grès argileux souvent préservés de la compaction et de l'altération. La signature minéralogique et géochimique de ces grès suggère un apport provenant de l'érosion de paléo-altérites continentales (régolithe). La très forte concentration en défauts d'ir / Shea Creek is an unconformity-type uranium deposit located in the west part of Atabaska basin. It is related to an unconformity between a metamorphic basement and sedimentary rocks of fluvial origin, of paleoproterozoic age. Shea Creek's particularity is to be the deepest ore deposit ever known in the basin (between 680 m and 1000 m deep). It gathers all types of unconformity hosted mineralization known. More than 1200 samples, taken from halo alteration around the deposit, were analyzed and mining exploration data were used for this study. First, the aim was to determine the markers for prospection of mineral elements in deep area: sedimentological, petrographical, geochemical and mineralogical types. Then, it was to build a simple three-dimensional model (mineralization and alteration halo) using these criteria in order to precise the genetic pattern of this deep deposit. The location of mineralized areas depends on tectonic deformation, on sedimentary filling and diagenetic development. The morphology of Shea Creek’s ore deposit shows clearly that mineralization is located in the grabbens composed by clean sandstones and clay sandstones, often preserved from compaction and alteration phenomena. The mineralogical and geochemical signature of these clay sandstones suggests a contribution from the erosion of continental paleo-alterite (regolith). Beside, the great concentration of radiation induced defects suggests the presence in abundance of uranium in the grabbens from sedimentary state.