MAP project going strong in South America

Somewhere in southwestern South America, geologists are putting together the pieces of a giant puzzle known as the Multinational Andean Project (MAP), an international map-making endeavour.

The program, which began in September 1996 and is scheduled to end in December 2001, is designed to encourage mineral exploration in the High Andes. Several companies, including some Canadian ones, are now active in the area.

The $12-million project is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the geoscience agencies of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. It is managed by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC).

So far, one airborne geophysical survey has been completed, in northwestern Argentina in 1998. The survey identified an octagon-shaped anomaly near the Rio Grande and Arizaro iron oxide-copper-gold prospects owned by Vancouver-based Mansfield Minerals.

Two surveys are currently under way, one of which straddles the border between Argentina and Chile, while the other covers 99,000 sq. km over parts of Peru, Bolivia and Chile. The surveys are slated for completion later in May.

The surveys are being flown by Montreal-based SIAL Geosciences, which is coping with the challenge of operating at elevations of up to 7,000 metres above sea level. The work is especially difficult for pilots, who must fly close to the ground to collect spectrometric data.

“It’s very dangerous work,” warns Michael Ellerbeck, project administrator. “You search around to find the best pilots in the region.”

MAP was preceded by a similar project in the early 1990s, which involved Bolivia, Chile and Peru and was funded by the Washington, D.C.-based Inter American Development Bank. The U.S. Geological Survey managed the project, which lasted until the Inter American Bank pulled the plug.

Enter CIDA, which agreed to spend $4.8 million of the $12 million needed to get the ball rolling. Each of the participating countries, which grew to include Argentina, then paid an additional $1.5 million. The rest was funded by private industry.

The GSC got involved at the request of the participating countries. Says Ellerbeck: “The GSC has quite a good international reputation for having high standards.”

The GSC has taught the locals everything from volcanology to fluid inclusion techniques to how to use portable infrared mineral analyzers. They’ve also supervised airborne surveys.

A 616,000-sq.-km metallogenic map, which incorporates data from the first airborne survey, radiometric dating, regional geochemistry and hydrology, will be presented in November at the 11th Latin American Geological Conference in Montevideo, Uruguay. It will sell for about US$100.