The objectives of the Synthesis of Mineral Deposits Knowledge module are:

• to provide a current synthesis of the geology, genesis and exploration of the nine major deposit-types in Canada,
• to build Canadian and Global expert mineral deposit databases containing key deposit attributes
• to identify areas of high mineral potential for a given deposit-type, and
• to define major gaps in geoscience data and knowledge that are potentially important in mineral exploration and development.

The nine major deposit-types considered here are:

• Volcanic Associated Massive Sulphides (VMS)
• Sedimentary Exhalative (SEDEX)
• Mississippi Valley Type (MVT)
• Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE
• Porphyry
• Unconformity Uranium
• Kimberlite Diamond
• Iron Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG)
• Lode Gold (quartz-carbonate veins, Au-rich VMS, intrusion-related Au, epithermal Au)

The major areas of geoscience addressed by the deposit synthesis component of project X15 are listed below. However, not all of these area are populated for each synthesis because of a number of factors that include availability of data (e.g. global mineral deposits databases) and knowledge (e.g. exploration methods, areas of mineral potential in Canada).

• Deposit Definition
• Geographical Distribution
• Grade and Tonnage
• Geological Attributes
  • Continental scale
  • Metallogenetic districts of Canada
  • Deposit scale
    • Local geological settings and controls on the siting of ores
    • Deposit size, morphology and architecture
    • Ore mineralogy, chemistry and zonation
    • Alteration mineralogy and geochemistry
• Genetic and Exploration Models
  • Conventional models
  • Advances of last two decades
• Key Exploration Criteria
  • Geological
  • Geochemical
  • Geophysical
• Knowledge gaps
• Areas of High Mineral Potential in Canada