NS

I enjoy your thoughtful messages, always thinking and putting words to paper. Don't know about the west to east movement of hydrothermal fluids that are enriched with gold and associated minerals. Prehaps it is easier to think of another batholith that doesn't come to surface on the eastern side of PRB's block. The Boulamaque Batholith is very small compared to many so it would not be a streach to think that another igneous rock mass is nearby and is prehaps the same age geologically, from the same stock and enriched hydrothermal fluids. Earlier Dave showed east-west structure between Bussiere and Belliveau, now he has the Bussaire tracking north/south similar to Belliveau, doesn't look like hydrothermal fulids come from the western batholith but am too far removed.

Comments re surface streams as a mapping tool for bedrock structure is well founded, the first task in a hydrogeological study to develop high yield water well for industry/municiplies is to get 1:10,000 scale topo maps to locate streams that track the regional bedrock structure, followed up with a Geonics EM-16 asurvey cross possible structures and then drilling. This was my 'bread and butter' but all this changed with LiDAR imagery which looks throught the surficial cover, amazing what one can see. If Dave is not using this he should.

As to the 'clay' issues they are a real pain and can mask underlying features. Could be alteration of certain minerals or remant glacial deposits that have been compacted by the weight of hundreds of meters of ice. 

Holding for the long term.

mn