Mineral investigations in the Northumberland trough : part 5, The Kirkbean area, south-west Scotland

Exploration for carbonate-hosted base-metal mineralisation on the North Solway coastal belt was undertaken in 1992-93 as part of a broader scale MRP investigation of a 70 km strike length of Lower Carboniferous rocks at the northern margin of the Solway-Northumberland Basin. The project area was selected partly on the basis of its similarities with the tectonosedimentary environment of the Lower Dinantian central Irish basin which hosts several major stratabound lead-zinc deposits, and the presence of geochemical base-metal anomalies coincident with basin margin structures. Two of the most important criteria for the formation of major SEDEX Irish-style deposits, the presence of major syn-depositional basin margin faults and a geothermal system over a zone of high heat flow in the crust (Andrew, 1993), are recognised in the north Solway area. The presence of mafic lavas and possible associated mineralising hydrothermal activity are considered to further increase the economic potential of the area.