The Noranda camp in the southern Abitibi greenstone belt comprises over 20 volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits hosted by volcanic rocks of the 2704–2695 Ma Blake River Group. Decades of research and exploration have provided a firm understanding of the characteristics of these deposits as well as the geological controls on deposit location. Observations made on the deposits of the Noranda camp significantly contributed to the syngenetic model of massive sulfide formation and shaped the current understanding of ancient and modern sea-floor hydrothermal systems.

The Horne and Quemont deposits, which are the largest deposits in the Noranda camp, are hosted by 2702 Ma felsic volcanic successions dominated by volcaniclastic rocks. The massive sulfide ores of these deposits largely formed through processes of subseafloor infiltration and replacement of the highly permeable wall rocks. Laterally extensive hydrothermal alteration halos dominated by chlorite and sericite surround the replacement ores. The Horne deposit formed in an extensional setting in a graben bounded by synvolcanic faults. Rapid extension accompanying deposit formation resulted in the upwelling of mantle-derived mafic melts and the emplacement of a thick package of mafic rocks in the stratigraphic hanging wall of the deposit.

Most of the massive sulfide deposits in the Noranda camp are hosted by a 2700–2698 Ma bimodal volcanic succession that formed in a large volcanic subsidence structure to the north. The ~2,000-m-thick lava flow-dominated volcanic package is floored by the large, multiphase, synvolcanic Flavrian pluton. The deposits in this part of the Noranda camp are small (<5 million tonnes) and primarily formed as sulfide mounds on the ancient sea floor. Synvolcanic structures provided cross-stratal permeability for the hydrothermal fluids and controlled the location of volcanic vents. Thin tuffaceous units mark the sea-floor positions hosting the massive sulfide mounds within the flow-dominated volcanic succession. The concordant massive sulfide lenses overlie discordant alteration pipes composed of chlorite- and sericite-altered rocks. Contact metamorphism associated with the emplacement of the ~2690 Ma Lac Dufault pluton converted the hydrothermal alteration pipes into cordierite-anthophyllite assemblages.

Recent brownfields exploration successes have demonstrated that massive sulfide discoveries are still possible in one of Canada’s most mature mining camp through three-dimensional geological modeling performed at the camp scale. Geologic target generation through computer modeling has reversed the general trend of progressively deeper exploration with time in the Noranda camp. Deep exploration currently focuses on the reevaluation of a previously uneconomic low-grade ore zone at the Horne deposit.