Bulletin 65, The Northern Alberta Kimberlite Province: The First 20 Years

ERCB/AGS announces publication of Bulletin 65, The Northern Alberta Kimberlite Province: The First 20 Years. In December 2011, AGS published a bulletin that documents the discovery of kimberlitebearing rocks in northern Alberta between 1990 and 2010. This bulletin describes the history of kimberlite discovery in northern Alberta, their age and composition, the geological setting in which they occur, as well as their diamond content. To date, 51 kimberlite bodies have been identified in three areas of northern Alberta: the Mountain Lake area, the Buffalo Head Hills, and the Birch Mountains. The kimberlites were emplaced during short intervals of violent volcanism. The origin of the volcanic rocks in each of these kimberlite bodies varies, and, as a result, each area contains different concentrations of diamonds, with the highest diamond content occurring in an 88- to 81-million-year-old kimberlite from the Buffalo Head Hills. Younger kimberlite rocks from the Buffalo Head Hills, together with different types of volcanic rocks in the Mountain Lake and Birch Mountains areas, have lower diamond concentrations. Despite its variable diamond content, the northern Alberta kimberlite province provides an excellent opportunity to study some of the best-preserved, near-surface kimberlite bodies in the world. Information presented in Bulletin 65 enables explorers to evaluate diamondiferous kimberlite in northern Alberta and elsewhere in the

Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It also provides information regarding the bedrock geology of northern Alberta and enables the Alberta government to better manage this potential provincial resource. Lastly, Bulletin 65 provides a summary for all Albertans about the diamond potential of their province. If you would like a hard copy of this report, please contact Crystal Thomson at Crystal.Thomson@ercb.ca. Limited copies are available. You can also download the free PDF from http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/ abstracts/BUL_065.html. v

ERCB/AGS Geomodelling Workshop Draws Experts from Across North America

To take advantage of the recent advances that have been made in the collection of airborne geophysical data and its integration in three-dimensional geological models and hydrological studies, ERCB/AGS hosted a geological modelling workshop in Edmonton in January 2012. AGS staff was joined by scientists from Alberta Environment and Water, the Geological Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey and the Manitoba, Illinois and Minnesota geological surveys, as well as representatives from the private sector. The workshop focused on developing geological frameworks for assessing the near-surface hydrogeology of a number of regions in North America, including Alberta. Two major themes were examined. The first explored opportunities and challenges associated with the acquisition, calibration and application of airborne geophysical surveys. The second examined the importance of developing high-quality, threedimensional geological models and how these models can be best applied to hydrogeological studies. Collectively, the expertise shared at this workshop will benefit AGS staff members as they move forward on the Provincial Groundwater Inventory Program (http:// www.ags.gov.ab.ca/groundwater/groundwater-inventory. html), which will provide maps and reports to improve understanding of Albertas groundwater resources for public, industry, and regulatory use. Numerous provincial, state and federal agencies are using innovative approaches to produce more accurate geological models that are needed for groundwater resource management, said Dr. Nigel Atkinson, leader of the Quaternary Geology section. The willingness of nationally and internationally recognized scientists to come to Alberta to share their experience and knowledge speaks to an acknowledgement of the work that has already been completed in the province, as well as the widespread interest being generated by the ongoing work at ERCB/AGS. An Open File Report containing the abstracts of the work presented at this workshop will be available on the AGS website within the next few months. v

Rock Chips is published four times a year by the Alberta Geological Survey in the spring, summer, fall and winter. Individual articles, statistics and other information in this publication may be reproduced or quoted as long as the ERCB/AGS is credited. Past and present issues of Rock Chips may be viewed on the AGS website at www.ags.gov.ab.ca. AGS reports are available for download for free from our website at www.ags.gov.ab.ca. Energy Resources Conservation Board Alberta Geological Survey #402, 4999 - 98th Avenue Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6B 2X3 Tel: (780) 422-1927 Fax: (780) 422-1918 E-mail: AGS-Info@ercb.ca Clients in the Calgary area may view AGS publications at Energy Resources Conservation Board Library Suite 1000, 250 5 Street SW Calgary, Alberta T2P 0R4 Tel: (403) 297-8242

Story Contact Information

The following AGS staff members may be contacted for further information on their articles or citations. Bulletin 65, The Northern Alberta Kimberlite Province: The First 20 Years Nigel Atkinson (780) 427-9924 AGS Workshop Draws Experts from Across North America Nigel Atkinson (780) 427-9924 Committee of Provincial and Territorial...Tour Mark Fenton (780) 427-1764 Staff may also be contacted via e-mail by entering the authors first name.last name@ercb.ca Comments and suggestions for Rock Chips may be sent to Maryanne Protz at maryanne.protz@ercb.ca

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Committee of Provincial and Territorial Geologists Inaugural Medalist Lecture Tour or a Talk Around Alberta
Each year, the Committee of Provincial and Territorial Geologists (CPTG) awards the Provincial and Territorial Geologists Medal to recognize a geologists major contributions to geoscientific research. In 2010, the CPTG honoured our own Dr. Mark Fenton with this award. As part of this award, in 2011, the CPTG launched its inaugural lecture tour. This tour gives medalists the opportunity to present their work and network with staff at other geological surveys. As the current medalist, Mark was pleased to visit the British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, and Yukon surveys. Marks presentation, entitled Compilation of Surficial Geology Map of Alberta: Approach and Technology, comprised two parts. Part one focused on the projects status and results, the map legend, the problems with compiling 70 years worth of published maps, and the geo-sleuthing needed to locate older surficial map data. During each survey visit, Mark gained other geologists perspectives on operational environments and approaches for similar tasks. This knowledge sharing will assist everyone in considering new methods and technologies to improve efficiency. While visiting the Yukon survey, its outreach geologist requested Mark give two geochats to high school students. These chats informed students about geology as a career and the opportunities for summer employment. Mark said his opening statement that geology offers a chance to be paid to be outdoors always grabbed the students attention.

Other highlights of Marks tour included enjoying his most memorable meal at a West Indian restaurant in Whitehorse and seeing the coolest snow castle at the Snowking Winter Festival in Yellowknife (at a balmy -36C). The second part illustrated how surficial mapping has evolved at AGS during the last two years. It has moved away from the traditional multistep approach to a single-step process in which the geologist creates the final map within ArcGIS. This method uses various data types, including imagery from light detection and ranging (LiDAR), digital airphotos, Landsat 7, and SPOT-5. The geologists check their interpretations against field data using ruggedized computers and tablets for real-time field navigation, data recording, and heads-up stereo viewing.

Mark thanks all of the geologists who hosted him at each of the surveys he visited. v

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Recently Released Publications

Digital Data
DIG 2012-0001 Water Geochemical Data, Saline Aquifer Project, 2011 (tabular data, tab delimited format)

Maps Map 557 Surficial Geology of the Ray Lake Area

(NTS 84D/NW)

Map 558 Surficial Geology of the South Whitemud

Lake Area (NTS 84D/NE) Area (NTS 83K/NE)

Map 559 Surficial Geology of the Meekwap Lake

Open File Reports

OFR 2011-10 Geological Introduction to Lithium-Rich Formation Water with Emphasis on the Fox Creek Area of West-Central Alberta (NTS 83F and 83K) OFR 2012-01 Eocene Potassic Magmatism of the Milk River Area, Southern Alberta (NTS 72E) and Sweet Grass Hills, Northern Montana: Overview and New Data on Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology and Economic Potential

Come Visit Our Booth

GeoConvention 2012 May 14-16, 2012 TELUS Convention Centre Calgary

AGS Locations
Alberta Geological Survey is part of the ERCB Edmonton office. #402, 4999 - 98th Avenue Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6B 2X3 Tel: (780) 422-1927 www.ags.gov.ab.ca Please call in advance to meet with one of our staff members or to visit our library. Mineral Core Research Facility (MCRF) 4504 Eleniak Road Edmonton, Alberta For information on the MCRF or to book a visit, contact Rob Natyshen at (780) 466-1779 or Rob.Natyshen@ercb.ca

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