D. Southern Projects under the Canada-Saskatchewan Partnership Agreement on Mineral Development

Transcription

1 D. Southern Projects under the Canada-Saskatchewan Partnership Agreement on Mineral Development Saskatchewan Geological survey 185

2 186 Summary of Investigations 1993

3 Review of Industrial Minerals Investigations P. Guliov and M.R. Gent Guliov, P. and Gent, M.A. (1993): Review of industrial minerals investigations ; in Summary of Investigations 1993, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask. Energy Mines, Misc. Rep Investigations relating to industrial minerals are conducted largely, but not exclusively, in the Phanerozoic sedimentary basin. Projects are initiated in order to: 1. upgrade old investigations as significant new data and technology become available, 2. stimulate and promote interest in exploration and development of industrial minerals, and 3. maintain high levels of interest by providing regional geological and geophysical data and interpretations. The following projects were undertaken during fiscal year as part of the Canada-Saskatchewan Partnership Agreement on Mineral Development (PAMD): 1. Diamond Indicator Mineral Studies, 2. Clay Studies, 3. Industrial Minerals Sampling, 4. Southern Gravity Data Compilation and Digitization, 5. Participation in a Southern Aeromagnetic Survey, and 6. Digitization of the Industrial Minerals Files. 1. Diamond Indicator Mineral Studies This project is a continuation of diamond-related studies which commenced in During the summer of 1993, glacioftuvial gravels and sands were sampled in the following areas: 1. by canoe along the Churchill River between Patuanak and the Key Lake road; 2. by road from Southend to Wollaston Lake, from Pinehouse to Key Lake, and from Buffalo Narrows to Cluff Lake; and 3. by air from the region between Pinehouse and Turner Lake. A total of 51 samples were collected of which 34 have been processed for kimber1ite and lamproite indicator minerals. Representative portions of the indicator mineral suites have been microprobed and the data subjected to statistical analysis. The data are combined with similar data collected from other areas of the province in previous years (Swanson and Gent, 1992) in a comprehensive open file report (Swanson and Gent, 1993) to be released during or shortly after the Geological Survey Open House. 2. Clay Studies Work on this project commenced during (Guliov and Gent, 1991) and was interrupted in by funding cuts. As a result, the original objectives required modification in to fit the available funds. Saskatchewan is the principal industrial clay region of Canada. Accessible resources are varied and include: 1. kaolin suitable for filler applications and related kaolinitic ceramic clays such as earthenware clay, stoneware clay, fire clay, and ball clay; 2. sodium- and calcium-type bentonites; and 3. bloating clays suitable for lightweight aggregate production. Despite this impressive assortment of resources, the industry has never approached its full apparent potential. Instead, it has dwindled in the past few years with the closure of a refractory clay plant and a structural products plant. Currently, the primary clay industry consists of a brick plant, a bentonite plant, and some production of expanded clay aggregate. The principal bedrock clay resources occur in the southernmost regions of the province within the Cretaceous Whitemud and Bearpaw formations and the Paleocene Aavenscrag Formation. Quaternary glacial-lacustrine clays in many areas of the province may also be considered as a resource in so far as they are suitable for expanded aggregate production. However, the greatest industrial potential lies with the bedrock clays. They are the source of kaolin and bentonite for which there is a wide variety of applications and possible spin off industries. The last major published work on clay resources of Saskatchewan was by Worcester (1950). Over the past four decades the clay database has grown considerably and now includes numerous published and unpublished (1) Projects were funded in 1993 under the Canada-Saskatchewan Partnership ~reement on Mineral Development Saskatchewan Geological Survey 187

4 documents including assessment files and government funded research projects. The clay studies project attempts to synthesize this information into a single report and add to the data base where possible. It is anticipated that such a report will provide the updated background necessary to attract industrial interests. Work under way in the current fiscal year includes: 1. digitizing of clay analytical data, 2. compilation of preliminary clay resource maps, 3. field checking of deposits, 4. compilation of a historical review of the development of the clay industry in Saskatchewan, 5. sampling and characterization of ball clays, and 6. conducting slip casting and firing trials using Saskatchewan ball clays and kaolin. Seven bulk samples of ball clay were collected from wellexposed Whitemud Formation in the Willows-Readlyn, Gollier Creek, and Flintoft areas. The samples were taken from a thick sequence of plastic clays overlying the basal kaolinized sandy beds which are characteristic of the Whitemud in southern Saskatchewan. These samples, together with a sample of kaolin extracted from the lower sandy beds of the Gollier Creek area and processed in a pilot plant in about 1989, were shipped to ECC International in Cornwall, U.K. for characterization and slip casting trials. The clays are good candidates for the production of sanitary ware, other slip cast products, whiteware, and industrial porcelain. Results of the slip casting trials are expected by December The final project report is expected to be completed in Industrial Minerals Sampling Investigations of silica sand resources under the PAMD commenced in and continued during The work culminated during with the release of Open File Report 93-3 "Preliminary Investigations of Siiica Sand Resources of Saskatchewan" (Gent, 1993). In conjunction with this project, Saskatchewan Energy and Mines had also arranged for characterization and processing tests on the three major silica sand deposits (Nipekamew River, Red Deer River, and Winnipeg Formation) through the Federal side of the PAMD (Mining and Processing Technology Sector). The objective was to determine the extent to which the sand resources could be applied in 'high-tech', high value-added commodities. The results were presented in three reports by IMO Laboratories Ltd. (1992a, b, c) in 1993: 1. Beneficiation of Silica Sands: Preliminary processing and Material Characterization of Eight Natural Silica Sand Samples (IMO Laboratories Ltd., 1992a), 2. Beneficiation of Silica Sands: Detailed Processing Tests on Composited Samples from Four Silica Sand Deposits in the Province of Saskatchewan and their Potential in "High Tech" and other Industrial Applications for Silica Sand (IMO Laboratories Ltd., 1992b), and 3. Overview of "High Tech" Markets for Saskatchewan Silica Sand (IMO Laboratories Ltd., 1992c). Two samples of kaolinized sands were collected from the Whitemud Formation in the Willows-Readlyn area in the previous fiscal year and submitted to IMO Laboratories for characterization tests. These tests were completed in the current fiscal year and the results were presented in IMO Report 93-16, "Evaluation of two Samples of Kaolinized Sand From the Readlyn Deposit-Saskatchewan (IMO Laboratories, 1993). The sandy beds of the Whitemud Formation in this deposit differ substantially from those in the Gollier Creek area and appear to be atypical. The kaolin fraction ranges from 47.8 to 79.2 percent. Kaolin particle sizes in the two samples respectively are 84 and 94 percent minus 10 microns and 64 and 68 percent minus 2 microns. In addition to particle size distribution, several other tests were conducted: moisture content, magnetic separation, size separation, X-ray diffraction analyses, viscosity, and fired colour. Kaolin from the Gollier Creek deposit is considerably coarser grained than that of the Willows-Readlyn samples. The former is suitable for upgrading to paper filler grades, whereas the latter are very fine grained and extremely plastic. In fact, the latter are considered to be ball clays worthy of consideration for high grade ceramic applications such as whiteware. 4. Southern Gravity Data Compilation and Digitization This project commenced in 1990 and is expected to continue beyond the duration of the current PAMD. Gravity data are being digitized, leveled, and corrected to the WGS 84 ellipsoidal model. The data consist of individual gravity station locations by latitude and longitude, elevation, and Bouguer value. All station locations are being digitized relative to the Central Survey and Mapping Cadastral co-ordinates. All elevation corrections have been made using a density factor of 2.67 to maintain consistency with data at the Geological Survey of Canada and institutions in the United States. A density factor of 2.1 is preferred as it minimizes false highfrequency anomalies and the effects of topography. The final data format will include a real elevation correction factor based on formation densities and depths from the SEM well file. Data are released as they become available. Currently the completed file containing about 140,000 data points is available only in comma delimited ASCII format. The file represents about one third of the current data base. The data base, however, is growing as additional old data are acquired from industry. As digitizing and corrections for full 1: NTS sheets are completed, the data will eventually be available as grid files and contour maps. The full data set is one of the largest in Canada and, on completion, is ex- 188 Summary of Investigations 1993

5 pected to be of great interest and utility in mineral and petroleum exploration. 5. Participation in the Southern Aeromag netic Survey Due to funding limitations SEM has played a relatively small role in the aeromagnetic survey project during in conjunction with the Geological Survey of Canada and industry. 6. Digitization of the Industrial Minerals Files The Saskatchewan Geological Survey industrial mineral files represents a large and highly varied data base. Preliminary system planning and design and testing of entry forms tor several data sets were conducted in In 1993, investigations were conducted in the incorporation of the data base and its varied subsets into a GfS system. To this end, the FoxPro and Quickmap software are currently being investigated. 7. References Gent, M.A. (1993): Preliminary investigations of silica sand resources of Saskatchewan; Sask. Energy Mines, Open File Rep. 93-3, 50p. Guliov, P. and Gent, M.A. (1991): Review of industrial minerals investigations : in Summary of Investigations 1991, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask. Energy Mines, Misc. Rep. 91-4, p IMD Laboratories Ltd. (1992a): Preliminary processing and material characterization of eight (8) natural silica sand samples, Phase I, Report on study conducted under Canada Saskatchewan Partnership Agreement on Mineral Development, Federal DSS Contract No /01-SQ, 24p. (1992b): Detailed processing tests on composited samples from four silica sand deposits in the Province of Saskatchewan and their potential in "high tech' and other industrial applications for silica sand, Phase II, Report on study conducted under Canada-Saskatchewan Partnership Agreement on Mineral Development, Federal DSS Contract No /01-SQ, 47p. (1992c): Overview of "high tech" markets for Saskatchewan silica sand, Phase I, Report on study conducted under Canada-Saskatchewan Partnership Agreement on Mineral Development, Federal DSS Contract No /01-SQ, 22p. (1993): Evaluation of two samples of kaolinized sand from the Readlyn deposit-saskatchewan; Rep , 16p. Swanson, F.J. and Gent, M.A. (1992): Preliminary results of reconnaissance sampling for diamond indicator minerals; in Summary of Investigations 1992, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask. Energy Mines, Misc. Rep 92-4, p (1993): Results of reconnaissance sampling for kimberlite and lamproite indicator minerals, Saskatchewan; Sask. Energy Mines, Open File Rep. 93-4, In press. Worcester, W.G. (1950): Clay resources of Saskatchewan; Sask. Dep. Mineral. Resour., Rep. 7, 198p. Saskatchewan Geological Survey 189