Glaciation and Resource Exploration in Canada

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Glaciation and Resource Exploration in Canada

• Group 9 Members Maria Lucchese
• Alexandra Pires
• Tripti Saha
• Saroj Singh

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Outline

• Introduction
• Diamond Mines
• Gold Mines
• Future Prospects of Diamond Mines
• Gold Mines
• Conclusion

http//www.welcometoalaska.com/flight.htm
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Introduction

• Glaciers determine placement of resources such as
  diamonds and gold
• Glaciations help determine where resources have
  been deposited, eroded and transported
• Glacier tills contain indicator minerals which
  are used to identify source areas (diamond and
  gold mines)

www.vrac.iastate.edu
www.resourcescommittee.house.gov
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Diamond Mines in the Northwestern Territories

• Kimberlite is an indicator mineral
• of diamonds
• Advancing glaciers erode and
• re-distribute the components of the
• bedrock that they pass over
• If tracers of kimberlite are found in the
  re-distributed glacial material, their bedrock
  source must lie in the up-ice direction,
  therefore indicating location of diamonds

www.mineralminers.com
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Diamond Mines in the Northwestern Territories

• Deposits of coarse sands and gravels in
  subglacial tunnels form Eskers
• Eskers can be used as exploration tools, as
  kimberlites can be associated with eskers

http//atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/economic/diam
ondexploration
Esker Locations
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The Ekati Diamond Mines
Ekati mines in the Lac de Gras area,
Northwestern Territories
http//atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/economic/diam
ondexploration
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Gold Mines

• Glaciation periods such as the Late Wisconsin
  glaciation have affected gold deposits through
  erosional and depositional reworking of sediments
• For example, high-energy glaciofluvial
  environments

www.gold-nuggets.org/.../ raw-nugget8-big.jpg
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Gold Mines
Location of Otter Creek Gold Mine, Quaternary
International 82 (2001) 3350
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Future Prospects of Diamond Mines

• The indicator minerals are difficult to trace
  because of the complicated ice flow routes
• Development time of new techniques and
  technologies are constraining
• (for example heavy mineral
• processing, petrology, geophysics)

http//www.australianminesatlas.gov.au
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Future Prospects of Diamond mines

• Assembling team with expertise in specific areas
  is difficult and time consuming to sample the
  terrain
• Financial constraints restrict exploration
• Legal issues concerning agreements
• with all stakeholders and
• environmental issues

www.millenniumdiamond. com/ rings/3spov.gif
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Future Prospects of Gold Mines

• Importance of understanding glacial history to
  identify, explore and evaluate mine deposits
• Locating new sites difficult due to discontinuous
  deposition by subglacial meltwater
• Exploitation of deposits is constrained by depth
  of erosion and thickness of overburden
• Presently, there are more than 100
• known undeveloped deposits in BC
• that contain gold resources

www.home.earthlink.net/ leeliming/DSC00063.JPG
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Conclusion

• Glaciers affect the location and preservation of
  resources
• Diamonds and Gold are example of such resources
• Knowledge of glacial movement and ice flow aid in
  resource exploration
• Further glacial research will contribute to
  potential identification of resource sites

http//euclid.dne.wvfibernet.net/jvg/Env105/lectu
re20notes/glaciers.html
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Questions or Comments?
Thank you for your time!