GSC releases Prairie kimberlite data

Prairie Kimberlite Study — Soil and Till Geochemistry and Mineralogy, Low-density Orientation Survey Traverses, Winnipeg-Calgary-Edmonton-Winnipeg, 1991, Geological Survey of Canada Open File 2685, by R.G. Garrett and L.H. Thorleifson. Ottawa. One 1.44 MB diskette (compressed ASCII files). $15.

This report documents a till- and soil-sampling program carried out in 1991 as a prelude to a larger, Prairie-wide geochemical survey.

Fifty till and more than 100 soil samples were collected at 40-50-km intervals along transects from south of Winnipeg to Calgary, north to Edmonton and back to Winnipeg. Peridotitic and eclogitic garnets were recovered, together with kimberlitic chrome diopsides, chromites and ilmenites.

In addition to data files, several text files provide background information on the survey and location sites where indicator minerals were discovered.