The Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield encompasses about eight million km2 in Canada and forms the core of the North American craton. Most of this region is covered in bogs and boreal forest that have developed following the last glaciation. The Shield has the oldest dated rocks on Earth 4.56 billion years, and a complex history of plate collisions, multiple episodes of mountain building and subsequent erosion. This long geological legacy has provided a vast mineral wealth that is expressed in nickel and copper sulphide deposits, iron and gold and other more exotic minerals. Several field trips will visit this area; some are outlined below.
Uranium Deposits of Northern Saskatchewan
Until recently Canada was the world’s largest producer of uranium and still produces about one-fifth of world supply. The principal producing areas are several mines in northern Saskatchewan. Here participants will be able to review the geological settings of the deposits and depending on mine status, examine deposits in open pit or underground settings.
Excursions will start and end in Saskatoon.
Duration: 4 days.
Sudbury Impact Site and Nickel Deposits
The Sudbury Basin is one of the world’s largest nickel/ copper/ platinum sulphide deposit and is associated with the world’s second largest impact crater. The townsite is dominated by the 380 m high Sudbury Superstack at Copper Cliff. Extensive clean-air initiatives by the mine have been very successful. Sudbury has been transformed into a green city with vastly-improved air quality. Participants will have the opportunity to examine Sudbury’s geological setting and the pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite ores from the region. Remnants of the classical shatter cones from the 1.85 Ga impact can be seen. There will be visits to one or more of the large mines in the area, most of which are around the rim of the impact site. The cumulative value of metals extracted from this region is estimated at over $100 billion. Sudbury is also the headquarters of the Ontario Geological Survey and participants will visit the facility. The field trip will start and end at Sudbury and local transportation will be by bus.
Duration: 5 days.
Image credit: J St James
Thompson Ni/Cu Sulphide Mining
The Vale (formerly INCO) nickel and copper mines at Thompson, Manitoba can be visited on an excursion from Winnipeg or combined in a more regional tour that moves from Voisey’s Bay in Labrador, through Sudbury, Ontario, to Thompson, Manitoba. Participants will have the opportunity to review the geological setting of the mine within the greenstone belt. Transportation will be by commercial flights to and from Winnipeg and by bus at Thompson.
Duration: 3 days.
Image credit: Manitoba Geological Survey
The Abitibi Greenstone Belt
Timmins – Val-d’Or region will be the location of several cross-border Quebec/Ontario excursions to examine this historic gold/ zinc/ copper/ silver region from which (at today’s prices) about 225 billion dollars worth of gold has been extracted since 1900. The greenstone belt has also produced over ~80 million tonnes of zinc, ~3.5 million tonnes of copper, and 12,500 tonnes of silver, most of which was mined in and around Timmins, Ontario. The excursion will start and end at Montreal. Transport in the region will be by bus.
Duration: 5 days.
Image credit: E van Hees
Lac du Bonnet Nuclear Storage Test Facility
In the south of Manitoba, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd established a monitoring facility to replicate potential conditions for underground nuclear “waste” storage within the Late Archean (2.6 Ga) Lac de Bonnet Batholith. Substantial work has been conducted on the geology, mineralogy and hydrology of this facility and a field trip is proposed to examine these relationships. The field trip will start and end in Winnipeg and will be combined with other day trips to nearby sites of geological interest. The excursion will start and end in Winnipeg.
Duration: 3 days.
The Manicouagan Impact Crater
This large impact site is clearly visible from space and is believed to have been caused by the impact of a 5km diameter asteroid dated at 215.5 million years ago. This and several other impact sites in Quebec are proposed for visiting.
Duration: 5 or 6 days (weather dependent).
Image credit: Google Earth (imagery from 10/04/2013)
Geology of the North Shore of Lake Superior from Thunder Bay
Canada is home to approximately 20% of the world’s fresh water. Lake Superior, one of the five “great lakes”, exemplifies the starkly beautiful landscape of northern Ontario. This excursion will look at the general Shield geology and scenery along the North Shore of Lake Superior, stopping at different outcrops such as Ouimet Canyon, the Amethyst deposits near Thunder Bay, the “Sleeping Giant” and Silver Islet and the Hemlo Gold Mine area as well as other areas of interest. The field trip will start and end at Thunder Bay and local transport will be by bus.
Duration: 5 days.
Image credit: J. Hodges
Labrador Grenville Province Transect
This excursion would start in Red Bay, Labrador, follow a transect along the Trans-Labrador highway and conclude in Quebec City. Participants will have the opportunity to review the geology across the Grenville Province and the iron ore mines of the Labrador Trough.
Duration: 7 days.
Image credit: Newfoundland and Labrador