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The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton, the ancient geologic core of the North American continent. Glaciation has left the area with only a thin layer of soil, through which exposures of igneous bedrock resulting from its long volcanic history are frequently visible. As a deep, common, joined bedrock region in eastern and central Canada, the Shield stretches north from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean, covering over half of Canada and most of Greenland; it also extends south into the northern reaches of the United States.
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, but diamond is metastable and converts to it at a negligible rate under those conditions. Diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, properties that are used in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools. They are also the reason that diamond anvil cells can subject materials to pressures found deep in the Earth.
Kimberlite is an igneous rock and a rare variant of peridotite. It is most commonly known to be the main host matrix for diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an 83.5-carat (16.70 g) diamond called the Star of South Africa in 1869 spawned a diamond rush and the digging of the open-pit mine called the Big Hole. Previously, the term kimberlite has been applied to olivine lamproites as Kimberlite II, however this has been in error.
The Ekati Diamond Mine ("Ekati") is Canada's first surface and underground diamond mine. It is located 310 km (190 mi) north-east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and about 200 km (120 mi) south of the Arctic Circle, near Lac de Gras. Until 2014 Ekati was a joint venture between Dominion Diamond Mines (80%), and the two geologists who discovered kimberlite pipes north of Lac de Gras, Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson each holding a 10% stake in the mine, until Fipke sold his share to Dominion.
The Diavik Diamond Mine is a diamond mine in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, about 300 km (190 mi) northeast of Yellowknife.
The Williamson Diamond Mine is a diamond mine 23 kilometres (14 mi) northeast of Shinyanga in Tanzania; it became well known as the first significant diamond mine outside of South Africa. The kimberlite pipe was found in March 1940 and the mine established by John Williamson, a Canadian geologist, and has been continuous operation since then, making it one of the oldest continuously operating diamond mines in the world. Over its lifetime it has produced over 19 million carats (3,800 kg) of diamonds. A 2020 report by The Guardian said that high-quality pink diamonds from the mine could value up to $700,000 a carat.
The Attawapiskat First Nation is an isolated First Nation located in Kenora District in northern Ontario, Canada, at the mouth of the Attawapiskat River on James Bay. The traditional territory of the Attawapiskat First Nation extends beyond their reserve up the coast to Hudson Bay and hundreds of kilometres inland along river tributaries. The community is connected to other towns along the shore of James Bay by the seasonal ice road/winter road constructed each December, linking it to the towns of Kashechewan First Nation, Fort Albany, and Moosonee Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, and Kashechewan operate and manage the James Bay Winter Road through the jointly owned Kimesskanemenow Corporation, named after the Cree word for "our road" -kimesskanemenow. Attawapiskat is the most remote northerly link on the 310 km (190 mi) road to Moosonee. They control the reserves at Attawapiskat 91 and Attawapiskat 91A.
Canadian diamonds are diamonds which have been mined in any one of the Provinces and territories of Canada. Diamond-rich areas weren't commercially extracted in Canada until the early 1990s. For the first 60 years of the 20th century, diamonds originated from kimberlite pipes and alluvial deposits in places such as Africa and some from South America. Later, diamond discoveries were made in the Soviet Union. Since the 1990s, major diamond discoveries were made and mining operations began. Canadian diamonds play a large role in the world market of diamonds.
The Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine is located on the Canadian tundra in the Northwest Territories. It is situated at Kennady Lake, in the Akaitcho Treaty 8 Territory claim block, which is 85 km (53 mi) southeast of the Snap Lake Diamond Mine and approximately 280 km (170 mi) east northeast of Yellowknife. The site is served by Gahcho Kue Aerodrome, which has both an ice runway in winter and a year-round gravel runway, and a spur of the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road from Lupin Mine. the main camp is at 63°26′05″N109°12′02″W, north of the ice strip, with a smaller site at 63°25′48″N109°12′00″W, south of the runway.
Volcanic activity is a major part of the geology of Canada and is characterized by many types of volcanic landform, including lava flows, volcanic plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, submarine volcanoes, calderas, diatremes, and maars, along with less common volcanic forms such as tuyas and subglacial mounds.
The Lake Timiskaming kimberlite field is Canada's southernmost kimberlite field, located in Northeastern Ontario and western Quebec, Canada. It is within the Lake Timiskaming Structural Zone which contains over 50 kimberlite pipes, several of which are diamondiferous. The Lake Timiskaming kimberlite field formed about 147 million years ago when the North American Plate moved westward over the long-lived New England hotspot, also referred to as the Great Meteor hotspot.
The Buffalo Head Hills kimberlite field is a group of kimberlitic volcanic pipes or diatremes in north-central Alberta, Canada. As of 2011, 41 kimberlite pipes, of which 28 are diamondiferous, had been identified in the field. They were emplaced during Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene time.
The Birch Mountains kimberlite field is a cluster of kimberlitic volcanic pipes or diatremes in north-central Alberta, Canada that were emplaced during a period of kimberlitic volcanism in the Late Cretaceous epoch. As of 2011, 8 diatremes had been discovered in the field, and diamonds and microdiamononds had been recovered during sampling programs.
The Attawapiskat River is a river in Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada, that flows east from Attawapiskat Lake to James Bay. It is the third largest river entirely in Ontario.
The Lac de Gras kimberlite field is a group of Late Cretaceous to Eocene age diatremes in the Northwest Territories, Canada.
The Kirkland Lake kimberlite field is a 165 to 152 million year old kimberlite field in the Kirkland Lake area of northeastern Ontario, Canada.
The Churchill kimberlite field is a kimberlite field near Hudson Bay in Nunavut, Canada. It was formed during three magmatic events between 225 and 170 million years ago. The proposed source of volcanism has been the New England and Cape Verde hotspots.
The volcanism of Eastern Canada includes the hundreds of volcanic areas and extensive lava formations in Eastern Canada. The region's different volcano and lava types originate from different tectonic settings and types of volcanic eruptions, ranging from passive lava eruptions to violent explosive eruptions. Eastern Canada has very large volumes of magmatic rock called large igneous provinces. They are represented by deep-level plumbing systems consisting of giant dike swarms, sill provinces and layered intrusions. The most capable large igneous provinces in Eastern Canada are Archean age greenstone belts containing a rare volcanic rock called komatiite.
The Victor Mine was the first Canadian diamond mine located in Ontario, and De Beers' second diamond mine in Canada. It is located in the Northern Ontario Ring of Fire, in the James Bay Lowlands 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Attawapiskat in the remote northern part of the province. In June 2005, the Attawapiskat First Nation voted in favour (85.5%) of ratifying the Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA). Construction of the mine began in February 2006 which created 3200 positions; mining and operations will create around 400 permanent positions. The Victor Mine is an open-pit mine, with a processing plant, workshops, and an airstrip located on site. By 2013–2014 royalties collected from De Beers Victor Mine amounted to $226. At that time De Beers was continuing to pay off its "$1 billion investment to build the mine and from now until it closes, the company expects to pay tens of millions of dollars in royalties." The mine completed mining and processing in 2019 and has moved to a shut-down phase including demolition of infrastructure and rehabilitation of the site.
Hugo T. Dummett (1940–2002) was a South African mineral-exploration geologist who is best known for his role in the discovery of the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Barren Lands of Canada's Northwest Territories. Dummett has been described as "the brains, the ideas and the energy" behind the discovery of Ekati, which led to the creation of a new Canadian diamond-mining industry.
References
- ↑ Davis, WJ; Miller, AR (2001). "A Late Triassic Rb-Sr phlogopite isochron age for a kimberlite dyke from the Rankin Inlet area, Nunavut, Current Research 2001-F3" (PDF). Radiogenic age and isotopic studies - Report 14. Geological Survey of Canada . Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ↑ Ontario Mining Association (2008-08-01). "Ontario's First Diamond Mine Officially Opened by De Beers Near Attawapiskat". Republic of Mining. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ↑ "Toporama - Topographic Maps - Sheet 43B". Atlas of Canada . Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ↑ "Victor Mine: Factsheet". De Beers Canada. 2009-04-17. Archived from the original on 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
52°49′30″N83°53′30″W / 52.82500°N 83.89167°W
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