EXPLORING FOR DIAMONDS AND THE NORTH — Alberta crawling with

Alberta diamond exploration permit holders have been busy gathering till samples during this unseasonably wet summer in a rush to discover the province’s first kimberlite or lamproite formation.

Numerous field crews have focused their attention on soil samples, as well as ground and airborne magnetics.

Despite its long history of oil and gas mining, the province’s metallic minerals potential only now is unfolding. Many permit holders are starting at “square one,” geologically speaking, on some land holdings spanning the relative size of a small country. No one expects instant results. Land acquisition continues at a brisk pace. Last year, the province set a Canadian record for hectares acquired in one year — a total of 57 million hectares. Permits acquired to date in 1993 amount to an additional 8 million hectares. The province has now granted permits to 60% of land on which it owns mineral rights.

The Department of Energy received more than 10 times more permit applications last year than its previous best year because of new, more relaxed permit legislation. The cost of a permit is also much more affordable; it has attracted $1.5 million in revenue.

But the focus now is on finding something legitimizing the land acquisition rush.

“We’ll need to find something to keep exploration dollars in Alberta,” said Brian Hudson, manager of mineral agreements at Alberta’s energy department. A combination of favorable independent geological reports and permit-holding companies with a proven track record has focussed attention on activity in two specific areas. These are next to Jasper National Park and the province’s southeast corner, known as the Sweetgrass-North Battleford Arch. A consortium of Dia Met Minerals (TSE), Cameco (TSE) and Uranerz is among the largest exploration rights holders near Jasper National Park. This summer’s field-sampling program is a weeding out process. “We’re really trying to decide if it warrants anything more,” said Cameco spokesperson Rita Mirwald. “We want to pare it down and give up what’s not productive.”

The Sweetgrass-North Battleford Arch location has geologists investigating the province’s only known archean basement formation. Among the most aggressive permit holders there is New Claymore Resources (VSE). Geology conducted by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) under the terms of Alberta’s provincial-federal Minerals Development Agreement indicates that the province’s southeast corner has the greatest promise for diamonds so far. “There are some interesting anomalies there that could actually be kimberlite pipes,” said Roger Macqueen, senior manager, Institute of Sedimentary and Petroleum Geology for the GSC.

Three crews are frantically collecting samples on 5.5 million acres of New Claymore properties situated mainly in south and eastern Alberta, as well as in the Foothills. New Claymore President Tony Rich says they have discovered garnets and chrome dioxides on their southeast property.

“We’re fairly sure there are mantle-derived intrusives in the area, something we’ve suspected all along,” he said.

He feels frustrated, however, with how slowly local laboratories are providing test results. Lack of proper testing facilities is slowing exploration activity. Rich, a geologist and chemist, has opted to establish his own on-site testing facilities, and travels with magnetics equipment mounted to his truck should his crews discover a suitable target. “We may get a drill target this year,” he said.

The southeast formation sits between sites to the south and east where kimberlite pipes are known, and to the north and west where instances of lamproites have been reported. That has permit holders scratching their heads on what they should be looking for.

Takla Star Resources (ASE) also holds permits in southeastern Alberta, near the Cypress Hills. President Jim Stewart believes that companies should be looking for a “very big target,” but that it won’t be easy to find. Southeast Alberta geology has been paralleled with formations in Africa’s Botswana, which is the richest diamond producing country in the world. Alberta’s diamond exploration rush is providing a lot more jobs, said Don Currie, executive director of the Alberta Chamber of Resources (ACR). During the early-to-mid-1980s, many oil companies active in the province had metallic mineral branches. But when oil prices dropped, companies eliminated those branches. Mineral geologists employed by these companies, who suddenly found themselves unemployed, opened their own consulting firms. Despite the scarcity of metallic mineral exploration in Alberta, these professionals found work throughout western Canada AND THE NORTH — . Calgary then became a centre for mineral geologists.

Now, with much greater activity in their home province, these mineral geologists are finding work much closer to home. Greater activity has also translated into more jobs for students, Currie added.

ACR has witnessed a membership boost primarily from junior companies and even individuals because of the permit rush.

— The author is a freelance writer who resides in St. Albert, Alta.