Field Trip 02

Kimberlites From Across Canada

Leaders: Kimberley Webb (SRK Consulting) and Chris Hrkac (Aurora Geosciences)

Dates: Saturday 13 July – Tuesday 16 July 2024.

Duration: 2.5 days (two half-days in Yellowknife followed by 1.5 days in Calgary).

Location: Starts in Yellowknife and ends in Calgary.

Registration: The registration fee is $950 (CAD) and includes ground transport in Yellowknife and Calgary (to and from the hotels and core displays), accommodation in Calgary (2 nights: Sunday 14 and Monday 15 July), and lunches (Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 July) in Calgary. Accommodation in Yellowknife (Saturday 13 July) and transport from Yellowknife to Calgary (Sunday 14 July) are not included in the organisation or cost of the trip. If the field trip is full at the time of registration, there will be an option to be added to a waiting list and you will be informed should spaces become available. See Field Trip Overview, Important Dates and Registration for more details.

Transport: Ground transport in Yellowknife and Calgary to and from the hotels and core facilities is included in the field trip registration. Participants will need to make their own travel plans from Yellowknife to Calgary – these flights are not included in the registration. Delegates MUST make their own air travel arrangements from Yellowknife to Calgary for the second portion of the trip after the morning activities on Sunday 14 July.   Flight options may be limited and delegates are asked to book these flights well in advance. Please note that Sunday 14 July is the last day of the Calgary Stampede so the city and the airport will be busy, and we recommend to book your travel early.

Accommodation: Two nights accommodation (Sunday 14 and Monday 15 July) in Calgary at the Airport Marriott Hotel are included in the field trip registration. Accommodation in Yellowknife (Saturday 13 July) is not included and to be organised by delegate. The 12 IKC preferred room rates at the three hotels are available for the dates required to participate in FT02 so bookings for the main conference can be extended. See Accommodation Page for more details.

PPE: Delegates are required to supply and wear their own steel-toed shoes/boots for the visit to the De Beers core facility in Calgary.

Description: Participants will examine drillcore from a geographically and geologically diverse range of kimberlite occurrences across Canada. This trip provides a unique opportunity to see drillcore from Canadian kimberlites encompassing a range of ages, textural varieties, and emplacement settings. In addition to the drillcore, for selected occurrences, high resolution core photos and polished core slabs will also be available for examination. Pre-prepared samples of some kimberlites may be made available.

The trip begins after the conference in Yellowknife where participants will see drillcore from a variety of Lac de Gras and northern Slave kimberlites, courtesy of the Northwest Territories Geological Survey (NTGS) and Kennady Diamonds Inc. (Mountain Province Diamonds). Core from other parts of Canada will also be available in Yellowknife, including the Renard Mine in Quebec, courtesy of Stornoway Diamond Corporation, as well as kimberlite from the Fort à la Corne diamond project. Participants will then travel to Calgary where core from De Beers’ Canadian diamond mines and advanced projects will be examined. Participants will also see diamonds from De Beers’ Canadian mines, including Victor Mine, Gahcho Kué Mine, and Snap Lake Mine.

In Yellowknife, drillcore from diamond mines will include the Panda, Koala, Leslie and Misery kimberlites from Ekati Mine, the A21 and A154 kimberlites from Diavik Mine, Jericho Mine, and Renard Mine, Quebec. Core from exploration projects will include the Kelvin and Faraday kimberlites, DO-27, Drybones Bay, Contwoyto, Mud Lake, Ranch Lake, Dharma, Nicolas Bay, Monument, Big Blue, the recently discovered Anchor and Sequoia kimberlites, as well as the Fort à la Corne Project in Saskatchewan.

In Calgary at the De Beers core facility, participants will see core from the Gahcho Kuè Mine (Hearne, 5034, Tuzo kimberlites) and Snap Lake Mine in the Northwest Territories, the CH06 and CH07 kimberlites at Chidliak on Baffin Island in Nunavut, and from the Victor Mine and Tango Extension kimberlite in Ontario.

The variety of occurrences on display will showcase the considerable diversity of kimberlite textural-genetic varieties including intrusive and extrusive coherent kimberlite, pyroclastic and resedimented volcaniclastic kimberlite from a spectrum of emplacement settings across Canada – a testament to the past 30 years of diamond exploration, discovery and mining.