www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Introduction to
Manitoba Geology
A journey through
geological time
Presentation to:
Mining Matters 2010
By: Jim Bamburak
I d t i l Minerals
Industrial
Mi
l
Geologist
Prepared by: Ric Syme
Director
Manitoba Geological Survey
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Introduction to
Manitoba Geology
A journey through
geological time
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
50 staff; 26 geologists
Manitoba Geological Survey
Visit us on the Internet (www.manitoba.ca/minerals)
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
50 staff; 26 geologists
Mapping in northern Manitoba
Mapping in southern Manitoba
Manitoba Geological Survey
1. Regional and detailed geological
investigations to support mineral
and
dh
hydrocarbon
d
b exploration
l ti iin
the province
2 Geoscience information for
2.
decision-making (e.g., land use
planning,
p
g, p
protected areas))
3. Outreach and education
Working with First Nations
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Geology of North America
US Geological Survey
PRECAMBRIAN
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
The third dimension
Phanerozoic
Precambrian
Usually, when we go
down through the
Earth's rock layers we
are going back in time
time.
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Manitoba geology
Churchill
S
#
Precambrian
Precambrian Shield
Shield
basins
Sedimentary
Sedimentary basins
Lynn Lake
S
#
S
#
Leaff Rapids
p
Precambrian Shield
BThompson
S
#
S
#
Sherridon
Snow Lake
BFlin Flon
S
#
S
#
S
#
• Crystalline rocks >1.5 billion years old
• host of Manitoba’s metallic mineral
deposits
Wabowden
Phanerozoic
Sedimentary
Sedimentary basins
basins
Bissett
S
#
Winnipeg S#
• Sedimentary basins <500 million years
old
• host of Manitoba’s petroleum
resources, aggregate and industrial
minerals
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Mineral production in Manitoba
Churchill
S
#
Precambrian
Precambrian Shield
Shield
basins
Sedimentary
Sedimentary basins
Lynn Lake
S
#
S
#
Leaff Rapids
p
BThompson
S
#
S
#
Sherridon
Snow Lake
BFlin Flon
S
#
S
#
S
#
Copper/Zinc
pp
((HudBayy Minerals Inc.))
Callinan and 777 mines
Trout Lake Mine
Wabowden
Mine closed
Sedimentary
Sedimentary basins
basins
Nickel/Cobalt (Vale, Crowflight)
Thompson
p
Mine
Birchtree Mine
Bucko Mine
24% off Canadian
C
di Ni production
d ti
16% of Canadian Co production
Bissett
S
#
10% of Canadian Cu production
11% of Canadian Zn production
Tantalum/Cesium (Tantalum Mining Corp
Corp. of
Canada Ltd.)
Tanco Mine
Gold (San Gold Corporation)
Winnipeg S#
Rice Lake Gold Mine
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Manitoba
g geological
g
g
time
through
Lynn Lake
Leaf Rapids
Thom pson
Fl in Flo n
Snow L ake
Formation of the Earth
ke
La
eg
nip
Win
Lak e
Win nipegos is
Present day
Bisse tt
1
in
Ass
L ake
Ma nitoba
iboi
Riv
er
ne
Winnipeg
Re
d
Riv er
Hadean
4500
4000
2
3
Archean
PRECAMBRIAN Proterozoic
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
4
Phanerozoic
1000
500
All of human history
• 4,600,000,000 years of earth history
• 4 periods or Eons
• Manitoba geology records significant portions of this
extensive history
• Each Eon has a distinct mineral endowment
Ma = million y
years ((ago)
g )
1000 million years = 1 billion years
(e.g., 1500 Ma = 1.5 billion)
0
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Zircons
are tiny mineral
crystals that occur in many
rocks Zircon contains trace
rocks.
amounts of uranium and
thorium and can be dated
by a variety of analytical
Precambrian Time
techniques.
Assean Lake
Greywacke
3.9 billion year old zircons
Hadean Eon:
Formation of Earth
4600 – 3800 Ma
• The Earth formed as a solid
planet
• Earth’s interior organized into
layers
• Early crust formed but was
largely recycled or destroyed
b rapid
by
id convection
ti and
d
numerous meteorite impacts
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Archean Eon:
Formation of Crust
3800 – 2500 Ma
Precambrian Time
• Earth's
a t s pe
permanent
a e t ccrust
ust was
as
formed
g continents formed
• First large
• Earliest life forms began
p
• The oceans and atmosphere
resulted from volcanic out-gassing
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Archean Eon
in Manitoba
• Very early crust formed (3500 Ma). Locally
contains indications of very old rocks (3900 Ma)
Precambrian Time
Seal River
Remnants of
early crust
Granite gneiss
3.5 billion years old
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Archean pillow lava, Cross Lake
Modern pillow lava on the
sea floor
Archean Eon
in Manitoba
Formation of pillow lava
• Widespread volcanism (3000-2720 Ma)
“Greenstone
belts” –
Greenstone belts
volcanic rocks
Volcanic breccia, Knee Lake
NOAA, courtesy of Richard Pyle at Lava Video Productions
Volcanic eruption under the sea
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Bissett
Archean Eon
in Manitoba
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Au
Gold and quartz vein in metamorphic rock
San Antonio Mine
Mine, Bissett
On loan from the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto,
Canada, M38683
© AMNH / Craig Chesek
• Laurentian orogeny
(mountain building) (27302700 M
Ma))
• Granite plutonism and
assembly of a large Archean
continent (Superior “craton”)
g g
gold deposits
p
• Manyy large
formed (e.g., Rice Lake
mine in Bissett)
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Ediacaran Fauna (600-545 Ma)
Proterozoic Eon:
g
Modern Earth Processes Begin
2500 – 542 Ma
National Museum of Natural History
Subduction and
island arc
volcanoes
• Modern plate tectonics started
• Large
g mountain chains formed as
the Archean continents collided
• Photosynthesis lead to
oxygenated atmosphere around
2200 Ma
• Soft-bodied
Soft bodied life forms proliferated
(no skeletons)
http://slohs.slcusd.org/pages/teachers/rhamley/B
iology/Continental%20Drift/Tectonics.html
NOAA
Mid-ocean rifting
g
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Th
Thompson
Proterozoic Eon
in Manitoba
• 2500-2000 Ma opening of a large ocean basin
• subsequent (1885 Ma)
with basin-margin “shoreline” sediments laid
nickel deposits
demplacement
down
on A
Archean
h ofb
basement
t rocks
k
Rifting
Rifting
?
?
?
?
Ni
?
?
Ni
?
Proterozoic
quartzite
>500 million-year time gap
?
?
?
?
Archean
gneiss
http://slohs.slcusd.org/pages/teachers/rhamley/Biology
/Continental%20Drift/Tectonics.html
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Flin Flon
Proterozoic Eon
in Manitoba
http://slohs.slcusd.org/pages/teac
hers/rhamley/Biology/Continental
%20Drift/Tectonics.html
n
ds o
u
H
ns- gen
a
r
o
LynnTLake
Or
Cu-Zn
?
n?
ou
ne
• 1910-1830 Ma active volcanism and
deposition of copper-zinc deposits (e.g., Flin
Flon, Lynn Lake)
Su
pe
ri
Thompson Nickel
Belt
or
B
?
Leaf Rapids
dary Zo
Hudson Bay
? Basin
?
Snow Lake
?
Cu-Zn
Flin Flon
?
?
ke
La
Superior
Province
g
Lak e
Win nipegos is
i pe
nn
Wi
?
?
Riv
er
ne
iboi
d
in
As s
R iv er
Re
?
Western
Canada
Sedimentary
L ake
Basin Ma nitoba
subduction
The greenstone belts in the Trans-Hudson
Trans Hudson
animation copyrighted
Orogen
of Manitoba and Saskatchewan have
by McGraw
Hill as
part of PLUMMER
MCGEARY
AND
produced
more than $60 billion in metals (at
CARLSON 11th
edition 2010 prices)
i
) - making
ki th
them some off the
th mostt
productive greenstone belts in Canada.
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Proterozoic Eon:
pp
g
deposits
p
copper-zinc-gold
http://slohs.slcusd.org/pages/teac
hers/rhamley/Biology/Continental
%20Drift/Tectonics html
%20Drift/Tectonics.html
Polished slab of basalt flow top breccia, Flin Flon
Submarine eruption
NOAA
Underwater eruptions produce distinctive volcanic deposits that
can be recognized in ancient greenstone belts
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Proterozoic Eon:
pp
g
deposits
p
copper-zinc-gold
http://slohs.slcusd.org/pages/teac
hers/rhamley/Biology/Continental
%20Drift/Tectonics html
%20Drift/Tectonics.html
Dr. Robert Ballard
Massive sulphide
mound
http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/mindep/synth_dep/vms/index_e.php
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Proterozoic Eon:
pp
g
deposits
p
copper-zinc-gold
Zinc ore,
ore Snow Lake
Copper ore, Flin Flon
Massive sulphide
mound
http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/mindep/synth_dep/vms/index_e.php
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Proterozoic Eon
in Manitoba
• 1830-1780 Ma closing of ocean basin
and formation of the Trans-Hudson
Orogen (mountain belt)
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
http://mafecarr.blogspot.com/
?
http://slohs.slcusd.org/pages/teachers/rhamley/Biology/Continental%20Drift/Tectonics.html
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Comparison of the Trans-Hudson Orogen
with a modern orogen (mountain belt)
Manitoba
Trans-Hudson Orogen (1830 – 1800 Ma)
Superior
Craton
Alpine-Himalayan Orogen (< 50 Ma)
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Phanerozoic Eon
Leaf Rapids
Thom pson
Fl in Flo n
Paleozoic Era
Snow L ake
Mesozoic
Era
ke
La
eg
nip
Win
Lak e
Win nipegos is
542
251
66
Million of years ago
Bisse tt
in
Ass
L ake
Ma nitoba
iboi
Riv
er
ne
Winnipeg
0
Precambrian Time
Re
d
Riv er
Cenozoic Era
Lynn Lake
Phanerozoic Eon:
Modern Earth and Life Forms Evolve
• Life forms with skeletons proliferate
• 8 major life extinction events
• Continents separated and then
collided
llid d again
i tto fform more
mountain chains
• North America and Manitoba as we
know it were formed.
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
The Phanerozoic
M
Mesozoic
i
Precambrian
Paleozoic
Paleozoic
Paleozoic Era
542
Mesozoic
E
Era
251
66
Million of years ago
Cenoz
zoic Era
Phanerozoic Eon
0
Crushed rock
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Tyndall Stone
Paleozoic Era
in Manitoba
542 – 251 Ma
Gillis quarry, Garson
• Preceded by a long period during which
the Precambrian was eroded flat
• Manitoba was located near to the equator
• Shallow inland seas flooded North
America
• Valuable
deposits
high-calcium
V l bl d
it off hi
h l i
limestone, potash, building stone and oil
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Trilobite diorama
Maclurites (gastropod)
Early Paleozoic diorama
Paleozoic Era
in Manitoba
Receptaculites
Bob
Elias
S lit
l (I
t l k )
Solitary
corals
(Interlake)
Graham
Young
World’s largest trilobite –
from Churchill
Gastropods and cephalopods
’
Virgiana (brachipod)
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Upper Devonian reef diorama
http://www.chasestudio.com/rtmp/large
images/Upper-Devonian-Diorama.jpg
Paleozoic Era
in Manitoba
Paleozoic
Precambrian
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
251 – 66 Ma
Mesozoic Era
in Manitoba
Mesozoic
Ce
enozoic Era
Phanerozoic Eon
Mesozoic
• Preceded
by
Era
period of erosion
Paleozoic Era
542
251
66
Million of years ago
0
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Mesozoic Era
in Manitoba
• Periodically flooded by
shallow inland seas
• Ended by a meteoric impact
and major extinction event
Cretaceous in Manitoba diorama
Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, Morden
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Cenozoic Era
66 – 0 Ma
Paleozoic Era
Mesozoic
Era
Glacial retreat
In N America
542
C
a
Cenozoic
Era
Phanerozoic Eon
251
66 0
Glacial
Million
of retreat
years ago
In Manitoba
Quaternary
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Cenozoic Era
Dr. Ron Blakey, NAU Geology - http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/
Glacial retreat
In N America
Glacial retreat
In Manitoba
0.01
55.8
33.9
Present
1.8
23.0
5.3 ––––5.3
23.0
65.5
1.8
55.8
33.9
Ma
Ma
Ma
Ma
Ma
Warm,
Cold
Cool,
Cooler,
Cool, dry
dry
humid
drier
66 – 0 Ma
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Ice
age diorama
Glacial retreat
In N America
Glacial retreat
In Manitoba
Cenozoic Era
g ( )
The Ice Age(s)
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Cenozoic Era
The modern landscape
p
Esker, NE Manitoba
Esker
Rogan moraine
Bedrock highs
Rogan moraine
moraine, NE Manitoba
• The last glacial period resulted in the
deposition or modification of the
landscape features we see today.
Digital Elevation Model (NASA)
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Cenozoic Era
The modern landscape
p
• Digital topographic and surficial
geology information is used by many
government and non-government
organizations
Saskatchewan R
R. delta
Bedrock
Lake
Agassiz
Manitoba
Conservation
Digital Elevation Model (NASA)
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Aerial photograph
Iceberg scours, Lorette
Cenozoic Era
The modern landscape
p
• In the Red River Valley, it is still
possible to see the scars left in the
former lake bottom of Glacial Lake
Agassiz
Digital Elevation Model (NASA)
Iceberg scours, in Red River
valley (LIDAR imagery)
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Conclusion
Digital elevation model, oblique view looking north
Vertical exaggeration: 30X
Satellite image of the 1997 flood draped over DEM
Gaywood Matile & Greg Keller, MGS
• Geological processes have shaped (and reshaped)
Manitoba
billion years off Earth
M it b over nearly
l 4 billi
E th history
hi t
• Our geological heritage impacts our daily life
o Resources we use (e.g., metals, oil, aggregate,
groundwater)
o Landscape we live in
www.manitoba.ca/minerals
Contact us
• The Manitoba Geological
g
Survey
y
is a public resource, available
y
to use
for anyone
• We can answer questions about
rocks, minerals, how landscapes
developed, and what exploration
activity is going on in the
province
• Call us at: 1
1-800-223-5215
800 223 5215
• Or e-mail:
[email protected]
i
i f @
b