THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SASKATCHEWAN MINING AssOCIATION EXPLORATION: Going All In FLEX TIME STRETCHING FOR SAFETY AT THE ALLAN POTASH MINE RETURN TO NATURE THE GREENING OF KEY LAKE’S WASTE ROCK RunninG for SUCESS FALL / WINTER 2014 POTASHCORP’S JOCHEN TILK Publication Mail Agreement No. 42154021 HAS A PAssION FOR RUNNING ORE | THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SASKATCHEWAN MINING AssOCIATION FALL/WINTER 2013 ORE | THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SASKATCHEWAN MINING AssOCIATION FALL/WINTER 2014 wherever there’s mining, we’rE THERE. Camp at North Arrow Minerals’ Pikoo diamond property in northern Saskatchewan. ORE is produced solely by the Saskatchewan Mining Association. CONTENTS HEAD OFFICE COVER FEATURE ABORIGINAL Suite 1500 2002 Victoria Avenue GOING ALL IN FINDING FUNds SUCCEss Regina, Saskatchewan KEEPING WATCH No other manufacturer can offer what Caterpillar® does: S4P 0R7 Explorers go deep Exploration in a Telephone: (306) 757-9505 in Saskatchewan tough market Athabasca Basin The broadest line of surface and underground equipment in the industry. Fax: (306) 569-1085 Security expands west www.saskmining.ca CONTACT FOR 6 12 32 Wherever there is drilling and digging, loading and hauling, grading and dozing, you will find ADVERTISERS ® Tap Communications Inc. Cat machines hard at work. Cat products are on more mine sites than any other equipment line, 203-262 Avenue B South ORE DEPOSITS: DIAMONDS Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Where do diamonds come from? 5 delivering the reliability and durability you need to mine efficiently and productively. S7M 1M4 Telephone: (306) 373-7330 ENVIRONMENT Kramer Ltd. offers the finest people, service and tooling throughout our province-wide branch [email protected] Growing green at Key Lake 16 network to meet and exceed the demands of Saskatchewan’s growing mining industry. All rights reserved. The contents of INDUstRY OUTLOOK this publication may not be reproduced Rail transportation crossroads 18 in whole or part without consent of the copyright owner. TECHNOLOGY Drone keeps an eye on Poplar River coal mine 20 CovER PHOTO Mining and exploration companies eARTh working in Saskatchewan are taking risks Goldsmith Ken Paulson sets Saskatchewan stone 22 to discover the resources of the future. When exploration is successful, the EDUCATION rewards can be significant – Mining competition goes international 24 T for the companies, but also for the ABLE province’s economy and employment. BEYOND THE BIO This issue of ORE explores the companies OF now engaged in searching for mineral Jochen Tilk, PotashCorp’s new president and CEO 26 resources and the challenges they face. CON TAGGING ALONG T A week in the life of engineer Tom Olson 28 EN TS SAFETY Mine employees stretch to stay injury free 30 1 KRAMER.CA ORE | THE OFFiciAL PUBLicAtion OF THE SASKAtcHEWAN MininG AssociAtion FALL/WinteR 2014 ORE | THE OFFiciAL PUBLicAtion OF THE SASKAtcHEWAN MininG AssociAtion FALL/WinteR 2014 A MESSAGE FROM SMA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOr – PAM SCHWANN EXPLORATIOn – tHE QUEST TO DISCOVER Mineral exploration is (greenfield) targeting world- earth, technology plays a game of hide and class deposits. Although he an important role in other seek, with science tools was speaking about space aspects of the mining like geophysics and exploration, he could well business – including the geochemistry helping have been referring to mineral use of drones for efficiently uncover the layers that exploration when American laying out mine plans, to hide the deposit. The high astronomer Seth Shostak, the adoption of technology stakes world of mineral expressed “exploration as a business strategy for exploration, the important occasionally rewards Athabasca Basin Security’s role exploration plays as the those who accept its risks, work at minesites. ORE’s to mimic Mother Nature’s research and development usually with new resources.” Tagging Along segment vegetation regeneration in a phase of the mining cycle Rewards of a successful spotlights a geological sand-dominated environment and the state of exploration diamond exploration program engineer and describes how of northern Saskatchewan. in Saskatchewan and are beautifully crafted and technology is embedded The economic commentary Canada are laid out in showcased in eARTh; while into his daily work routine. explores some of the our two feature stories the Ore Deposit Model series issues with the state of rail in this edition of ORE. describes the formation Exploring is about asking why transportation today and The success of a mineral of these gemstones. and searching for the answer. identifies solutions that When a company explored would assist all shippers. why they were having “exploration occasionally certain injuries reported Finally, our Beyond the Bio and what could be done to feature keeps pace with rewards those who prevent these injuries, they Jochen Tilk, PotashCorp’s discovered a very innovative new president and CEO, accept its risks, usually and successful solution, as he settles into his new as described in the Flex home in Saskatoon. with new resources.” Time article. Exploration has also been called the We hope you enjoy exploration program is While advances in engine of innovation – the exploring this 8th edition typically the result of technology have facilitated Environment article Return of ORE with us. coincident factors; an finding mineral deposits to Nature describes the understanding of the at greater depths in the search to find the best way geological framework of an area; an ore deposit model that fits the geological framework, favourable 2014 commodity prices, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE infrastructure access, 1st Vice President - Neil McMillan Claude Resources Inc. and Cameco Corporation security of mineral tenure and successful financing. 2nd Vice President - Jessica Theriault Mosaic Company The mineral exploration Member-at-Large - Nancy Case game is filled with optimistic Mosaic Company Growing Feeding players – they have to be, as Member-at-Large - Alice Wong the discovery of a mineral Cameco Corporation deposit and bringing it into Exploration - Scott McHardy Saskatchewan the world successful production is Cameco Corporation against the odds. Reviews Industrial Minerals - Graham Cooper of exploration projects have Westmoreland Coal Company found that the proportion - Poplar River Mine of exploration targets that Metallic Minerals - Marc Lepage E S D SECTION Claude Resources Inc. I end up as profitable mines T ORIAL is very low; ranging from 1 Potash - Larry Long ORIAL President - Trevor Berg T I in 24 for targets in existing, PotashCorp Patience Lake and PotashCorp Allan SECTION D PotashCorp Cory S E prolific mining areas Uranium - Tammy Van Lambalgen It’s not k+s unless it’s you + us (brownfield) and ranging AREVA Resources Canada Inc. from 1 in 1,000 (0.01%) My work at k+s gives me a lot of satisfaction to 1 in 3,333 (0.03%) for Nadeem, Operation Scheduler 2 new exploration targets www.saskmining.ca 3 ORE | THE OFFiciAL PUBLicAtion OF THE SASKAtcHEWAN MininG AssociAtion FALL/WinteR 2014 DIAMONDS WHERE DO DIAMONDS COME FROM AND HOW CAN WE FIND THEM? Provided by Sask. Geological Survey, Ministry of the Economy How do that includes an upper crater, (Figure 2). These anomalies about 100 million years ago Diamonds form? a diatreme and root zone turned out to be a cluster when Saskatchewan was (Figure 1). In Canada, the of over 70 kimberlite pipes covered with a shallow sea Diamonds are crystals of upper crater zone, which is which ascended through and was buried by layers of carbon that form within the a mixture of kimberlite and the Archean Sask Craton sandstone and shale before earth’s upper mantle (>150 country rock fragments, is any erosion could occur km depth) under extreme frequently eroded away or (Figure 3). As a result, these temperature and pressure removed by glaciers. The unique kimberlites have conditions in an area known advancing glaciers scrape the huge volumes of crater zone as the diamond stability zone. top off of the kimberlite pipe materials with much smaller These types of conditions spreading diamonds, and magmatic root zones. do not exist on the surface other more plentiful minerals of the earth where carbon indicative of kimberlites Many other parts of more commonly crystallizes (such as pyrope garnets, Saskatchewan are underlain as graphite. The diamonds chrome diopside, chromite by similar Archean rocks are brought up to surface and picroilmenite), across the and are prospective for by kimberlite magma which Building a Future Through Investment surface. Explorers commonly diamond exploration. A is generated down at the analyze samples of glacial till recent discovery of root-zone base of thick Archean for these indicator minerals, diamond bearing kimberlite We began as seven northern communities working together towards a common (> 2.5 billion years old) which can help determine north of Deschambault Lake continental crust, and rises goal. Today, we have ownership in numerous companies providing a variety of if a kimberlite is nearby. has reignited grass-roots up through the lithosphere services, and our investments employ over 1200 people. We’re a proud aboriginal Airborne geophysical surveys exploration interests with along fractures and planes are also useful in finding and compose one of the over one million hectares success story, and we’ll continue to grow, building a future through investment. of weakness resulting in an kimberlites, which typically largest kimberlite fields of land being staked explosive volcanic eruption. have contrasting physical in the world. The Fort á la shortly after the diamond When the dust settles and www.athabascabasin.ca properties (particularly Corne (FalC) cluster erupted discovery was announced. the magma cools, these magnetism and density) to kimberlites are typically left the rocks they intrude. with a carrot-shaped pipe Diamonds in Saskatchewan Crater Diamonds were rumored to be found in Saskatchewan as far back as the 1950’s, but it wasn’t until 1988 when Diatreme the first diamond-bearing ORE ts I kimberlites were found. SECTION D S Root Zone Geologists from Uranerz EPO EPO Exploration and Mining Ltd.