Treasures Natural Resources GradeGrade 4 SocialFive StudiesScience & Science

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS Grade 4: Social Studies RW4.3 and Science RM4.1; RM4.2

LESSON PLAN ONE: CLASSROOMCLASSROOM INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION TOTO THETHE THEME

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will discover that Saskatchewan is rich in resources, both in quantity and variety.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS • Fast Facts information (at the end of resource package) • Paper and art supplies • Access to the school library and Internet

PROCEDURE Coal miners inside a mine near Estevan, circa 1912. Western Development Museum 1. Prepare to teach by reviewing the Fast Facts at the end of 6-B-1 this resource package. A number of additional references are also listed in the resources section at the end of this package for your information. 2. Introduce the topic of natural resources in the province 3. Divide the students into small groups and assign one natural by brainstorming with the students about what kinds of resource to each group. Each group will research a natural materials are harvested and extracted for economic gain. resource and create an informative poster. Students should (Non-renewable resources include uranium, potash, coal, be encouraged to fi nd pictures, maps or samples for their oil and natural gas, gold, diamonds, sodium sulphate, salt, posters. On their posters, the students should answer the peat, clay, sand and gravel. Renewable resources include following questions: forestry, wind power, hydroelectric power, solar power, fi sh, • Is the resource renewable or non-renewable? game and wild harvested products like mushrooms and • Where and when was it discovered in the province? certain plants.) What do the students think the materials are • Where and how is the resource currently harvested or used for? Are natural resources in Saskatchewan used only mined? here, or are they shipped across , North America • How is it used, and what products is it used to make? or around the world? Introduce or review the defi nitions • Where are the markets for the resource? of renewable (can be regenerated in a short time frame • Are there any environmental concerns related to – months, years or decades) and non-renewable (cannot mining or extracting the resource? How does it affect be regenerated in a human life-span) resources. the landscape?

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ADAPTATION AND EXTENSION 1. To help familiarize students with Saskatchewan’s vast array of natural resources, create a series of question cards about Saskatchewan’s natural resources and play a trivia game.

LESSON PLAN TWO: AT THE MUSEUM

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will explore the contents of a discovery box and tour exhibits in the Museum.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS • Materials and information sent to you in your Museum tour confi rmation package.

PROCEDURE 1. Prepare to teach and to tour the Museum by reviewing the resources listed. Divide your class into groups before the visit. Discuss the required number of groups with the In the Saskatchewan Treasures - Natural Resources discovery box, students will see and touch samples of our renewable and non-renewable resources. Aided by maps, students Museum Programmer when you book your visit. Select will discuss the location of resources in Saskatchewan and how these resources have other staff members or parents to lead the groups. Advise contributed to our wellbeing. the group leader about what they will have to do. 2. Students will visit a Western Development Museum in , North Battleford, or Yorkton. The entire class will assemble for a welcome and orientation. 3. The class will be divided into two, three or more groups. Students will interact with artifacts, replicas and photographs located in a discovery box. A leader’s script included in the discovery box will spearhead discussion. 4. The class will tour pertinent exhibits in the Museum using a tour handout to guide their exploration. This handout may be a question-and-answer sheet or scavenger hunt. A tour script for the group leader will be sent to you with confi rmation of your Museum tour booking.

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LESSON PLAN THREE: WHENWHEN AA MUSEUMMUSEUM VISITVISIT ISN’TISN’T POSSIBLEPOSSIBLE

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will trace the pathway of petroleum products to gain an appreciation for the many ways in which natural resources can be utilized, how widespread their impact is on the world, and the environmental impact of their extraction and processing. Students will be asked to consider how the negative environmental impact of petroleum use could be minimized, and how they could contribute.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS

• A selection of items from the petroleum products list The Pas Lumber Company cars and mill, Reserve, SK, circa 1949. Saskatchewan History gathered by the teacher (appendix one) and Folklore Society, Everett Baker Collection 6256 • Copies of the petroleum products list (appendix one)

PROCEDURE 1. Introduce the topic of petroleum by asking students what directly by oil drilling companies, as well as companies they know about it. Petroleum or crude oil is formed from which service the oil industry and in related facilities organic matter (partially decayed plants, animals and like Moose Jaw Asphalt Inc.; Consumers’ Co-operative microbes), which has been buried deep in the earth by Refi neries Ltd. in Regina, Canada’s fi rst heavy oil upgrader; layers and layers of sedimentary rock. Over time, heat NewGrade Energy Inc., which converts heavy crude into and pressure transform the organic matter into crude oil. lighter products used by the Co-op Refi nery; and the heavy Because petroleum is lighter than water, it moves upwards oil upgrader in Lloydminster owned by Husky Oil. through ground water and fi lls tiny crevices in the rocks 2. Ask the students what they think petroleum is used for. until it reaches an impenetrable layer where the cracks are Students will likely know that it is used to produce fuel to too small for it to pass through. The petroleum remains run automobiles and other machines. Ask the students to there until it is extracted through drilling. In Saskatchewan, take a look around the classroom and pick out any objects the fi rst commercial discovery of crude oil dates back that might be made using petroleum products. Bring to 1944 in the Lloydminster area. During the 1950s and out the various items that you have collected that have 1960s, an intensive exploration effort was undertaken been made using petroleum products for the students to resulting in the discovery of signifi cant reserves. examine. Explain that although the main use of petroleum Since that time, Saskatchewan has grown to become is as a fuel, it is also used to make all plastics, asphalt for Canada’s second largest crude oil producer after , road construction, paraffi n wax and much more (see list contributing 21 percent of Canada’s total production in in appendix one). Are they surprised by the vast number 2005. Saskatchewan had over 20,000 active wells. The of items that are made from petroleum products? Ask the province’s reserves contain the equivalent of 35-billion students to look around the room again. What other items barrels of oil. The petroleum industry is very important to can they spy that may be made with petroleum products? Saskatchewan’s economy. The revenue generated from petroleum leases, taxes and royalties was $906.9 million for 2004/2005. Many Saskatchewan people are employed

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3. Discuss with students the environmental impacts of 4. Distribute copies of the sheet from appendix one entitled extracting, manufacturing and using petroleum products. “Petroleum Products.” Using the list of petroleum products There are environmental concerns for land and ecosystem as a reference, instruct the students to write a page about disturbances due to investigation and drilling. There how we could contribute to minimizing the environmental is the potential for oil spills that can severely damage effects of petroleum use, like identifying products they ecosystems. Improper recycling of oil and other products could recycle from plastics to motor oil, encouraging can pollute the environment. Plastics discarded in landfi lls family to walk, bike or take public transportation, using take a long time to degrade. The burning of fuels releases alternatives like cloth diapers instead of disposable ones carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming. and so on. Discuss ways in which these environmental effects have been minimized over time. For example, thanks to cleaner burning gasolines, it would now take 37 cars to produce the same emissions as one car in the 1960s, motor oils, paints and other solvents can be recycled, and oil drilling and excavation methods are being developed to minimize site disturbance.

ADAPTATION AND EXTENSION 1. Visit a local museum. Go to www.saskmuseums.org to check out museums and heritage sites around Saskatchewan. Some of the museums located throughout the province that explore and preserve Saskatchewan’s natural resource industry history include: Kamsack Powerhouse Museum – Kamsack; Nipawin Living Forestry Museum – Nipawin; Northern Gateway Museum – Denare Beach; Goodsoil Historical Museum – Goodsoil; Meadow Lake Museum – Meadow Lake; Vintage Power Museum – Prince Albert; Conservation Learning Museum – Prince Albert; Souris Valley Museum – Estevan; Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site - Claybank; Swift Current Museum – Swift Current; Barr Colony Heritage Cultural Centre – Lloydminster; Saskatchewan Science Centre – Regina; Royal Saskatchewan Museum – Regina; Potash Interpretive Centre - Esterhazy. 2. Arrange a tour of a facility in your area by contacting one of the many resource development companies located throughout the province Visit a potash mine, peat moss plant, diamond mine, coal mine, or wind power project. SaskPower and Shand Greenhouse, for example, offer a school room presentation for grades fi ve to six called “Energy and Our Environment”. If you are interested in booking this presentation for your school, contact: Shand Greenhouse toll free: 1-866-SPTREES, or email greenhouse@.com.

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LESSON PLAN FOUR: CLASSROOMCLASSROOM WRAP-UPWRAP-UP

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will discuss some of the up and coming initiatives in Saskatchewan to utilize renewable sources to produce energy. Students will create their own short commercial to inform people of why using renewable energy is important.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS • Access to school library and Internet • Pictures and/or props gathered by the students

Cory Potash Mine, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (now Nutrien), Highway PROCEDURE 7 southwest of Saskatoon, 2005. Ruth Bitner Photo 1. Begin the lesson by reviewing the difference between renewable (can be regenerated in a short time frame – months, years or decades) and non-renewable (cannot be include turning lights off when they leave a room, walking regenerated in a human life-span) resources. Ask students to school or taking the bus, recycling, using energy-effi cient to give examples of renewable and non-renewable light bulbs and appliances and using cold water to wash resources in Saskatchewan that they have learned about clothes. You may want to start off the discussion by asking during the previous lessons. the students to think of the ways in which we use energy 2. Explain that more and more, as greenhouse gas emissions in our daily lives. from the combustion of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural 5. There are positive environmental and economic reasons, gas continue to increase, contributing to climate change and along with some limitations, regarding the development other environmental problems, and costs increase, we look of renewable resources to meet some of Saskatchewan’s to more renewable and environmentally-friendly options. In energy needs. In Saskatchewan we rely heavily on the Saskatchewan, methods to exploit renewable resources to burning of non-renewable fossil fuels (fuels formed in the generate electricity, heat and fuel have been developed, ground from the remains of dead plants and animals, and and more investigation is ongoing. In Saskatchewan, include oil, natural gas and coal) to generate electricity wind turbines and hydroelectric plants generate electrical and to run automobiles and other machines. Divide the power, ethanol and canola bio-diesel production creates class into small groups and assign each group one of the new markets for Saskatchewan’s farmers and employment following renewable resources: wind power, hydroelectric in related processing facilities, solar heating, solar electric power or ethanol production. Each group will prepare a energy and even burning grain to heat homes are being short television commercial outlining the benefi ts of using tested and implemented on a small-scale. their assigned renewable resource, and how each resource 3. Brainstorm about the positives and negatives of both is currently being used in Saskatchewan. Encourage the renewable and non-renewable resource use. Draw a students to gather pictures and props to enhance their chart on the black/whiteboard to document the student productions. comments. 6. Have the students perform the commercials for the class 4. Discuss ways in which people can reduce their consumption or a larger group of your choice. of fossil fuel energy, and in turn help the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Possible examples

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ADAPTATION AND EXTENSION 1. Investigate the Craik Sustainable Living Project in Craik, Saskatchewan to learn about this ecologically sustainable development on the prairies. Let this project stimulate the class to build a model of a home or school that utilizes sustainable alternatives to meet electrical, heat and water needs. 2. Survey your students. If any of them have a connection to someone who works in the resource development industry, invite them to the classroom to discuss his or her work. 3. Visit the SaskPower website for more information on power generation.

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RESOURCES WDM Resources A number of WDM research papers on various resources can be found at http://wdm.ca/for_teachers/lesson-plans-natural-resources/ • A Noble Quest: The Search for Gold in Saskatchewan • Diamond Drills and Saskatchewan Thrills • Sand, Gravel, and Stone • Peat Production in Saskatchewan • Saskatchewan’s Clay Resources • Logging in Saskatchewan • Saskatchewan’s Uranium Bonanza • Nourishing the Crops of the World: Saskatchewan’s Potash Industry • Saskatchewan’s Long History of Mining

General Information • Agriculture, Natureal Resources and Industry, Government of Saskatchewan: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculture-natural-resources-and-industry • Saskatchewan Mining Association: http://www.saskmining.ca/ (includes many good photos) • Natural Resources Canada: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/home • SaskPower Power: http://www.saskpower.com • Re-energy.ca renewable energy project: http://www.re-energy.ca • Fung, Ka-iu, ed. Atlas of Saskatchewan. Saskatoon: University of Saskatchewan, 1999. • The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 2005. The • Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan is available online at https://esask.uregina.ca/ • Waiser, Bill. Saskatchewan: A New History. Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 2005.

Forestry • Saskatchewan Forestry Association: http://www.whitebirch.ca • Prince Albert Model Forest: https://pamodelforest.ca/ • Weyerhaeuser: https://www.weyerhaeuser.com/

Uranium • Cameco: https://www.cameco.com/ (see especially “Let’s Learn About Uranium” section) • Canadian Nuclear Association: https://cna.ca/

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Potash • Nutrien: https://www.nutrien.com/ • K+S Potash Canada: https://www.ks-potashcanada.com/

Diamonds • Star Diamond Corp: http://www.stardiamondcorp.com/ • Harvey, S. E., Kjarsgaard, B.A., Jellicoe, B.C., and Kelley, L.I. "History and Current Status of Diamond Exploration in Saskatchewan;" in Summary of Investigations 2001, Volume 2, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Sask. Energy Mines, Misc. Rep. 2001-4.2. http://publications.gov.sk.ca/documents/310/88677-harvey.pdf

Coal • SaskPower: https://www.saskpower.com/ • Coal: http://www.saskschoolsinfo.com/sask/coal.html • Coal Mining: http://geoscape.nrcan.gc.ca/sask/resources_e.php

Oil & Natural Gas • SaskEnergy: http://www.saskenergy.com/ Imperial Oil: http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-English/HomePage.asp • Saskatchewan’s Oil and Gas Resources: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculture- • natural-resources-and-industry/oil-and-gas • Natural Gas and Oil: http://www.saskschoolsinfo.com/sask/ngas.html and http:// www.saskschoolsinfo.com/sask/oil.html

Salt • Sifto Canada Inc.: https://siftocanada.com/our-story

Sodium Sulphate • Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals Inc. Sodium Sulphate Plant: https://www.saskatchewanminingandminerals.com/

Wind • SaskPower: https://www.saskpower.com/Our-Power-Future/Our-Electricity/Electrical-System/Balancing-Supply- Options/Wind • Canadian Wind Energy Association: https://canwea.ca/ • Natural Resources Canada: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/science-and-data/data-and-analysis/energy-data-and-analysis/ energy-facts/renewable-energy-facts/20069

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Clay • A Little Brick Plant in the Middle of Nowhere: Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site and Museum, Claybank, Saskatchewan: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/virtual-exhibits/ exhibit/a-little-brick-plant-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/ • Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site: https://claybankbrick.ca/

Ethanol • Saskatchewan Eco Network: https://rcen.ca/affiliate/sen • Pound-Maker Agventures Ltd.: http://pound-maker.ca/

Solar • Natural Resources Canada: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/science-and-data/data-and-analysis/ energy-data-and-analysis/energy-facts/renewable-energy-facts/20069 • Kelln Solar: https://kellnsolar.com/ • SaskPower - Solar: https://www.saskpower.com/Our-Power-Future/Our-Electricity/Electrical- System/Balancing-Supply-Options/Solar

Geothermal • Temple Garden Mineral Spa Geothermal Energy: https://www.templegardens.sk.ca/pool.php • SaskPower - Geothermal: https://www.saskpower.com/Our-Power-Future/Our-Electricity/ Electrical-System/Balancing-Supply-Options/Geothermal

Fisheries • Saskatchewan Fish Population Monitoring: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/parks- culture-heritage-and-sport/hunting-trapping-and-angling/angling/fish-populations-management- and-research • Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Fisheries Enhancement Program: https://swf.sk.ca/ programs/fisheries-enhancements/ • Saskatchewan Tourism Fishing Outfitters and Lodges: https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/ things-to-do/fishing/fishing-outfitters

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FAST FACTS General • Saskatchewan’s natural resources include a spectrum of precious and base metals and other minerals, including copper, zinc, gold, lead, cadmium, platinum group metals, rare earths, nickel, silver and selenium • Industrial minerals found in the province include sodium sulphate, silica sand, clays, peat, and salt. • Mining uses only 0.1% of available land in Saskatchewan, which is less than the size of the city of Saskatoon!

Forestry • More than half of Saskatchewan is forested - about 355,000 square kilometres • The province’s commercial softwoods include balsam fi r, black spruce, jack pine, tamarack and white spruce. Hardwoods include balsam poplar, trembling aspen and white birch.

Fishing • In Saskatchewan, fi shery resources are used by recreational anglers, by for subsistence and commercial fi shing. • In 2004, there were about 500 licensed commercial fi shermen in the northern part of the province. Over 80 percent of those licensed were First Nations. • In Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and the Northwest Territories, the sale of fi sh is governed by the Fresh Fish Marketing Corporation. Independent fi shermen can sell their catch directly to fi sh processing facilities and consumers within Saskatchewan.

Fur • Long before Saskatchewan became a province or European fur traders arrived, First Nations trapped and traded furs with an established network of other groups. • In Saskatchewan there are 25 species of animals with marketable pelts including lynx, coyote, muskrat, otter and marten. Swift foxes are endangered and their pelts cannot be harvested. • Trappers in Saskatchewan must obtain a trapper’s license. They can sell their pelts independently to local dealers or the large fur auction houses out of province. • The Saskatchewan fur industry fl uctuates with market demand, and the demand for furs has been decreasing over time. However, the trapping industry is an important source of supplemental income for many trappers and important to the preservation of traditional First Nations lifestyles.

Uranium • A massive uranium deposit was discovered in northwestern Saskatchewan in 1949. • Saskatchewan is the world’s largest uranium producer, with about 34% of the world’s uranium production. • Uranium is one of the more common elements in the earth’s crust, found naturally in the rocks, soil, rivers and oceans of the planet. Nuclear fi ssion, the process by which the nuclei of uranium atoms are split, releases energy in the forms of heat and radiation. This energy is harnessed to generate electricity. • Uranium mines are located in the northern quarter of the province. • Uranium is used to fuel nuclear reactors to generate power. It is also used to create radioisotopes used in the treatment diseases like cancer, and to sterilize medical equipment and extend the shelf-life of some foods through the process of irradiation.

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Potash • Potash was discovered in Saskatchewan during oil drilling in the 1940s. • Saskatchewan is the largest potash producer and exporter in the world - supplying one-third of world demand. • Potash is a nutrient essential for plant growth, and is a cornerstone of modern agricultural fertilizers. Roughly 95 per cent of world potash production goes into fertilizer, while the other fi ve per cent is used in commercial and industrial products - everything from soap to television tubes. • Potash got its name in Europe where there was a long tradition of burning wood or seaweed and leaching the ashes in water. Then the solution was evaporated in large iron pots. What was left was a hard, white residue called potash. • Saskatchewan had the world’s fi rst solution potash mine in 1964, and all 10 mines were in production by 1971. • Six of Saskatchewan’s ten potash mines operate near Saskatoon. They mine the upper potash layer, known as the Patience Lake Member. In the south, three are operating in the lower potash layer, known as the Esterhazy Member. A solution mine just outside of Regina is the only mine operating in the Belle Plaine Member, at depths of about 1,600 metres. • Potash is important around the world in helping to feed a rapidly expanding population that must grow its food on diminishing amounts of arable land. Many of the world’s major crops are being nourished with Saskatchewan potash, including corn, soybeans, coffee, rice, tobacco and potatoes. • Saskatchewan’s potash is sold in more than 35 countries. About fi ve per cent is consumed in Canada. Approximately 70% of exports (about 9 million tonnes) go to the U.S., where it supplies about 70% of the market demand, mostly in the northern part of the U.S. Midwest. The other 25%, about 5 million tonnes, goes beyond North America to the Pacifi c Rim and other offshore markets, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia, Australia and Brazil.

Coal • Saskatchewan is the third-largest coal producer in Canada, with reserves in excess of 30 billion tonnes. • Coal mining in Saskatchewan dates back to 1857. • Coal is about 100 million years old, formed from buried swamp plants at the edges of ancient seas. The plant matter has been converted into a fuel by pressure and heat. • The same coalfi elds are being mined today as have been harvested since the late 1880s. The surface-mineable deposits of the Ravenscrag Formation are located in three coal basins: Estevan/Bienfait, Willow Bunch/Wood Mountain and Shaunavon.

Oil and Gas • Fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal, are formed from organic material such as plants and animals that over millions of years, have come under intense pressure and increased temperature. • Oil deposits in Saskatchewan are found in pores, cracks, and microscopic holes in porous rocks such as sandstone and limestone.

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• Saskatchewan’s fi rst commercial crude oil discovery was made in 1944. Saskatchewan is the second largest oil producer in Canada after Alberta. The province produces approximately 21 per cent of total Canadian oil production. Most of the oil Saskatchewan produces is exported. After extraction, oil is transported by pipeline or truck to be processed in refi neries, where it is convert- ed to gasoline, diesel, aviation, and other fuel for its single largest use - transportation. Additional uses of refi ned petroleum products include the manufacture of lubricants, asphalt, and plastics. • Natural gas was struck in 1911 while boring a water well on the farm of Joseph Frank, north of Estevan. • Saskatchewan’s fi rst commercial natural gas well, Discovery No.1 near Lloydminster, was drilled in 1934. • In Saskatchewan, over 81% of households use natural gas for heating.

Gold • Gold has been prized by humans throughout recorded history, and used in jewellery and ceremonial wear, and as a store of value (money). It is also an important industrial metal. Because it is resistant to corrosion and is a very good conductor of electricity, gold is widely used in electronic applications. • Gold was fi rst discovered in Saskatchewan in the North Saskatchewan River near Prince Albert in 1859. Saskatchewan began producing gold in small quantities in the early 1900s and possibly earlier from panning and dredging operations on the North Saskatchewan River and its tributaries.

Diamonds • The discovery of kimberlite pipes and diamonds led to extensive exploration and drilling by more than 30 companies. • The fi rst discovery of kimberlite (a potentially diamond-bearing rock) in Saskatchewan was made in 1988, in the Sturgeon Lake area, about 30 km northwest of Prince Albert. • Kimberlites were found in 1989 in the Fort à la Corne area. With over 70 kimberlite bodies identifi ed, the Fort à la Corne Kimberlite ranks among the world’s largest.

Sodium Suphate • Sodium sulphate deposits are found in alkaline lakes with restricted drainage in southern Saskatchewan. Sodium sulphate is used in the glass, detergent, deodorizer, textile and pulp industries. • is a leading producer of sodium sulphate in North America. It now operates a plant at Chaplin, and owns a plant at Ingebright Lake near Fox Valley, which in 2005 was on standby. Miller Western Industries operates the Palo Plant at the Whitehorse Lake deposit near Landis.

Salt • The Saskatchewan salt industry produces a number of different salt products including fi ne vacuum pan table salt, water softening salt, livestock salt, road de-icing salt. Some salt is further processed into caustic soda and chlorine chemicals for pulp and paper. • The earliest production of salt in Saskatchewan was by the Senlac Salt Co. around 1920 near Senlac. • Salt deposits were discovered at Unity in 1945. Sifto currently operates a plant at Unity which has been operating since 1949.

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Clay • The term “clay” refers to a varied group of soft, fi ne grained natural earthy materials which become plastic when moist. Clay minerals derive from ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks which have been weathered and altered over time. In Saskatchewan, clays include such types as bentonite, brick and ceramic clays and kaolinite. • In the past, clay products were mined and bricks were produced at several locations. The Claybank Brick Plant in the Dirt Hills operated between 1914 and 1989. Near Estevan, clay suitable for brick making was found along the banks of the Souris River by early coal miners. By 1902, typical buff coloured brick was being manufactured by several small outfi ts in the Estevan area. The Bruno Clayworks operated between 1905 and 1946. • Saskatchewan made brick has been used to construct many buildings within Saskatchewan and outside its borders including the Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon and the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec. Fire brick from Claybank was used to line steam engine fi re boxes and Second World War Corvettes, and was used to construct launch pads at Cape Canaveral in the 1970s. • At present, three major companies produce clay products in Saskatchewan.

Alternative Renewable Energy Sources

Geothermal • Special geothermal units can utilize the heat from deep within the earth to provide heating for buildings. During summer, the same units can draw hot air out and down into the earth to provide cooling. Geothermal systems are effi cient and low maintenance, and provide great cost and energy savings over conventional natural gas, propane, electric and oil furnaces. • Did you know that between 1932 and 1957 the Natatorium (an indoor swimming pool) in Moose Jaw was supplied with warm water from a 1000 metre well? • The Temple Gardens Mineral Spa in Moose Jaw utilizes geothermally heated mineral water to fi ll its hot pools.

Wind Power • Saskatchewan is a leader in the development of alternative wind power projects. Three developments are currently operating in Saskatchewan which supply power generated from wind energy to the provincial electrical grid: the Centennial Wind Power Facility (operated by SaskPower) near Swift Current, and the Cypress Wind Power Facility (operated by SaskPower) and SunBridge Wind Power Project (joint venture between Suncor and Enbridge) near Gull Lake.

Hydroelectricity • Hydroelectricity is generated by falling water which turns a turbine, which then rotates a generator to produce power. • SaskPower currently operates the Athabasca, Coteau Creek, Nipawin, E.B. Campbell and Island Falls hydroelectric stations.

Solar Energy • Solar energy is the generation of heat and electricity using the energy derived from the sun. • In Saskatchewan, solar energy is being tapped on a small scale in some homes, and on farms to power things like livestock watering systems, water pumps and electric fences. • SaskPower is researching the potential of tapping solar energy as a viable green energy alternative.

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Ethanol • There exists great potential for the development of an ethanol industry in Saskatchewan. Ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, can be produced from grain grown here in Saskatchewan. Ethanol can be blended with petroleum gasoline to produce a high octane fuel that is cleaner burning. Because ethanol contains 35 percent oxygen, it results in greater combustion and less emissions. • Saskatchewan became the fi rst province to pass legislation mandating the use of ethanol in its gasoline. The ethanol mandate began November 1, 2005. • Saskatchewan ethanol production is expected to increase. In 2005, one plant called Pound- Maker Agventures was operational near Lanigan, and two other plants were under construction in and Lloydminster.

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APPENDIX ONE

Products Derived From Petroleum Computers Toys Telephones Linoleum Glue Shoes Disposable Diapers Shampoo Soft Contact Lenses Credit Cards Milk Jugs Balloons Heart Valve Replacements and Artifi cial Hearts Antihistamines Antiseptics Aspirin CD Players and Compact Discs Crayons Fertilizers Furniture Garbage bags House Paint and Paintbrushes Inks and Dyes Lipstick Pantyhose Cameras and Film Photographs Candles Roofi ng Shingles Toothpaste Vitamin Capsules Rubbing Alcohol Clothing Oil Filters Insecticides Dishwashing Soap Tires And more…

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