GS-15 Aggregate resources in the rural municipalities of Dauphin, Ethelbert, Gilbert Plains, Grandview and Mossey River, Manitoba (parts of NTS 62N1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 62O4, 5, 12) by H.D. Groom Groom, H.D. 2008: Aggregate resources in the rural municipalities of Dauphin, Ethelbert, Gilbert Plains, Grandview and Mossey River, Manitoba (parts of NTS 62N1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 62O4, 5, 12); in Report of Activities 2008, Manitoba Science, Technology, Energy and Mines, Manitoba Geological Survey, p. 159–170. Summary the decision was made to shift The rural municipalities of Dauphin, Ethelbert, the focus away from remapping Gilbert Plains, Grandview and Mossey River were mapped and resampling deposits to a pit inventory method of this year as part of an ongoing project to update a 30-year updating the aggregate maps. This less time consuming old regional aggregate study (Gartner Lee Associates and method allowed five municipalities to be updated in one Proctor and Redfern Limited, 1978). Field work by MGS field season. (Groom 1999, 2001, 2006) confirmed the accuracy of the original deposit mapping by Gartner Lee Associates. This Location year, a pit inventory program was used, which allowed The five municipalities of this year’s study area lie in the updating of aggregate information of five municipali- western Manitoba and are situated on NTS sheets 62N1, ties to be completed in one field season. In the study area, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 62O4, 5, 12. The study area covers sand and gravel resources are found in glaciofluvial approximately seventy townships contained within Twp. and glaciolacustrine (beach ridge) deposits. These beach 23 to 35, Rge. 17 to 25, W 1st Mer. Riding Mountain deposits contain very high quality aggregate that has National Park forms the southern boundaries of the rural been extensively mined in the past. Provincial Highway municipalities of Dauphin, Gilbert Plains and Grandview 10 is built on one of the highest quality beach ridges in (Figure GS-15-1). The area is accessed by Provincial the area. Locally, ironstone concretions and weathered highways 5, 10 and 20, numerous Provincial roads and Precambrian clasts lower the quality of the aggregate a network of gravel section roads. The city of Dauphin from the glaciofluvial deposits but it is still good quality is the major service centre but the town of Grandview aggregate that meets specifications for most end-uses. and villages of Gilbert Plains, Ethelbert and Winnipego- Bedrock quarries also provide an important component of sis also provide amenities to local residents and tourists. the area’s aggregate reserves. Aggregate demand in the Farming is the primary industry but tourism, due to the area is relatively low compared to more populated areas proximity to Riding Mountain National Park and Duck of the province and there is an adequate supply of aggre- Mountain Provincial Park, along with logging and fishing gate for the foreseeable future. are important contributors to the local economy. Introduction Previous work The rural municipalities of Dauphin, Ethelbert, The bedrock of the area has been described in many Gilbert Plains, Grandview and Mossey River form the regional studies, including those by Wickenden (1945), western half of a regional aggregate study of ten Bannatyne (1970, 1988), McNeill and Caldwell (1981) municipalities surrounding the city of Dauphin (Gartner and Norris et al. (1982). Recently, a co-operative project Lee Associates and Proctor and Redfern Limited, 1978; between the MGS, Saskatchewan Industry and Resources Figure GS-15-1). The Gartner Lee Associates (Gartner and the Geological Survey of Canada incorporated new Lee) study is 30 years old and MGS has been updating the mapping and borehole data to refine and reinterpret aggregate maps on a municipality by municipality basis crossborder correlations of the Phanerozoic formations over the past several years. The re-evaluation is usually in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan (Bezys et al., provided as a response to regional needs for inclusion in 2004; Nicolas, GS-16, this volume). This has resulted municipal development plans but also as other needs arise. in a revised nomenclature for some of the bedrock Aggregate deposits in the following rural municipalities formations in the study area (Christopher et al., 2006). have been remapped and sampled: Ochre River (Groom, Detailed stratigraphic sections for several Cretaceous 1999), Grandview (Groom, 2001) and Ste. Rose (Groom, outcrops in the study area are described by Bamburak 2006). There has also been extensive updating, including and Christopher in their fieldtrip guidebook (Bamburak sampling, of deposits in Wildlife Management Areas and and Christopher, 2004). The bedrock geology, areas of community pastures in the rural municipalities of Alonsa near-surface bedrock, and quarry locations in the Rural and McCreary over the last ten years (H.D. Groom, Municipality (R.M.) of Mossey River are included on the unpublished data). This work confirmed that the original 1:250 000 scale maps that accompany Bannatyne’s report deposit mapping done by Gartner Lee was very good and on dolomite resources of southern Manitoba (Bannatyne, Report of Activities 2008 159 Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge Rge 27W 26W 25W 24W 23W 22W 21W 20W 19W 18W 17W 16W 15W 14W 13W 12W 11W 10W 09W Lake W Twp 36 innipegosis Manitoba escarpment Twp 35 Twp 34 Twp 33 Duck Mtn. Manitoba upland Twp 32 plain Campbell Duck Mountain strandline Twp 31 Provincial Park 10 Valley River Twp 30 plain R.M. of R.M. of Ethelbert Mossey River Twp 29 20 481 Riding Mtn. plain Twp 28 Dauphin Lake R.M. of Twp 27 Lawrence Lake Manitoba R.M. of Twp 26 Dauphin R.M. of R.M. of Alonsa Twp 25 Gilbert R.M. of Plains Grandview Dauphin Twp 24 5 R.M. R.M. 68 of of Twp 23 10 Ochre Ste. Rose River Twp 22 Riding Mountain National Park 5 Twp 21 R.M. 50 Twp 20 of McCreary Twp 19 0 50 Twp 18 kilometres Twp 17 Figure GS-15-1: Location map of the ten municipalities of the Gartner Lee Associates and Proctor and Redfern Limited (1978) report. Dashed line indicates the five municipalities of the current study area: the rural municipalities of Dauphin, Ethelbert, Gilbert Plains, Grandview and Mossey River. Inset diagram shows major physiographic regions referred to in text. 1988). Bezys and Bamburak (2004) describe Devonian Mountain) at a scale of 1:250 000; all but the far eastern stratigraphy exposed in two quarries in the R.M. of portion of the study area is included in that report. Nielsen Mossey River. Jones (1986) discusses the aggregate (1988) mapped the surficial geology of the area immedi- potential of bedrock formations in Manitoba; one of the ately north of the study area at a scale of 1:100 000. His quarries sampled is within the R.M. of Mossey River. report includes diagrams of beach formation at succes- The study area is covered by two reports on ground- sive stages as glacial Lake Agassiz receded from the area. water availability: Duck Mountain area (NTS 62N; Little The five municipalities of the study area were mapped and Sie, 1976) and Dauphin Lake (NTS 62O; Betcher, at a scale of 1:50 000 as part of a surficial geology and 1987). These reports contain 1:250 000 scale maps of aggregate mapping project that included ten municipali- bedrock geology, surficial geology and overburden ties (Gartner Lee Associates and Proctor and Redfern thickness as well as maps more directly related to water Limited, 1978). During that study, 165 aggregate sites resources. were examined in the current study area; 70 of these were Klassen (1979) outlined the glacial history and sampled. Bedrock quarries were not included in the mapped the surficial geology of NTS sheet 62N (Duck report. The municipalities are also included on two recent 160 Manitoba Geological Survey 1:250 000 scale Surficial Geology Compilation Maps: and have been well described in the literature (Bannatyne, SG-62N (Matile and Keller, 2004a) and SG-62O (Matile 1970; McNeill and Caldwell, 1981). In general, the shales and Keller, 2004b). On these maps, the surface units have are soft and were comminuted to clay during glacial trans- been draped over topographic relief maps and landforms port. The exception to this is the Odanah Member of the are clearly shown. Pierre Shale Formation. It is a hard siliceous shale. Clasts of Odanah Member shale are common in many gravel Physiography and drift thickness deposits of southwestern Manitoba although shale is not The area has three distinct physiographic regions: a major component of the gravels in the study area. The the Riding Mountain and Duck Mountain uplands, Pierre Shale Formation is the major source of ironstone the Valley River plain and the Manitoba plain (Figure concretions found in the local gravels. The Cretaceous GS-15-1). The upland areas are formed of thick deposits shales are primarily noncalcareous. However, the Marco of hummocky stagnation moraine; there are up to 260 m Calcarenite bed and the Laurier Limestone beds (McNeill of glacial sediments on Duck Mountain (Little and Sie, and Caldwell, 1981) of the Favel Formation are very 1976). Elevations on Duck Mountain reach 831 m asl calcareous (Bannatyne, 1970). These beds are described at Baldy Mountain, the highest peak in Manitoba. The at Stops 16 and 17 of Bamburak and Christopher (2004). upland areas are separated from the Manitoba plain by the Currently, there are quarry leases pending in the area Manitoba escarpment. The escarpment is steepest along southwest of Dauphin in order to further test these beds the eastern edge of Duck Mountain where elevations rise for their high-calcium potential.