Open AccessField procedures and results of groundwater sampling in kimberlite from drillholes in the Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskaming areas, northeastern Ontario
Author(s) -
Jamil A. Sader,
Matthew I. Leybourne,
M B McClenaghan,
S M Hamilton,
Kevin Robertson
Publication year - 2003
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.4095/214193
Subject(s) - kimberlite , groundwater , geology , geochemistry , hydrogeology , hydrology (agriculture) , mantle (geology) , geotechnical engineering
A hydrogeochemistry study of the Lake Timiskaming and Kirkland Lake kimberlite fields was undertaken as part of the Geological Survey of Canada's Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI). The goals are to understand the hydrogeology and geochemistry of groundwater inkimberlite compared with the surrounding Archean rocks and to develop a useful kimberlite exploration tool. Groundwater in holesdrilled by exploration companies in the 1980s was sampled at five kimberlite pipes: B30, C14, A4, Diamond Lake, and 95-2. The water was measured in the field for pH, oxidation-reduction potential (Eh), dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, and temperature. Preliminary field results indicatethat many pH values are unusually high for natural groundwater, with pH levels in B30, C14, and A4 as high as 11.00 to 12.45. Field analyses and pump-recovery tests reveal that a link may exist between the hydration of olivine and the production of CH4 and H2 and groundwaterflow.