Geology and diamond distribution of the 140/141 kimberlite, Fort à la Corne, central Saskatchewan, Canada

The Cretaceous age Fort à la Corne (FALC) kimberlite province comprises at least 70 bodies, which were emplaced near the edge of the Western Canadian Interior Seaway during cycles of marine transgression and regression. Many of the bodies were formed during a marine regression by a two-stage process, firstly the excavation of shallow, but wide, craters and then subsequent infilling by xenolith-poor, crater-facies, subaerial, primary pyroclastic kimberlite. The bodies range in size up to 2000 m in diameter but are mainly less than 200 m thick and thus comprise relatively thin, but high volume, pyroclastic kimberlite deposits. Each body is composed of contrasting types of kimberlite reflecting different volcanic histories and, therefore, are considered separately.

The 140/141 kimberlite is the largest delineated body in the province, estimated to have an areal extent below glacial Quaternary sediments in excess of 200 ha. The infilling of the 140/141 crater is complex, resulting from multiple phases of kimberlite. The central part of the infill is dominated by several contrasting phases of kimberlite. One of these phases is a primary pyroclastic airfall mega-graded bed up to 130 m in thickness. The constituents grade in size from very fine to coarse macrocrystic kimberlite, through to a basal breccia. The mega-graded bed is a widespread feature within parts of the body examined to date and at this current stage of evaluation appears to explain a variable diamond distribution within a tested portion of the pipe. A second different phase of kimberlite is interpreted as representing a younger nested crater within the mega-graded bed. Centrally located thicker intersections (>450 m) of this younger kimberlite may indicate a vent for the kimberlite crater. The thickness of the mega-graded bed increases with proximity to the younger kimberlite in the study area.

Macrodiamond minibulk sample grades from the mega-graded bed have been obtained from nine large diameter drill holes, located within the northwest part of the body from an area of 20 ha, which represents approximately 10% of the currently modeled kimberlite outline. Diamond grade increases with depth within the mega-graded bed and also increases, within the same unit, towards the centrally positioned younger kimberlite. Macrodiamond sample grades vary from low at the top of the mega-graded bed, to considerably higher grades near the base. Total sample grade per drill hole varies from moderate near the vent feature to lower grades 200–300 m from the vent feature. Macrodiamond stone frequency measured in stones per tonne shows a pronounced relationship with depth and proximity to the vent feature within the mega-graded bed. There is a strong correlation between depth and increased stones per tonne, and a similar correlation between stones per tonne and proximity to the vent feature. The data supports the emplacement model of the mega-graded bed and, in turn, this information is useful in understanding the macrodiamond distribution within this bed.