Someone will find diamonds in Manitoba!

By: Dr. Anton Chakhmouradian, Professor at the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba

Kimberlites are uncommon, but fascinating rocks of great practical and academic significance. In the past 30 years, kimberlite exploration in Canada has reached unprecedented levels, leading to the discovery of some 950 new kimberlite occurrences. A significant number of these discoveries have been (or will soon be) developed into diamond mines. Of the eight Canadian Provinces and Territories with exposed Precambrian basement, only Manitoba and Labrador, collectively representing 15% of the exposure, remain surprisingly barren of kimberlites. Diamond indicator minerals have been reported from both, but their source rocks either remain unknown or have been identified as kimberlite look-alikes. Apart from this superficial similarity between kimberlites and other small-volume volatile-rich igneous rocks from the mantle, diamond exploration is challenged by the lack of adequate understanding of the tectonic controls of kimberlitic magmatism. A brief overview of these challenges will be provided in the talk.