Kimberlite detection

[joya_dorado]

Well one thing has led to another, as is often the case, and I have accumulated some mineral claims in Canada in an area known for diamonds and the kimberlites from whence they come. So my question is this: Short of hiring a major geophysical survey outfit like Fugro to do an aerial magnetic, electromagnetic or gravimetric survey to the tune of $100,000+, what sort of alternatives can any of you fine folk recommend? The magnetic data we have already has narrowed the total acreage of roughly 18,000 acres down to 3 or 4 anomolies covering maybe 500 acres. The overburden is anywhere from 200 to 300 feet thick. We know of course that the diamonds themselves are non magnetic so cannot be directly detected. What we are looking for are kimberlitic intrusions which may be non magnetic to strongly magnetic and everything in between though most do have greater magnetic signature than the country rock which is Cretaceous limestone. The size of the kimberlites may range from a couple hundred feet across to thousands of feet across. Like I said we have narrowed it down to a few magnetically anomolous areas so are there any portable ground based sensory gizmos we might use to penetrate a few hundred feet thru the glacial gravel and sand overburden? I know this is a subject textbooks have been written about but I thought I would toss it out there just for the heck of it.

[pgleba]

I suggest you Google a guy named Fipke who found a diamond mine in the Northwest Territory. He found it by tracing garnets of a type associated with diamond bearing kimberlites. Look at lakes in your claim area as kimberlites being softer will erode preferentially. If you find a green mineral on the shore, I forget what type--diopside? enstatite?--you are standing next to a potential diamond mine.

[joya_dorado]

I suggest you Google a guy named Fipke who found a diamond mine in the Northwest Territory. He found it by tracing garnets of a type associated with diamond bearing kimberlites. Look at lakes in your claim area as kimberlites being softer will erode preferentially. If you find a green mineral on the shore, I forget what type--diopside? enstatite?--you are standing next to a potential diamond mine.

Chuck Fipke is the Godfather of diamond mining in Canada. Truly an amazing story.
Tracing indicator minerals is not needed in this case as our claims are very near known and well surveyed kimberlites and also directly in line with a secondary kimberlitic trend. We have anomolies but only data we have in hand so far is the vertical derivitive of the total magnetic. Several other types of surveys are possible and I want some opinions on what might be the most cost effective form of on-ground geophysical survey. Gracias!

[pgleba]

My reply was to point out that these particular indicator minerals will show whether or not a kimberlite is diamondiferous. An aeromag survey showing a circular or elliptical anomaly will suggest a kimberite, diamondiferous or not. The cheapest way is tracing indicator minerals back to their source.

[HiiiQ]

I could detect the diamonds directly by dowsing but couple of hundred feet deep? My shovel wouldn't survive that....

[russau]

theres a guy in Colorado that is into diamonds/kimberlite also. you may want to read some of his posts. he is over on www.coloradoprospector.com in the forums.