Post by
Wangotango67 on Jun 03, 2024 11:50am
Lithium or... He, U, Th, Fertilizer Salts...?
Summary
Helium was reported in gas analyses from wells in southwestern Saskatchewan as early as the 1950s, most notably from the Battle Creek, Wilhelm and Mankota areas. Helium production began in the Wilhelm pool (Township 17, Range 14W3) in 1963 and continued until 1977.
Saskatchewan production of helium ceased when market conditions deteriorated, but with current improved market conditions helium production is again being reported from two past- producing wells in the southwest part of the province, one just northwest of the city of Swift Current and the other
near the town of Mankota.
With the mounting interest in helium due to supply concerns, the Saskatchewan Geological Survey embarked on a program to increase understanding of the generation, accumulation and geological setting of helium resources in the province.
As a first step, an exhaustive examination of gas analyses in Ministry of the Economy well files from southwestern Saskatchewan was undertaken (this study), which identified anomalous helium concentrations in stratigraphic intervals from the Cambrian to the Cretaceous.
The results of this examination can be summarized as follows:
• The lower Paleozoic formations—in particular, the Deadwood Formation—have the highest helium concentrations in the study area (with the exception of an Upper Cretaceous helium occurrence in the extreme southwest corner of the study area).
• The two most likely models for the development of helium occurrences in southwest Saskatchewan are
1) generation of helium by radioactive decay of uranium and thorium in Precmbrian granitic basement rocks, migration of the helium out of the impermeable granite along fracture and/or fault systems developed throughout the Phanerozoic by the numerous tectonic elements in this part of the province (in particular, the Great Falls Tectonic Zone), and entrapment of the helium in sediments draping structural highs, with effective seals such as silicified siltstone; and
2) generation of helium by radioactive decay of uranium and thorium naturally occurring in the shales of the lower Paleozoic rocks (primarily Deadwood Formation shales), natural migration of the helium into stagnant pore water, partitioning of the helium from the water into gas, and trapping of the helium in a similar manner to the first model.
• Based on current understanding, the most viable model for exploration targets seems to be closed structures created by Cambrian to Cretaceous sediments draped over Precambrian monadnocks.
https://pubsaskdev.blob.core.windows.net/pubsask-prod/94157/94157-Open_File_Report_2016-1_Yurkowski.pdf
Lithium ????
Or, more value in, fertilizers, helium, uranium, thorium ?
lol