From their researches into the kimberlite pipes of Saskatchewan, the Claude geologists believe kimberlite volcanism might have been capable of triggering widespread environmental change. The announcement, carried in newspapers and on television, led at least one person to seek more information on the hypothesis.
“In Saskatchewan,” Gummer explains, “kimberlite volcanism may have occurred close to, and possibly overlapping, the Cretaceous/Tertiary time line, the time of dinosaur extinction (the K-T Boundary) about 70 million years ago.” It is known, Gummer said, that kimberlite and related rock types have a source within the mantle where iridium is present. It is generally accepted that the Earth was once encompassed by ash. Iridium-enriched ash beds encircling the earth at the K-T Boundary have been presented as evidence.
B.C.’s MINFILE
Attention would-be mine-finders. The Geological Survey Branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources has developed a computerized file of mineral occurrences that it says is tops in the land. The file contains information on more than 10,000 mineral occurrences in the province.
Dubbed “MINFILE,” the computerized catalogue is programmed for a VAX mainframe or mini-computer. Information is also available as hard copy maps and reports or on floppy diskettes for personal computers. “Minfile is electronically and geologically superior to any mineral inventory system in Canada,” says MINFILE manager Gib McArthur.
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