Thanks for the great links, Gord!
ei.gov.bc.ca
Interesting excerpts:
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HOST/ASSOCIATED ROCK TYPES: The kimberlite host rocks are small hypabyssal intrusions which grade upwards into diatreme breccias near surface and pyroclastic rocks in the crater facies at surface. Kimberlites are volatile-rich, potassic ultrabasic rocks that commonly exhibit a distinctive inequigranular texture resulting from the presence of macrocrysts (and sometimes megacrysts and xenoliths) set in a fine grained matrix. The megacryst and macrocryst assemblage in kimberlites includes anhedral crystals of olivine, magnesian ilmenite, pyrope garnet, phlogopite, Ti-poor chromite, diopside and enstatite. Some of these phases may be xenocrystic in origin. Matrix minerals include microphenocrysts of olivine and one or more of: monticellite, perovskite, spinel, phlogopite, apatite, and primary carbonate and serpentine. Kimberlites crosscut all types of rocks. ...
Indicator minerals are used extensively in the search for kimberlites and are one of the most important tools, other than bulk sampling, to assess the diamond content of a particular pipe. Pyrope and eclogitic garnet, chrome diopside, picroilmenite, chromite and, to a lesser extent, olivine in surficial materials (tills, stream sediments, loam, etc.) indicate a kimberlitic source. Diamonds are also usually indicative of a kimberlitic or lamproitic source; however, due to their extremely low concentration in the source, they are rarely encountered in surficial sediments. Weathered kimberlite produces a local variation in soil type that can be reflected in vegetation.
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...Couldn't have said it better m'self! -- heehee (kidding!) ... I think I'll wait for the movie to come out!
Seriously Gord, great links!
Regards,
-j
:>
PS, lotsa new 'Legend' photos posted at MEO's website |
