Geochemistry and X-ray diffraction data from rock salts and saltwork wastes of Canada: data compilation

Description

This data repository presents a Canada-wide dataset of geochemical and mineralogical data from major subsurface salt formations and their associated evaporitic beds in onshore Canada. Beyond compiling existing records, the work involves the collection and analysis of substantial new material; 780 samples acquired since 2022 were analysed for this study, complementing 554 samples drawn from previously published research and 1821 samples from open-source national and provincial databases, for a total of 3147 samples. The sampled materials are predominantly diamond-bit cores recovered at depths of roughly 150-2000 m from wells drilled for hydrocarbon exploration, salt solution mining, salt-cavern operations, and potash exploration. The compilation spans three sedimentary basins that host evaporitic strata of economic importance in Canada: the lower and Middle Devonian succession of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, the Upper Silurian strata along the northeastern flank of the Michigan Basin in southern Ontario, and the Mississippian sequence of the Maritimes Basin in eastern Canada. A single additional sample set from Middle Cambrian salts of the northern Western Canada Sedimentary Basin is also included. The Devonian Western Canada Sedimentary Basin dataset is by far the most extensive, encompassing both economically significant salts and silty marls, carbonates, and anhydrites that are interbedded with or bound by the thick salt deposits. Many primary and secondary samples are analysed using different techniques, producing 2997 whole-rock lithogeochemistry records, generated predominantly by four-acid digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES); 174 aqueous geochemistry records from brined salt cores; 36 industrial brine and brined tailings residue samples, 281 bulk-rock X-ray diffraction (XRD) records, and 3 clay-fraction XRD records, alongside supporting field and laboratory documentation where relevant to primary data collection. The newly conducted analyses and secondary data compilation targets trace elements relevant to critical-mineral geoscience, including Li, Rb, and the rare earth elements + Y (REE+Y), while major-element data characterise the lithic impurities within the salts. The dataset supports ongoing Government of Canada research and analytical publications and contributes to the evidence base relevant to critical raw material resource characterisation associated with Canada's critical minerals strategy, while also serving broader industry and public use.

Steps to reproduce

Secondary data are available at their specified locations, as listed in the source. Primary (new) data are available through the Sample and Analysis Management System (SAMS) of Natural Resources Canada - Geological Survey of Canada – Calgary. Methods for data collection are available in Yap et al., (in review). Our original data and information for each sample (columns “GSC curation, CNumber” in supplementary tables) are also recorded in SAMS. Access to SAMS: Natural Resources Canada - Geological Survey of Canada – Calgary, address: 3303, 33rd St. NW Calgary, AB, T2L 2N2, reachable by telephone at +1-403-292-7000 and by email calgary.commissionaire@nrcan.gc.ca. In this compilation, datasets are assessed for source quality (peer-reviewed literature, government agencies, national geological surveys, recognised standards bodies) and transparent methodology in addition to spatial and geological constraints. The geochemistry data files are organised in multi-tabular Microsoft Excel files (Appendices A, B, D, E) where tables/source files are made of number, letters “L”, “B”, “X” (whole-rock lithogeochemistry, XRD, or brine geochemistry, respectively), and the first four letters of a sedimentary basin name (WCSB = Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, MARI = Maritimes Basin, and MICH = Michigan Basin). Within each source file, each record is assigned a UniqueID constructed as the SourceCode and a row number (e.g., 01LWCSB1, 01LWCSB2). Most records provide verifiable geolocation (latitude/longitude with the stated coordinate reference system), sampling date/time, units, detection/quantification limits (LQL and UQL), and concise descriptions of field and laboratory methods. Units and reference frames are harmonised before analysis to enable processing of various data sheets concatenated using Pandas, a Python library that provides fast, flexible data frame and series structures for cleaning, reshaping, and analysing tabular data. Noteworthy with the major element data, our new lithogeochemical data were commercially acquired at ActLabs Ltd. These include Al, Ca, Mg, Fe, K, S with the representative lower and upper detection/quantification limits (further LQL and UQL). They also include Na with the UQL ranging between 3-10 wt.%. This limit of Na detection is not representative for halite-rich samples. Additionally, selected lab protocols do not report Si, however, a wealth of Si/SiO2 data are available from previously published sources collected in Appendix A.

Institutions

• University of Calgary

  AB, Calgary

Categories

Funders

• Natural Resources Canada

  Ontario, Ottawa

Licence