CSPG21SC Fault-Controlled Hydrothermal Dolomite-Leached Limestone Exploration Play
This one-day short course provides an overview of the fault-controlled hydrothermal dolomite-leached limestone exploration play. This play type encompasses numerous Devonian and Mississippian intervals in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, including the Devonian Keg River, Slave Point, Nahanni-Dunedin, Jean Marie and Wabamun units and the Mississippian Banff, Pekisko and Debolt formations. It also is a major play type in the Ordovician to Devonian of eastern Canada, the northeastern United States and Texas, as well as in Jurassic-Cretaceous strata of offshore eastern Canada, the Middle East and elsewhere. Reservoirs vary from where dolomites form the dominant reservoir to, much less commonly, where limestones provide the dominant reservoir. Through a succession of lectures and core exhibits, the pertinent aspects of this continuum are explored. Specific topics that are addressed include the tectonic and structural controls on hydrothermal dolomite formation, the origin of the dolomite-forming hydrothermal fluids, including new insights from the study of Cambrian-hosted dolomites, magnesites and the World Heritage Burgess Shale of southeastern British Columbia, the controls on the spatial distribution of leached limestones, and the evolution of pores in these dolostones and associated limestones.
