| Title | Geospatial modelling of pyrrhotite in bedrock and risk across Canada |
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| Author | Honsberger, I W ;
McDonald, D |
| Source | Geological Society of America, Abstracts With Programs vol. 53, no. 1, 2021 p. 1, https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2021NE-361728 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2021 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20220625 |
| Publisher | The Geological Society of America |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; digital; on-line |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Canada; Canada; British Columbia; Alberta; Saskatchewan; Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island; Newfoundland and Labrador; Northwest Territories; Yukon;
Nunavut |
| NTS | 1; 2; 3; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47; 48; 49; 52; 53; 54; 55; 56; 57; 58; 59; 62; 63; 64; 65;
66; 67; 68; 69; 72; 73; 74; 75; 76; 77; 78; 79; 82; 83; 84; 85; 86; 87; 88; 89; 92; 93; 94; 95; 96; 97; 98; 99; 102; 103; 104; 105; 106; 107; 114O; 114P; 115; 116; 117; 120; 340; 560 |
| Subjects | Economics and Industry; Health and Safety; modelling; pyrrhotite; bedrock geology; Risk assessment |
| Released | 2021 03 16 |
| Abstract | Pyrrhotite is a chemically reactive iron sulfide mineral (Fe(1-x)S) that causes substantial structural damage to infrastructure when present in the coarse aggregate fraction of a concrete mix. In
Trois-Rivières, Québec, for example, expansion of concrete due to oxidation of pyrrhotite-bearing aggregate in foundations of homes has led to several million dollars of property damage. Accordingly, constraining the distribution and risk of
pyrrhotite in bedrock is critical for informing decisions regarding concrete aggregate extraction. This research investigates the distribution of pyrrhotite occurrences and pyrrhotite-bearing geology across Canada. We generated a series of
national-scale maps, based on publically available bedrock geology and provincial/territorial mineral occurrence datasets, to illustrate pyrrhotite occurrences with respect to bedrock geology units. A goal is to assess the effectiveness of several
different map styles at modelling the relative risk of pyrrhotite for defined rock units. The most effective strategies involve normalizing the number of pyrrhotite occurrences with respect to rock unit area or total number of mineral occurrences per
rock unit, and defining different risk classes based on pyrrhotite occurrence density. Such geospatial products overcome sampling biases in the mineral occurrence datasets; therefore, may be most appropriate for assessing which rock units pose the
greatest risk for pyrrhotite. National-scale maps of pyrrhotite risk across Canada can be compared with related datasets from the United States to assess the distribution and risk of pyrrhotite across North America. Geospatial modelling can help
inform the selection of potential aggregate extraction sites, as well as guide investigations of possible pyrrhotite occurrences in coarse aggregate used for concrete. Such results may also be valuable for targeting key areas to pursue detailed
geotechnical tests of coarse aggregate used to develop concrete standards. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This contribution presents maps illustrating the spatial distribution of the mineral, pyrrhotite, in bedrock across Canada. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 331538 |
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