MINERAL INVENTORY FILE NO.
924
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PRODUCT
Gypsum
NTS AREA
62O/15 SW
REF.
GYP 2
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NAME OF PROPERTY
Gypsumville - Elephant Hill
OWNER OF OPERATOR ADDRESS
Domtar Construction Materials Ltd.
1405 Sargent Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3E 0G6
OBJECT LOCATED
Quarry
MINING DIVISION
Winnipeg
Latitude
51°50'
Longitude
98°33'
Uncertainty (m)
50
UTM Zone
_____
Easting
_______
Northing
_______
L.S./Quarter Section
4,5
Section
4
Township
33
Range
8 WPM
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSIT
Gypsum of the Jurassic Amaranth Formation was quarried at Elephant Hill for the use in making cement, wallboard, and plaster of paris. The surface of this deposit is covered with boulder clay which, in the vicinity of the quarry, averages 0.6 m to 0.9 m. The gypsum as exposed shows stratification in some places, while in others it is indistinct or absent. A small percentage of reddish clay can be seen between some of the layers, but on the whole the rock is very pure.
At random places the gypsum encloses round boulder-like masses of blue anhydrite and these "boulders" vary in size all the way up to 6 m in diameter. Some of the bands of gypsum carry anhydrite in the middle. Folding the gypsum beds is obvious. An interesting feature of this deposit is the occurrence of selenite in pockets, veins, and sheets through the gypsum as well as in the anhydrite. The continuous masses of transparent selenite are up to 1.5 m long and single cleavage plates more than 0.3 m square can occur. The selenite occurs as thick platy masses that have grown together at various angles.
Chemical Properties: analysis from "old quarry" in Brownell (1931).
Physical Properties: see Bannatyne (1959) and Hoque (1967).
Use: Plaster of Paris, cement, plasterboard.
ASSOCIATED MINERALS OR PRODUCTS OF VALUE
N/A
HISTORY OF EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The quarry is located approximately 257 km northwest of Winnipeg and about 6 km northeast of the old Gypsumville quarry.
Elephant Hill is on Crown Land.
1910 - Quarry Lease M-75 was issued to D.G. McArthur for a period of 21 years. It covers parts of l.s. 4 and 5, Sec. 4.
1911 - Assignment of lease to Dominion Gyspum Company Limited.
1915 - Dominion Gypsum Company Limited amalgamated with the Manitoba Gypsum Company and carried on under the name of Manitoba Gypsum Company.
1918 - The rock was quarried only in the winter, and was transported by horse drawn sleds to the Gypsumville quarry. Here is was stored in a stock pile beside the railway track from which it was drawn throughout the year as needed. An annual production of 1360 to 1814 tonnes was quarried from 1918 to 1931 with the exception of 2 years.
1922 - Renewal of Quarry Lease M-75.
1930 - Assignment of lease to Canada Gypsum and Alabastine Limited in April. The Company name changed to Gypsum, Lime and Alabastine Canada Limited.
1933 - Renewal of Quarry Lease M-75.
1952 - Renewal of lease M-75. The lease was assigned to Montreal Trust Company in December.
1959 - Assignment of Lease to Dominion Tar and Chemical Company Limited.
1962 - Rental renewed for 10 years.
1965 - The company name changed to Domtar Industries Limited.
1972 - The leases were renewed. Production has been on an intermittent basis in recent years.
HISTORY OF PRODUCTION
1918 - The rock was quarried only in the winter. It was stockpiled near Gypsumville and used as needed. Annual production of 1360 - 1814 tonnes occurred till 1931 with the exception of 2 years.
1932-1978 - Production continued on an intermittent basis.
Shipping Point - Gypsumville
Material Shipped - Gypsum
Destination - Winnipeg
Distance from Mine - 257 km
Carrier - CNR
REFERENCES
Annual Report, Manitoba Mines Branch, 1943, p. 49-52.
Bannatyne, B.B. 1959: Gypsum-Anhydrite Deposits of Manitoba; Manitoba Mines Branch, Publ. 58-2, 46p.
Bannatyne, B.B. 1977: Educational Series 77/1, Manitoba MRD.
Brownell, G.M. 1931: Gypsum in Manitoba; unpublished report, on file, Man. MRD.
Cole, L.H. 1913: Gypsum in Canada; Mines Branch Canada, Rept. No. 245.
Cole, L.H. 1930: The Gypsum Industry of Canada; Mines Branch Canada, Rept. No. 732, p. 20-25.
de Wet, J.P. 1934: The Story of Gypsum in Manitoba; Canadian Mining Journal; Jan. 1934.
Hoque, M.H. 1967: Structure and Petrology of the Gypsumville Gypsum Deposit; Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, U of Sask. 94p.
Manitoba Gypsum Company; Corporation File, Man. MRD.
McCabe, H.R. and Bannatyne, B.B. 1970: Lake St. Martin Crypto-Explosion Crater and Geology of the Surrounding Area; Man. Mines Branch, Geol. Paper 3/70.
McGill, H.F.: Report on Gypsum Properties of Gypsum Lime and Alabastine Canada Limited, Gypsumville Manitoba; on file, Man. MRD.
Parks, W.A. 1916: Report on the Building and Ornamental Stones of Canada, Vol. IV, Province of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta; Mines Branch, Canada, Report. No. 388.
Tyrrell, J.B. 1887: Geological Survey of Canada, Ann. Report 1887, vol. III, N.S., pt. 1, p. 74A.
Wallace, R.C. and MacLean, A. 1914: Gypsum and Salt in Manitoba; Geological Survey of Canada, Sum. Rept. 1913 p. 165-167.
Wallace, R.C. 1915: Gypsum and Brines in Manitoba; Geological Survey of Canada, Sum. Rept. 1914 p. 73-80.
Wallace, R.C. and Greer, L. 1927: The Non-Metallic Mineral Resources of Manitoba; Industry Dev. Board of Manitoba, 93 pp.; (Gypsum: p. 38-43).
MAP REFERENCES
*Map 62O/15, Gypsumville (Topo.), 1:50 000; Surveys & Mapping Branch, Manitoba MRD.
Map 12, Industrial Mineral Producers (Index), 1:1000 000; Manitoba MRD.
#Location Map, Geology Map; Hoque (1967).
URL
N/A
REMARKS
The rock is quarried at White Elephant Quarry during the winter months and it consists of 30 acres in the SW1/4 of Section 4, Twp. 33, R. 8W. This area is only accessible in winter time and produces a very clean white gypsum; used in the making of plaster of paris.
NOTES
N/A
Compiled/Revised by:
CWJ
Date
06/78

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