Manitoba's Mineral Resources
GIS Map GalleryIndustrial Minerals
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Click images below to enlarge:
Calcium bentonite outcrop near Morden-Miami area
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Pembina Mountain Clays Incorporated quarried, the only non-swelling calcium bentonite in Canada, at 21 sites in the Morden-Miami area from 1939 to 1990. The bentonite was processed at plants in Morden and Winnipeg. New quarry sites could be identified on Crown and privately held mineral lands with a reasonable amount of exploration activity. Pembina Mountain produced natural and acid-activated non-swelling calcium bentonite. Twelve grades of bentonite were sold in dry powder form primarily to vegetable oil refineries in Alberta and Ontario, where it was used as a bleaching agent to decolourize the oils. It was also used to refine waste mineral oil and tallow soaps. A small amount of kitty litter was also produced for local consumption. Currently, all natural and acid-activated non-swelling calcium bentonite used in Manitoba is imported from the southern U.S. Bird River Mines Inc. is currently investigating the potential for non-swelling calcium bentonite production in the Miami area, near Deerwood, Manitoba. Stripping of overburden and the overlying Millwood Member of the Cretaceous Pierre Shale has been carried out in a test pit. Thin beds of bentonite have been exposed within the enclosing black shales of the Pembina Member. The equipment that is being utilized in the pit is shown at the top of this page and on the front page of the Industrial Mineral segment of the Manitoba Science, Technology, Energy and Mines Website. Contact:Bird River Mines Inc. |
