Sask funding aero-magnetic survey in southwest

Saskatchewan funding aero-magnetic survey in southwest Sask to drive further critical mineral development.

By Brian Zinchuk

REGINA – In recent months, there have been more rigs drilling for helium in southwest Saskatchewan than there have been drilling for oil. The region has become a hotbed for helium development in recent years, but it’s not the only resource underground. There might be a lot more potential geological development in that area, if only more was known about what’s possibly there.

That’s the tack the provincial government is taking in announcing a program to take a deeper look at the resources that could be developed in southwest Saskatchewan. The Government of Saskatchewan announced on April 16 it will invest $500,000 for an airborne survey in southwest Saskatchewan in partnership with Natural Resources Canada. The survey will collect data about the area’s geology and natural resources.

Aeromagnetic surveys can be critical in identifying possible drilling targets. While this is an example of helicopter-borne aeromagnetic surveying, it can also be done with a fixed-wing aircraft. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

“This survey work will support Saskatchewan’s Critical Minerals Strategy,” Energy and Resources Minister Jim Reiter said in a release. “The data we collect will be made publicly available so that it can be used to inform investment decisions on new and existing exploration projects.”

Airborne geophysical surveys are an effective way of providing insight into the province’s mineral potential over relatively large areas. Similar surveys have been conducted over regions of northern Saskatchewan in recent years, the Ministry of Energy and Resources said. These surveys have resulted in the staking of new mineral dispositions, particularly in areas with potential for copper, zinc and gold and have provided valuable technical data to support exploration companies working in these areas.

The Swift Current area has been identified for the work due to the lack of modern geophysical survey data available. Potential lithium-in-brine, helium and petroleum resources may exist in the area, which could spur exploration and development.

Southwest Saskatchewan has been studied for decades for potential helium development by one of the province’s research geologists, Melinda Yurkowski, whose publicly available work has been of notable assistance to helium explorers. This sort of fundamental research is a key function of the Saskatchewan Geological Survey, part of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources.

Indeed, North American Helium has been leading the charge in developing multiple sites for helium throughout the southwest region. Royal Helium has also done extensive helium exploration in the Climax and Val Marie areas. Indeed, the same morning of the government announcement, Royal Helium announced it had reached an economic participation agreement and letter of intent for a $25 million joint venture investment by Sparrow Hawk Developments in the development of Royal’s Val Marie helium project. That includes a new helium processing plant, Royal’s first in the province.

Back in 2021, Royal Helium did similar extensive aerial surveys to develop its resource. Royal CEO Andrew Davidson told Pipeline Online on April 16, “We’ve relied heavily on aero-mag programs. Generally, it’s the first step that we do whenever looking at new area. So that’s a good program. I’m glad they’re doing that. I wish they would have done it three years ago.”

Ryan Morelli, chief geologist of Saskatchewan with the Ministry of Energy and Resources spoke to Pipeline Online on April 16 about the program.

“This one we’re planning is an aero-magnetic survey. And most likely it will be done by fixed wing aircraft. That hasn’t been 100 per cent finalized yet. But that’s typically how they’re done.”

Aero-magnetic surveys are also done by helicopter, as Royal did back in 2021. Morelli said, “It’s the same principle. It’s an aircraft of some sort that is use a grid over a certain area and collect the data.”

Morelli said the size of the area to be studied is yet to be determined. It will be driven by the funding available. The province is working with Natural Resources Canada on procurement. Once the cost per line-kilometre of survey is known, they’ll be able to determine how large of an area can be surveyed.

The province isn’t saying exactly where this will be done at this point of time. That’s because in doing similar surveys in the north, it led to staking of properties. And while that’s the eventual desired outcome, the province also wants to be fair to everyone. “We have to be a bit vague, here, because it could be considered a competitive advantage to know the location of the survey,” Morelli explained.

Eventually the data will be made available publicly, as that’s the entire purpose of the survey.

It’s been a while since the province has done surveys like this in the south, according to Morelli, and the last time it was done, the resolution wasn’t very high. He said, “We don’t really have modern aero-magnetic coverage in the south, to the extent we do in the north. So I think in the last survey, which was more of sort of a regional resolution, the spacing was 800 metres to a 1000 metres spacing between lines. And we’re trying to reduce that. So we’re trying to cut it in half or better with this modern survey.”

He noted some of the drivers for this are development of helium, lithium, and petroleum as well. “We need to better understand the geologic framework in our region, especially understanding the rocks at depth that are, in a lot of cases, are controlling characteristics of rocks above.”

Specifically, this will help define the basement rock below the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. And that’s significant because one of the current theories of where the helium comes from is radioactive decay of uranium and thorium in the basement rock. The helium is then captured by very tight cap rock above the lowest layers of the sedimentary column.

“Really, it comes down to the geology at the end of the day,” Morelli said. “So the more we can understand about the geology and the resources the rocks contain, is furthering our understanding of how to develop those resources.”

Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan aims to increase mining exploration, along with the value of mining exports and oil production to 600,000 barrels per day, the ministry said. Saskatchewan has 23 of the 31 critical minerals on Canada’s list.