Fieldtrips | Diamond Exploration Research Training School
2019 Fieldtrip: Ancient and modern subduction and modern volcanism in Guatemala
In April 2019 a group of 10 DERTS students along with 2 faculty members participated in a student organized and led fieldtrip to Guatemala. The field trip was split into 2 parts: Part 1 focused on obducted arc assemblages from cretaceous aged subduction in central Guatemala and Part 2 examined modern arc volcanism in eastern Guatemala. The metamorphic geology portion (Part 1) of the trip was supported by professor Sergio Moran from the University of San Carlos, Guatemala, and his students Carlos Ventura, Servin Aguilar, and Hugo Hernandez Cajas, to whom we are indebted. This portion of the trip visited the eclogite facies Chaucus complex and 2 ophiolite complexes: El Tambor and Baja Verapaz. The second portion of the trip (Part 2) included visits to the Acatenango, Fuego, and Pacaya volcanoes followed by a boat tour around the Lake Atitlan Caldera. Thanks to all the DERTS students for organizing the trip which was a stunning success!
The DERTS 2019 field trip was supported by NSERC, the University of Alberta, DeBeers Group and Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, we are grateful for all your support!
Our DERTS 2019 Guatemala Fieldtrip guide is available for download.
2018 Fieldtrip: Wells Gray Volcanic Province and New Afton Mine
The 2018 DERTS Fieldtrip was run in conjunction with the U of A Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) Student chapter. DERTS students organized and led the fieldtrip to interior BC to visit the Wells Grey Volcanic Province and New Afton Mine. The Wells Gray Volcanics represent some of the most recent volcanic events in Canada. The focus of the trip was to understand the large scale volcanic and tectonic history of the region, and the accretionary orogenic systems that control metal mineralization along the Stikine and Quesnel terranes. During the trip the students visited well preserved exposures of cinder cones, sub-glacial volcanics, basaltic dykes and mantle xenoliths. The trip included a visit to New Gold's New Afton Mine - a Au-Ag-Cu deposit - near Kamloops, BC. The students were treated to both an underground tour and surface tour of the operation.
2017 Fieldtrip: Diavik and Geology
The inaugural DERTS Fieldtrip in June 2016 included a tour of the operations at the Diavik Diamond Mine including the processing facility, underground mining operations, new dyke construction and even the wind farm! Our hosts at Diavik were very generous with their time and hospitality; we are grateful to Yuri Kinakin and Gus Fomradas for organizing the tour and all staff onsite for showing us around. The trip provided a very thorough overview of all aspects of an operating mine for our DERTS students. On the way home from the mine we examined the roadside geology along the Ingram trail from just outside of Yellowknife to the beginning of the ice road.
