Drumheller and Rosalind bentonite beds are known but thin; Alberta's drilling-mud demand is met by imports.
Bearpaw and Horseshoe Canyon bentonite seams at Rosalind (3 m and 1.2 m beds) and in the Drumheller badlands have been worked historically, but AGS concludes economically workable swelling bentonite is limited and Alberta demand for drilling mud, pelletizing and liners is met mainly from the US. Shale and clay are quarried for brick and cement; the Medicine Hat brick industry closed after the 2010 flood.
Altered volcanic ash (bentonite) seams in Upper Cretaceous shales · 0–40 m
Bentonite beds 0.3–3 m thick exposed in badlands near Drumheller, Rosalind and Onoway
Sodium bentonite swelling grades needed for drilling mud and sealants
Source: AGS industrial mineral occurrences (bentonite).
DATASETS THAT TEST THE TARGET
Stack these layers on the integrated map
Discriminating datasets first, then every catalogued public dataset tagged to this commodity. Verified endpoints draw directly; link-only entries open the publisher page.
Bedrock geology of Alberta (Map 600 tiles)Alberta Geological Survey · Bedrock geology · drawable · verifiedWhich formation is at the bedrock surface: the first screen for outcropping targets such as silica sand, limestone, ironstone, bentonite, ammonite shell and shallow coal.Source ↗
Industrial mineral occurrences (DIG 2019-0027)Alberta Geological Survey · Mineral occurrences · drawable · verifiedQuarry and industrial-mineral target inventory.Source ↗
Sediment (drift) thickness above bedrockAlberta Geological Survey · Structure, depth & isopach · drawable · verifiedOverburden cost for open-pit targets and the depth of cover that geophysics must see through.Source ↗
All 9 tagged datasets
Bedrock geology of Alberta (Map 600 tiles)Alberta Geological Survey · Bedrock geology · drawableSource ↗