Buffalo Head Hills diamonds

RESOURCE CONTEXT

51 kimberlites; Buffalo Head Hills 26–28 diamondiferous; K252 0.55 ct/t (22.8 t sample)

Fifty-one kimberlites, twenty-six diamondiferous, grades of 6–55 carats per hundred tonnes — intriguing but sub-economic so far.

Official reserve statements for this commodity (1)

• Buffalo Head Hills — 26 diamondiferous kimberlites (K252 0.55 ct/t)26 diamondiferous pipes · Resource estimate · 2024Star Diamond / AER ↗

GEOLOGICAL SETTING

Prospectivity envelopes for Diamonds

• Buffalo Head Hills kimberlite fieldFavourable
  Late Cretaceous kimberlite pipes (38 known) intruding the Buffalo Head terrane
• Birch Mountains & Mountain Lake kimberlitesPermissive, under-explored
  Kimberlite / ultramafic pipes with sub-economic grades

Development regime

Tenure

Metallic & Industrial Minerals Tenure Regulation (AR 265/2022): permit — exclusive exploration right, indefinite term, no rent, $625 fee, assessment work $7/ha (first 2 years) → $13 → $20/ha; lease — 15-year initial + 15-year intermediate term, indefinite while producing, $3.50/ha rent.

Royalty

Metallic minerals: 1 % of mine-mouth revenue pre-payout; post-payout the greater of 1 % mine-mouth or 12 % of net revenue (AR 350/93 s.4). Diamonds are treated as metallic minerals; Canterra retains a 1 % royalty on Buffalo Hills.

DATASETS TO STACK HERE

Public layers that cover this site

• Bedrock geology polygons (DIG 2013-0018, queryable)Alberta Geological SurveyAttribute-level bedrock mapping for screening host lithologies; heavy, so it loads only when zoomed in.
• Geology of Canada compilation (GSC raster)Natural Resources Canada – GSCHarmonizes Alberta units with Saskatchewan, BC and NWT geology for cross-border play continuity.
• Surficial geology of Alberta (Map 601 tiles)Alberta Geological SurveyCover type and thickness proxy; controls aggregate, placer, peat and indicator-mineral dispersal trains.
• Glacial landforms (moraines, flutings, meltwater channels)Alberta Geological SurveyIce-flow direction for tracing kimberlite-indicator and gold-grain till trains back to source.
• Sediment (drift) thickness above bedrockAlberta Geological SurveyOverburden cost for open-pit targets and the depth of cover that geophysics must see through.
• Precambrian magnetic basement domains (AGS)Alberta Geological SurveyCraton architecture for diamonds (thick cold lithosphere), radiogenic basement for helium, and shear zones for uranium and gold.
• Lithoprobe seismic transects (ABT, SALT, PRAISE)Alberta Geological SurveyThe only public deep-seismic imaging; constrains basement architecture, Snowbird Tectonic Zone and the Peace River Arch.
• Kimberlite indicator mineral sample countsAlberta Geological SurveyIndicator trains point up-ice to undiscovered kimberlites.

NEARBY OPERATIONS

Within reach

• Peace River frac-sand quarrySilica sand · Source Energy Services · ≈150 kmOperating
• NeoLithica — Peace River lithiumLithium brine · NeoLithica · ≈166 kmExploration
• SBH / Buckton polymetallic black shaleMetallic exploration · Critical Minerals Americas · ≈175 kmExploration
• Clear Hills iron–vanadium (Rambling Creek)Metallic exploration · Ironstone Resources (dormant) · ≈204 kmExploration
• First Helium — Worsley 15-25Helium · First Helium · ≈226 kmPermitting
• Canadian Natural HorizonOil sands mine · Canadian Natural · ≈240 kmOperating