RESOURCE CONTEXT
Closed Metiskow deposit; other saline lakes mapped (AGS OFR 1985-05)
Metiskow produced from 1969 until demand vanished; Saskatchewan's lakes now own the market.
INDUSTRIAL MINERALIndustrial minerals
Metiskow / Horseshoe Lake sodium sulphate
Alberta Sulphate (historic) · Closed; plant ran from 1969
No demand for decades; Saskatchewan dominates.
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
Prospectivity envelopes for Sodium sulphate & saline-lake evaporites
- East-central saline lakes (Metiskow–Horseshoe Lake)FavourablePlaya-lake sodium sulphate (mirabilite / thenardite) in closed glacial basins
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
- $0.45/t (salt category, AR 350/93 s.15).
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.
- Surficial geology of Alberta (Map 601 tiles)Alberta Geological SurveyCover type and thickness proxy; controls aggregate, placer, peat and indicator-mineral dispersal trains.
- Industrial mineral occurrences (DIG 2019-0027)Alberta Geological SurveyQuarry and industrial-mineral target inventory.
- AGS prospective areas for mineral explorationAlberta Geological SurveyThe survey's own view of where each commodity is prospective; compare with the Atlas knowledge-driven envelopes.
- NRCan Map 900A: producing mines, mineral areas, oil & gas fieldsNatural Resources CanadaOfficial federal view of producing operations to cross-check the Atlas mine inventory.
- Non-Crown mineral ownershipAlberta Energy and MineralsFreehold minerals need private deals and carry freehold mineral tax instead of Crown royalty.
- Parks & protected areas (by designation)Alberta Forestry, Parks and TourismHard no-go areas (e.g. Peace Point gypsum inside Wood Buffalo National Park).
- First Nations reserves & Métis settlementsGovernment of AlbertaConsultation and partnership geography; AIOC loan guarantees favour Indigenous equity in projects nearby.
NEARBY OPERATIONS
Within reach
- Sheerness (humalite)Coal mine · Westmoreland · ≈140 kmOperating
- Lindbergh salt plantSalt / brine · Windsor Salt (Stone Canyon) · ≈151 kmOperating
- Dodds Coal Mine (Ryley)Coal mine · Dodds Coal Mining · ≈152 kmOperating
- Alberta Carbon Trunk Line / CliveCCS hub · Wolf Midstream / Enhance Energy · ≈193 kmOperating
- Steveville helium plantHelium · Keranic Industrial Gas (ex-Royal Helium) · ≈195 kmIdled
- Shell Polaris capture + Atlas storage hubCCS hub · Shell / ATCO EnPower · ≈213 kmConstruction