The discovery of these diamonds led John McPhee to declare in his
book “In Suspect Terrane” that diamond-bearing kimberlite
chimneys must exist near a line running between Indianapolis in
the United States and the Monts Otish in Québec. This
suggestion is quite remarkable in light of the recent discoveries
of diamondiferous kimberlite intrusions north of the Monts Otish.
In Québec, diamond exploration began in 1910
with prospecting work in river deposits along the Rivière Nottaway
at the southern end of Baie James. In 1912, the same type of
work was conducted near Matagami in the Abitibi. No diamonds were
reported from either endeavour.
In 1941, during mapping work conducted by the Québec
Government, the geologist T.H. Clark identified the presence of
kimberlitic bodies on Ile Bizard near Montreal.
The most recent stage in Québec’s
diamond exploration history began in 1952 when kimberlites
were discovered near Desmaraisville in the Abitibi. In 1968
– more than 25 years after the work of Clark –
the importance of the Ile Bizard discovery was finally recognized.
A number of diamond exploration programs were launched in Québec
from that point forward.
Efforts were greatly intensified during the 1990’s
when the discoveries in the Northwest Territories were announced.
The search in Québec generally moved to more northern areas,
particularly into the Monts Torngat and Monts Otish regions.
In 2001, the discovery of the Renard diamondiferous
kimberlites by SOQUEM and partner Ashton Mining of Canada made the
Monts Otish region the biggest centre of attention for Québec
diamonds. The resulting increase in exploration activities by so
many companies is bound to lead to other discoveries of diamond-bearing
kimberlites in Québec.
For its part, the Québec Government conducted
a number of projects related to diamond exploration, beginning in 1971
with the sampling of heavy minerals in the overburden of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue
region. Other studies focused on the identification of exploration
targets in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nord-du-Québec regions
based on aeromagnetic anomalies and structural controls.
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