Identification_Information:

    Citation:

      Citation_Information:

        Originator: Alberta Energy Regulator

        Originator: Alberta Geological Survey

        Originator: Meek, D.M.

        Originator: Birnie, C.

        Originator: Belosevic, M.B.K.

        Publication_Date: 2026

        Title: Gold Grain Counts from Surficial Sediment Samples from Alberta (tabular data, tab-delimited format)

        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data

        Series_Information:

          Series_Name: Digital Data

          Issue_Identification: DIG 2025-0021

        Publication_Information:

          Publication_Place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

          Publisher: Alberta Geological Survey

        Online_Linkage: https://ags.aer.ca/publications/all-publications/dig-2025-0021

    Description:

      Abstract: This digital data release includes gold grain counts from 874 surficial sediment samples collected across Alberta. The surficial sediment samples include: 423 stream sediment samples, 417 glacial till samples, 21 glaciofluvial sediment samples, 8 lacustrine sediment samples, 4 diamicton samples, and 1 pre-glacial sand sample.

The bulk glacial till and stream sediment samples were collected in 2022 and 2023 as part of the regional till and stream sediment sampling program funded by the Mineral Grant provided by the Government of Alberta. The program focused on three general areas in Alberta (southwestern, north-central, and northwestern) to support the evaluation of critical mineral potential in the province.

The archived sample fractions represent preserved fractions from surficial sediment samples collected across northern Alberta in the 1990s that were previously analyzed for kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs). With the primary focus of past programs on KIMs, the fractions from individual samples were recombined and reprocessed for gold grains.

This work was completed under the Mineral Grant provided by the Government of Alberta dated June 22, 2021.

      Purpose: To provide gold grain data from bulk till and stream sediment samples, and archived surficial sediment sample fractions from Alberta.

      Supplemental_Information: Language: In English;

    Time_Period_of_Content:

      Time Period Information:

        Single Date/Time:

          Calendar_Date: 2023

    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  Status:

    Progress: Complete

    Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned

  Spatial Domain:

    Bounding Coordinates:

      West_Bounding_Coordinate: -119.94

      East_Bounding_Coordinate: -110.01

      North_Bounding_Coordinate: 59.95

      South_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.03

  Keywords:

    Theme:

      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category

      Theme_Keyword: geology

      Theme_Keyword: gold

      Theme_Keyword: mineral mapping program

      Theme_Keyword: minerals

      Theme_Keyword: placer gold

      Theme_Keyword: stream sediments

      Theme_Keyword: surficial glacial deposits

      Theme_Keyword: surficial sediment

      Theme_Keyword: till

    Place:

      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category

      Place_Keyword: 73l

      Place_Keyword: 73m

      Place_Keyword: 74d

      Place_Keyword: 74e

      Place_Keyword: 74l

      Place_Keyword: 82g

      Place_Keyword: 82h

      Place_Keyword: 82i

      Place_Keyword: 82j

      Place_Keyword: 82o

      Place_Keyword: 83b

      Place_Keyword: 83c

      Place_Keyword: 83d

      Place_Keyword: 83e

      Place_Keyword: 83f

      Place_Keyword: 83g

      Place_Keyword: 83i

      Place_Keyword: 83k

      Place_Keyword: 83l

      Place_Keyword: 83m

      Place_Keyword: 83n

      Place_Keyword: 83o

      Place_Keyword: 83p

      Place_Keyword: 84a

      Place_Keyword: 84b

      Place_Keyword: 84c

      Place_Keyword: 84d

      Place_Keyword: 84e

      Place_Keyword: 84f

      Place_Keyword: 84g

      Place_Keyword: 84h

      Place_Keyword: 84i

      Place_Keyword: 84j

      Place_Keyword: 84k

      Place_Keyword: 84l

      Place_Keyword: 84m

      Place_Keyword: 84n

      Place_Keyword: 84o

      Place_Keyword: alberta

      Place_Keyword: canada

  Access_Constraints: Public

  Use_Constraints: Acknowledgement of the Alberta Energy Regulator / Alberta Geological Survey as the originator/source of this information is required as described in the Open Government License - Alberta.

  Point_of_Contact:

    Contact_Information:

      Contact_Organization_Primary:

        Contact_Organization: Alberta Geological Survey

        Contact_Person: AGS Information Manager

      Contact_Position: AGS Information Manager

      Contact_Address:

        Address_Type: mailing and physical

        Address: Alberta Energy Regulator

        Address: 2nd Floor, Twin Atria Building

        Address: 4999-98 Avenue NW

        City: Edmonton

        State_or_Province: Alberta

        Postal_Code: T6B 2X3

        Country: Canada

      Contact_Voice_Telephone: (780) 638-4491

      Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (780) 422-1459

      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: AGS-Info@aer.ca

      Hours_of_Service: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Data_Quality_Information:

  Attribute_Accuracy:

    Attribute_Accuracy_Report: All weights and gold grain count values are as reported by the lab (Overburden Drilling Management Ltd.).

  Logical_Consistency_Report: This is a compilation of data from several sources. When spatial locations were checked for uniqueness, sample IDs were found to be unique but the actual locations (latitudes and longitudes) for 36 records are duplicated or are separated by less than 10 m. These represent duplicate samples collected in the field, or samples collected at different depth intervals.

All attributes have been assigned values. Values of "0" indicate where grains were not observed by the lab.

No checking of attribute values provided by the lab was performed.

  Completeness_Report: All weights and gold grain count values were provided by the lab (Overburden Drilling Management Ltd.).

Sample locations were extracted from the related publication references for all records in this dataset, with the exception of unpublished data where hard copy data collection forms were used to extract sampling coordinates.

Sample type was extracted from related reports (e.g., AGS SPE 115 and AGS SPE 125) for new bulk till and stream sediment samples. For all other samples a designation of archived sample fractions was recorded to indicate that these were samples that had previously been processed for other purposes (e.g., Kimberlite Indicator Minerals).

  Positional_Accuracy:

    Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:

   Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: See original publications for details regarding horizontal positional accuracy.

    Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:

   Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report: See original publications for details regarding vertical positional accuracy.

  Lineage:

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: Alberta Energy and Utilities Board

          Originator: Alberta Geological Survey

          Originator: Eccles, D.R.

          Originator: Haynes, M.

          Originator: Csanyi, W.

          Publication_Date: 200108

          Title: Diamond and Metallic-Mineral Potential of the Peerless Lake Map Area, North-Central Alberta

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

          Series_Information:

            Series_Name: Earth Sciences Report

            Issue_Identification: ESR 2000-08

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

            Publisher: Alberta Geological Survey

          Online_Linkage: https://ags.aer.ca

   Source_Scale_Denominator:

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

        Source Time Period of Content:

          Time Period Information:

            Single Date/Time:

       Calendar_Date: 200108

     Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

     Source_Citation_Abbreviation: ESR 2000-08

     Source_Contribution: Sample information

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: Alberta Energy and Utilities Board

          Originator: Alberta Geological Survey

          Originator: Fenton, M.M.

          Originator: Pawlowicz, J.G.

          Publication_Date: 1998

          Title: Reconnaissance Till Mineral and Geochemical Survey with Emphasis on Northern Alberta; Project Final Report

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

          Series_Information:

            Series_Name: Open File Report

            Issue_Identification: OFR 1996-07

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

            Publisher: Alberta Energy and Utilities Board

          Online_Linkage: https://ags.aer.ca

   Source_Scale_Denominator:

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

        Source Time Period of Content:

          Time Period Information:

            Single Date/Time:

       Calendar_Date: 1998

     Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

     Source_Citation_Abbreviation: OFR 1996-07

     Source_Contribution: Sample information

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: Alberta Energy and Utilities Board

          Originator: Alberta Geological Survey

          Originator: Pawlowicz, J.G.

          Originator: Dufresne, M.B.

          Originator: Fenton, M.M.

          Publication_Date: 19980505

          Title: Diamond Indicator Minerals from Till, Northern Alberta

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

          Series_Information:

            Series_Name: Geo-Note

            Issue_Identification: GEO 1998-01

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

            Publisher: Alberta Energy and Utilities Board

          Online_Linkage: https://ags.aer.ca

   Source_Scale_Denominator:

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

        Source Time Period of Content:

          Time Period Information:

            Single Date/Time:

       Calendar_Date: 19980505

     Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

     Source_Citation_Abbreviation: GEO 1998-01

     Source_Contribution: Sample information

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: Alberta Energy Regulator

          Originator: Alberta Geological Survey

          Originator: Lopez, G.P.

          Originator: Harris, G.A.

          Originator: Banas, A.

          Originator: Eccles, D.R.

          Publication_Date: 2020

          Title: Alberta Kimberlite Indicator Mineral (KIM) Microprobe Analyses (tabular data, tab delimited format)

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data

          Series_Information:

            Series_Name: Digital Data

            Issue_Identification: DIG 2020-0009

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

            Publisher: Alberta Geological Survey

          Online_Linkage: https://ags.aer.ca

   Source_Scale_Denominator:

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

        Source Time Period of Content:

          Time Period Information:

            Single Date/Time:

       Calendar_Date: 2020

     Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

     Source_Citation_Abbreviation: DIG 2020-0009

     Source_Contribution: Sample information

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: Alberta Energy Regulator

          Originator: Alberta Geological Survey

          Originator: Sacco, D.

          Originator: Howitt, L.

          Originator: Knox, C.

          Originator: DesRosiers, P.

          Originator: Whitney, J.

          Originator: Janzen, B.

          Originator: McCuaig, S.

          Originator: McKillop, R.

          Originator: Meek, D.M.

          Publication_Date: 2023

          Title: Regional Till and Stream Sediment Sampling to Support the Evaluation of Critical Mineral Potential in Alberta

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form:

          Series_Information:

            Series_Name: Special Report

            Issue_Identification: SPE 115

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

            Publisher: Alberta Geological Survey

          Other_Citation_Details: ISBN: 978-1-4601-5706-0

          Online_Linkage: https://ags.aer.ca

   Source_Scale_Denominator:

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

        Source Time Period of Content:

          Time Period Information:

            Single Date/Time:

       Calendar_Date: 2023

     Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

     Source_Citation_Abbreviation: SPE 115

     Source_Contribution: Sample information

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: Alberta Energy Regulator

          Originator: Alberta Geological Survey

          Originator: Knox, C.

          Originator: Elder, B.

          Originator: Sacco, D.

          Originator: Adams, R.

          Publication_Date: 2025

          Title: Evaluation of Critical Mineral Potential in Alberta: Regional Till Geochemistry and a Catchment Basin Analysis of Stream Sediment Geochemistry

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

          Series_Information:

            Series_Name: Special Report

            Issue_Identification: SPE 125

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

            Publisher: Alberta Geological Survey

          Other_Citation_Details: ISBN 978-1-4601-5729-9

          Online_Linkage: https://ags.aer.ca

   Source_Scale_Denominator:

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

        Source Time Period of Content:

          Time Period Information:

            Single Date/Time:

       Calendar_Date: 2025

     Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

     Source_Citation_Abbreviation: SPE 125

     Source_Contribution: Sample information

    Process_Step:

   Process_Description: This dataset includes a compilation of 874 samples collected from across Alberta between 1992 and 2023.

156 glacial till samples and 361 stream sediment samples were collected across Alberta between 2022 and 2023 using methods established by the Geological Survey of Canada (see AGS SPE 115 and AGS SPE 125 for more details). 357 samples are defined as archived sample fractions in this dataset, collected from the northern half of Alberta between 1992 and 1998. A variety of sample fractions existed in labelled bags for the individual samples (e.g., “permroll non-mags”, “mags”, “magstream lights”, “originals”, “lights”, “-180 µm”, “+180 µm”, “-250 µm”, “+250 µm”, etc.), generated as a result of their original processing for kimberlite indicator minerals. These archived sample fractions were stored at the AGS Mineral Core Research Facility in Edmonton. For more details on the individual samples, and original sample processing, please see the related publications referenced in the dataset.

All sample material was sent to Overburden Drilling Management Ltd. for processing and counting. Processing included sample disaggregation where required (i.e., clay-rich till samples), wet sieving the sample at 2.0 mm (till samples only), shaking table density separation, and panning to extract and count visible gold grains with a stereomicroscope. Sample processing and gold grain counting was performed between 2022 and 2024.

   Process_Date: 2024

  Data_Quality_Information:

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Entity_and_Attribute_Information: Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: DIG 2025-0021

Entity_Type_Definition: This dataset reports gold grain counts in bulk till and stream sediment samples, and archived surficial sediment sample fractions from Alberta.

Entity_Type_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Smpl_ID

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Unique identifer of the sample.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Smpl_type

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Type of sample submitted for analysis.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Smpl_mat

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Surficial sediment sample material as reported in related publication.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Smpl_D_T

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: The depth, in metres, to the top of the sampling horizon.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Smpl_D_B

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: The depth, in metres, to the bottom of the sampling horizon.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Lat_NAD83

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Latitude, NAD83 datum, decimal degrees north.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Long_NAD83

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Longitude, NAD83 datum, decimal degrees east.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Wt_rcvd_kg

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Weight (wet), in kilograms, of bulk sample received by lab.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Wt_tbfd_kg

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Weight (wet), in kilograms, of shaker table feed (<2 mm grain size fraction).

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: TotGG

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Total number of visible gold grains.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: ReshpGG

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Number of visible reshaped gold grains.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: ModGG

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Number of visible modified gold grains.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: PristGG

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Number of visible pristine gold grains.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Rel_pub

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Related publication for sample processed.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Publisher

Attribute_Definition_Source: Alberta Geological Survey

Attribute_Definition: Organization that published the dataset.

  Distribution_Information:

    Distributor:

      Contact_Information:

        Contact_Organization_Primary:

          Contact_Organization: Alberta Geological Survey

          Contact_Person: AGS Information Manager

        Contact_Position: AGS Information Manager

        Contact_Address:

          Address_Type: mailing and physical

          Address: Alberta Energy Regulator

          Address: 2nd Floor, Twin Atria Building

          Address: 4999-98 Avenue NW

          City: Edmonton

          State_or_Province: Alberta

          Postal_Code: T6B 2X3

          Country: Canada

        Contact_Voice_Telephone: (780) 638-4491

        Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (780) 422-1459

        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: AGS-Info@aer.ca

        Hours_of_Service: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Distribution_Liability: The Alberta Energy Regulator / Alberta Geological Survey (AER/AGS) licenses this information under the Open Government License - Alberta. Any references to proprietary software in our documentation, and/or any use of proprietary data formats in our releases, do not constitute endorsement by the AER/AGS of any manufacturer's product.

  Metadata_Reference_Information:

    Metadata_Date: 20260107

    Metadata_Contact:

      Contact_Information:

        Contact_Organization_Primary:

          Contact_Organization: Alberta Geological Survey

          Contact_Person: AGS Information Manager

        Contact_Position: AGS Information Manager

        Contact_Address:

          Address_Type: mailing and physical

          Address: Alberta Energy Regulator

          Address: 2nd Floor, Twin Atria Building

          Address: 4999-98 Avenue NW

          City: Edmonton

          State_or_Province: Alberta

          Postal_Code: T6B 2X3

          Country: Canada

        Contact_Voice_Telephone: (780) 638-4491

        Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (780) 422-1459

        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: AGS-Info@aer.ca

        Hours_of_Service: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

    Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

    Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

    Metadata_Time_Convention: local time

    Metadata_Access_Constraints: none

    Metadata_Use_Constraints: none