Abstract: Computer Applications in Geologic Interpretation of Refraction Seismic Data in Wollaston Foldbelt Region of Athabasca Basin

J. V. Suryam

During the years 1976 and 1977, nearly 200 line-mi of two-way refraction seismic survey, covering an area of approximately 600 sq mi (960 km), was conducted over the Wollaston foldbelt region in the Athabasca basin, in north-central Saskatchewan, western Canada. The survey was undertaken by the Geological Survey Branch of the Department of Mineral Resources of the Province of Saskatchewan; the objectives were to map the subsurface configuration of the topography of the basement rocks, to delineate the basin edge, and to locate major structural trends (including faults) that are of geologic and economic interest. The basement rocks include Archean granites and lower Proterozoic Aphebian rocks of the Wollaston Group, which are overlain unconformably by relatively thick, but flat-lying cover rocks of middle Proterozoic (Helikian) Athabasca Sandstone Formation. The area surveyed gained economic importance in recent years owing to the discovery of several uranium orebodies and deposits in the area (e.g., Gulf Rabbit Lake orebody, now a uranium mine, and the Uranerz discovery at Key Lake). The spatial relations of these orebodies at, or close to, the surface of unconformity between basement rocks and the overlying Athabasca Formation, and their close proximity to several major and minor basement faults indicate that the ore deposits are structurally controlled. Further activity in search of new orebodies in the area has begun, based on the above exploration model, with the aim of delineating basement faults in the vicinity of the basin edge below the sandstone over rocks.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90961©1978 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma