Turnstone Geological Services Limited

Campbellford, Ontario, Canada Turnstone's Logo [17 kb]

INTRODUCTION TO TURNSTONE

Last partially updated Q3-2024

Activities and Products

  • Mineral Exploration, including
  • Property Evaluation, GPS-located Data Collection and Sampling
  • Drill Management and Drill Core Logging
  • Research, especially
  • Mineralogical and Materials Science Studies, including
  • Petrography in Transmitted and Reflected Light,
  • Photography and Photomicrography (petrographic and stereo microscopes)
  • Characterization of Geological, Metallurgical and Archaeological Materials
  • Interpretation of Whole-rock, Trace-element and Mineral-chemical Data
  • Particular Expertise in Precious Metals (Gold, Silver, Platinum Group Elements)
  • Meteorites to Base Metals, Rare Minerals to Brick Clay
  • Meteorite Classification
  • Products, including
  • Reports on all the above, including literature reviews, plus
  • Design, Compilation and Maintenance of Earth-Science & Geopolitical Databases, such as
  • The MINLIB Earth-Sciences Bibliography and its derivatives, with
  • Select Specialities in Geochemical and Geographic Themes.

    Turnstone: Past, Present and Near-Future

    Turnstone was incorporated federally in Canada in July 1985 as a platform for the integration of field, laboratory and computer- assisted projects in mineral exploration. Over the past 39 years, the initial focus on economic geology has broadened, as described below, following both the demands of the clientele and the expanding interests of the principal of the firm, consulting geologist and mineralogist Graham Wilson. Extensive use of petrographic methods, including electron microprobe and other advanced techniques, are useful in economic and genetic evaluations of many types of mineral deposit. Many projects benefit from a more "classical", hands-on approach, a blend of field visits and sampling, assay and basic mineralogical evaluation.

    Time marches on, and, though consulting has continued through 2023, Wilson is turning from consulting to the related goals of a) finding a home for the library (indexed via twin bibliographies) and collections of rocks, minerals and meteorites, and b) editing, writing and publishing books in the coming years, using the in-house resources built up in the Turnstone years, and before.

    Many Turnstone consulting projects have been carried out on gold, silver, nickel-copper-platinum, massive sulphide, skarn, industrial mineral and other types of mineralization for well over 100 clients in industry, government and academia. 500-plus Turnstone reports have been completed. Archival material generated in this period include more than 3,800 detailed descriptions of rocks, ores and other samples under the microscope.

    Turnstone projects have investigated areas and/or suites of samples and/or particular themes relevant to roughly 70 countries worldwide.

    Various avenues of research have also fed Turnstone's diverse collection of over 4,000 reference specimens of rocks and minerals. A number of these samples have become the focus of detailed research (e.g., a rare platinum-group mineral grain, a comparatively large specimen despite its 0.5-mm size, has been examined in terms of its mineral association, chemistry and optical properties --- view optical spectrum [113 kb]).

    Vein silica, Mexico [32 kb] Image: Banded silica (chalcedony and amethyst) in a gold-mineralized, sulphide-bearing quartz vein from the Temascaltepec prospect, Mexico state, Mexico. Polished thin section viewed in transmitted, cross-polarized light, horizontal field of view 2.5 mm. Sample 800, Description 293.

    Take a closer look at this image [179 kb] .

    The Design, Compilation and Maintenance of MINLIB and other Databases

    Project-driven research and systematic literature searches have both provided public-domain literature sources for a number of well-indexed bibliographic databases conceived by Graham Wilson and developed at Turnstone, such as the predominantly Earth-science-oriented MINLIB (described below) and the human geography and geopolitics of the WORLD database (these systems combined include >117,000 records, as of 2024).

    The development and application of detailed computer databases of worldwide scope facilitates the efficient management of all the observations gathered and materials reviewed during Turnstone projects and other research. The evolution of these support systems encompasses petrographic, experimental, bibliographic and other data. Although the majority of Turnstone reports are confidential, the bibliographies are almost entirely composed of freely-available publications, such as books, journal articles and abstracts.

    The affordable publication of a version of Turnstone's MINLIB annotated Earth- science bibliography, illustrated with suites of educational images, is a long-term, high-priority Turnstone project, pursued as time allows. Both the database and the associated suites of photographs will be indexed in order to both satisfy professional needs and provide non-specialist users with meaningful access to the illustrations plus non-technical literature on natural history, geology and the solar system. MINLIB, initiated on 09 August 1983, has currently been growing for some 41 years.

    MINLIB, undergoing constant updating from many sources, now (July 2024) comprises more than 92,000 records, each one flagged in a number of ways (bibliographic citation, up to 30 lines of keywords, dozens of logical [yes/no] fields) for ease of retrieval with a maximum success rate. Success in this context can be defined as the largest number of relevant records retrieved, and the highest possible ratio of useful references to accidental "false hits". Heavily-indexed structures such as MINLIB and the geopolitically-oriented WORLD (over 25,000 records, July 2024) are very efficient, and in specialized examples may actually generate a higher number of useful "hits" than far larger compilations of data, including the World Wide Web.

    More than 300 of the many topics, themes and sources well-integrated into MINLIB are listed in the following table, with the number of records returned by searches in Oct. 2014 to Apr. 2015 (a few extra searches in 2017 or after are flagged bold *). The HOLDINGS "metadatabase" of which this table is a very small part may be installed on this site at a future date. The in-house rule-of-thumb is that the database coverage for a subject can be considered "mature" once the appropriate keyword selection returns a minimum of 300 valid records. HOLDINGS lists well over 400 such subjects as examples of MINLIB coverage. Note that some topics, especially specific items such as a mineral or fossil species, a country or locality, can be sought with confidence that most or all pertinent records will be found. Extra themes are added from time to time and offer partial selections of wide topics, such as "local geology" or "geochemical exploration".

    In addition to economic geology and mineral exploration, meteorites, impact events and planetary science provide an additional strong focus (see an example on Indian meteorites, and a note on the classification of a chondritic stony meteorite. Further examples of meteorite work can br found through the Index of Meteorite Topics. Aspects of environmental science and archaeology are also well-represented. Topics relevant to research at the IsoTrace Laboratory at the University of Toronto, a unique facility for ultra-sensitive analysis and radiocarbon dating, are extensively documented in MINLIB. IsoTrace will be "reincarnated" soon at the André E. Lalonde AMS Facility at the University of Ottawa.

    More than 99% of MINLIB is non-confidential, "open-file" material, intended for publication in suitable media, such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or a web-based interface. While MINLIB highlights economic geology and mineralogy, its rich thesaurus-based keyword structure can provide surprising retrieval beyond its major themes, for topics as diverse as Quaternary geology, fossils and lightning strikes! It will also serve as an index to acronyms and other confusing jargon. Examples of both technical and `popular' records of MINLIB and WORLD databases are available on this site.


    Select Holdings of MINLIB
    *
    Subjects & sources MINLIB search, Q4-2014 / Q1-2015 onwards Records%
    Canada 23254 27.3
    Maps 21815 25.6
    Gold (Au) 16869 19.8
    Petrography *16198 18.5
    United States of America (USA) 14916 17.5
    Copper (Cu) 11715 13.7
    Local geology 11154 12.3
    Meteorites, impact events and craters, Moon rocks & planetary science * 11148 12.7
    Mafic-ultramafic rocks 10684 12.5
    Isotope geochemistry 10542 12.3
    Quartz 10018 11.7
    Age dating (geochronology) 9811 11.5
    Ontario 9192 10.8
    Stratigraphy and palaeontology 9165 10.8
    Indian subcontinent 8514 10.0
    Latin America (Mexico+Central America+Caribbean+S.America) 8340 9.8
    Review papers 8281 9.7
    Europe 8042 9.4
    Structural geology 7641 9.0
    Meteorites (plus nucleosynthesis, etc) * 7570 8.7
    Granitoid rocks 7535 8.8
    Silver (Ag) 7503 8.8
    Africa 7141 8.4
    History 6829 8.0
    Zinc (Zn) 6246 7.3
    Platinum Group Elements (PGE: Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt) *6049 6.9
    Nickel (Ni) 5860 6.9
    Rare earth elements (REE: elements 57 to 71, La to Lu) 5536 6.5
    Electron microprobe analysis (EPM) 5445 6.4
    Gemstones (including diamond)* 5421 6.2
    Trace element data 5307 6.2
    Geophysics 5189 6.1
    Northern Miner 5073 5.9
    Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, PNG) 5029 5.9
    Lake Superior Region (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, N.W.Ontario) 4811 5.6
    Mining resource estimation, reserves and grades 4734 5.5
    Meteoritics & Planetary Science 4586 5.4
    Hydrothermal alteration 4536 5.3
    Breccias 4153 4.9
    Geological Society of India publications 4116 4.8
    Environmental matters (with hydrology) 4069 4.8
    Quebec 4024 4.7
    Garnets 3940 4.6
    British Columbia 3928 4.6
    Quaternary geology 3855 4.5
    Economic Geology 3665 4.3
    Olivine 3644 4.3
    Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) 3475 4.1
    Regional metamorphism 3432 4.0
    Uranium (U) 3422 4.0
    Whole-rock analyses 3407 4.0
    Diamond / kimberlite / lamproite* 3371 3.8
    Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 3246 3.8
    Popular (non-technical) items 3239 3.8
    Geochemical analysis (part) 3224 3.8
    Ore textures 3193 3.7
    VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) deposits 3132 3.7
    Grenville province (Canada, USA & Mexico) 3038 3.6
    Ion microprobe (SIMS) analytical techniques 3029 3.5
    Arsenic (As) * 3065 3.5
    Geochemical exploration 2948 3.5
    Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 2882 3.4
    Oxygen isotopes 2878 3.4
    South Africa 2837 3.3
    Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, impact events, tektites *2824 3.2
    Petrogenesis 2775 3.2
    Skarns, contact metamorphism, calc-silicates 2768 3.2
    Layered intrusions, igneous layering 2765 3.2
    Canadian Mineralogist 2721 3.2
    Bibliographies, and articles with many references 2688 3.1
    Mexico 2675 3.1
    Chromium (Cr) 2642 3.1
    Pegmatites 2615 3.1
    Russia (+ former USSR and derived states) 2582 3.0
    Maritime Canada (4 Atlantic provinces) 2498 2.9
    Porphyry Cu Au Mo deposits 2486 2.9
    Shear zones 2439 2.9
    Volcanoes and volcanology * 2416 2.8
    Chromite, chromitite, Cr spinel *2386 2.7
    Manganese (Mn) 2364 2.8
    Fluid inclusions 2332 2.7
    United Kingdom (UK: England, Wales, Scotland, N.Ireland) 2328 2.7
    Industrial minerals 2319 2.7
    Metallurgy and metal refining 2103 2.5
    Glacial geology and glaciers 2058 2.4
    Scandinavia 2052 2.4
    Glassy materials 2002 2.3
    Archaeology *1998 2.3
    Chile 1972 2.3
    China 1958 2.3
    History of science 1888 2.2
    Antimony (Sb) 1884 2.2
    Ontario Geological Survey and predecessors 1867 2.2
    Graphite 1854 2.2
    Soil 1823 2.1
    Geomorphology 1822 2.1
    Tourmaline 1796 2.1
    Carbon isotopes 1783 2.1
    Pillow lavas 1766 2.1
    Native gold (Au) *1739 2.0
    Tin (Sn) 1696 2.0
    Metal refining (ore treatment, smelting, etc) 1669 2.0
    Zircon 1665 1.9
    Anorthosites 1620 1.9
    Nevada, U.S.A. 1619 1.9
    Jurassic period 1616 1.9
    Antarctica (438 on rocks, 1178 on meteorites) 1616 1.9
    Tungsten (W) 1603 1.9
    Brazil 1574 1.8
    History of mining 1523 1.8
    Yukon 1500 1.8
    Barite 1465 1.7
    Sudbury Ni-Cu-PGE district, Ontario1403 1.6
    Zoned crystals 1383 1.6
    Tellurium (Te) and tellurides 1354 1.6
    Sulphur isotopes 1348 1.6
    Ordovician period 1347 1.6
    Remote sensing 1332 1.6
    Devonian period 1327 1.6
    Montana, U.S.A. * 1319 1.5
    Geophysical exploration 1311 1.5
    Chert and flint 1277 1.5
    Ophiolites *1272 1.5
    Microfossils 1270 1.5
    Mercury (Hg) 1245 1.5
    Iron meteorites 1226 1.4
    Colorado, U.S.A. 1207 1.4
    Rare gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn) 1202 1.4
    Epidote mineral family, with zoisite, tanzanite, etc 1191 1.4
    Xenoliths 1189 1.4
    Radiocarbon dates1156 1.4
    Coal 1150 1.3
    Biography 1139 1.3
    Journal of Geochemical Exploration and its successor, G:EEA 1138 1.3
    History of exploration 1116 1.3
    Mineralogical Record 1116 1.3
    Nature 1112 1.3
    Institute on Lake Superior Geology (ILSG) 1110 1.3
    Lithium (Li) 1104 1.3
    Greenland 1102 1.3
    Cumulate igneous rocks 1056 1.2
    Karnataka, south India 1015 1.2
    Carbonatites 1015 1.2
    Science 1005 1.2
    Lamprophyres 987 1.2
    Provenance studies (all) 967 1.1
    Minnesota, U.S.A. 956 1.1
    Mylonites 948 1.1
    Vanadium (V) 941 1.1
    Japan 939 1.1
    Peru 921 1.1
    Heavy minerals 876 1.0
    Articles in French 866 1.0
    Corundum (ruby, sapphire) 862 1.0
    Metallurgy 862 1.0
    Selenium (Se) 856 1.0
    Laterites and saprolites 853 1.0
    Germany 849 1.0
    Magma chamber processes 847 1.0
    Charnockites 833 1.0
    Dunite 823 1.0
    Italy 820 1.0
    Mineralization and plate tectonics 817 1.0
    Michigan, U.S.A. 806 0.9
    France 804 0.9
    Earth and Planetary Science Letters 803 0.9
    Neutron activation (INAA, RNAA) 797 0.9
    Argentina 787 0.9
    Namibia, S.W. Africa *784 0.9
    MVT (Mississippi Valley type) Pb Zn deposits *783 0.9
    Asteroids (planetary science) *762 0.9
    Spain 759 0.9
    Sphene (titanite) 755 0.9
    Sedex deposits 740 0.9
    Hydrology and hydrogeochemistry 738 0.9
    Tantalum (Ta) 723 0.8
    Keweenawan / Keweenaw region of Michigan 709 0.8
    Vertebrate palaeontology 688 0.8
    Native copper (Cu) * 684 0.8
    Migmatites 677 0.8
    Cadmium (Cd) 675 0.8
    Thunder Bay area, Ontario 662 0.8
    Indonesia 652 0.8
    SNC achondrites (martian meteorites) 643 0.7
    Troilite (FeS) 640 0.7
    Tertiary Volcanic District (TVD, North Atlantic province) 631 0.7
    Museums 599 0.7
    Mining methods 598 0.7
    S.W.England (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset & Dorset) 595 0.7
    "Cartoons" (useful, clear illustrations) 570 0.7
    Bolivia 554 0.6
    Natural hazards 529 0.6
    Gallium (Ga) 529 0.6
    Deccan of west India519 0.6
    Black shales 515 0.6
    Egypt 511 0.6
    Nepheline syenites 509 0.6
    Mineralogical Magazine 494 0.6
    Native silver (Ag) * 5420.6
    Calcium-aluminium inclusions (CAI) in meteorites 488 0.6
    Raman spectroscopy 482 0.6
    Tanzania 480 0.6
    Indicator minerals 479 0.6
    Geology 479 0.6
    American Mineralogist 458 0.5
    Witwatersrand gold field, South Africa 445 0.5
    Liquid immiscibility 440 0.5
    Turkey 436 0.5
    Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 431 0.5
    Yilgarn craton, Australia 430 0.5
    Gondwanaland 428 0.5
    Mineralium Deposita 417 0.5
    Stony iron meteorites 417 0.5
    Kirkland Lake area, Ontario 416 0.5
    Space missions * 407 0.5
    Mine tailings 405 0.5
    Palynology 402 0.5
    Adirondacks (New York state) 400 0.5
    Legal issues 399 0.5
    Kerala, south India 386 0.5
    Materials science 385 0.4
    Cathodoluminescence (EPM technique) 383 0.4
    Philippines 381 0.4
    Mn deposits 380 0.4
    Ethiopia and region 376 0.4
    Engineering & engineering geology 375 0.4
    Midcontinent Rift of N.America 373 0.4
    Peralkaline igneous rocks 371 0.4
    Zeolites 369 0.4
    Green micas 362 0.4
    Agriculture 361 0.4
    Germanium (Ge) 361 0.4
    Scapolite 360 0.4
    Gossans 359 0.4
    Stromatolites 358 0.4
    Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 356 0.4
    Lamproites 355 0.4
    Thallium (Tl) 353 0.4
    Colombia 352 0.4
    Journal of Petrology 347 0.4
    Adularia K-feldspar 341 0.4
    Dinosaurs * 341 0.4
    Bancroft area, Ontario 340 0.4
    Baffin Island 339 0.4
    Biogeochemistry 338 0.4
    National Geographic 333 0.4
    Sperrylite, Pt arsenide 333 0.4
    Tektites 330 0.4
    Quetico subprovince, Canadian shield 325 0.4
    Slags *323 0.4
    Noril'sk, Siberia 320 0.4
    Vancouver Island * 315 0.4
    Nepal 314 0.4
    Mechanisms of emplacement (of igneous bodies) 314 0.4
    Greisen alteration312 0.4
    Iran 311 0.4
    Pallasite stony-iron meteorites * 306 0.3
    Duluth complex, Minnesota 303 0.4
    Czech Republic, Slovakia and Czechoslovakia 301 0.4
    Scandium (Sc) 301 0.4
    Madagascar 300 0.4
    Sri Lanka * 298 0.3
    Venezuela 296 0.3
    Magnetic susceptibility 291 0.3
    Enstatite chondrite meteorites * 288 0.3
    Colored Stone, 1988-2010 286 0.3
    Sedimentary provenance 278 0.3
    Guyana 267 0.3
    Pan-African event 258 0.3
    Cubanite *2570.3
    Native bismuth (Bi) *2540.3
    Jarosite 251 0.3
    Corona textures 250 0.3
    Symplectites (textures) 249 0.3
    Canyon Diablo iron meteorite *2430.3
    Lac des Iles area and palladium mine, Ontario 238 0.3
    Cuba 237 0.3
    Karst 237 0.3
    Lithos 237 0.3
    Brachiopods 234 0.3
    Jade (jadeite, nephrite) *2300.3
    Indium (In) 230 0.3
    Schreibersite 228 0.3
    Gardar alkaline province, Greenland 224 0.3
    Ice flow directions & glacial striations 222 0.3
    Paleosols 219 0.3
    Afghanistan 215 0.3
    Fluorescence 214 0.3
    Trace fossils 214 0.3
    Iceland 214 0.3
    Hessite - Ag telluride 209 0.2
    Trilobites 193 0.2
    Cephalopods, ammonites, belemnites, nautiloids 189 0.2
    Chloritoid 180 0.2
    Kalgoorlie gold fields, W.Australia 180 0.2
    Kambalda nickel district, W.Australia 165 0.2
    Mali 157 0.2
    Guanajuato, Mexico 148 0.2
    Graptolites 140 0.2
    Birimian 136 0.2
    Rapakivi textures in granitoid rocks 134 0.2
    Eudialyte128 0.1
    Isle of Skye, TVD, Scotland 120 0.1
    Calaverite, Au telluride 118 0.1
    Uganda, east Africa 116 0.1
    Cache Creek terrane, British Columbia and Yukon 114 0.1
    Native platinum (Pt) * 114 0.1
    QAM (quartz-ankerite-mariposite) rocks, aka listwanite 113 0.1
    Glauconite 108 0.1
    Pressure shadows 106 0.1
    Fassaite (a clinopyroxene) 105 0.1
    Native iron (Fe) *103 0.1
    Fulgurites & lightning strikes 98 0.1
    Netherlands 96 0.1
    Amber * 94 0.1
    Blue quartz 87 0.1
    Sylvanite, Au Ag telluride 85 0.1
    Native arsenic (As) * 78 <0.1
    Malawi, southern Africa 76 <0.1
    Awaruite, Ni Fe alloy (includes "josephinite") 75 <0.1
    Native tellurium (Te) * 73 <0.1
    Lapis lazuli and lazurite *71 <0.1
    Richterite (amphiboles) 68 <0.1
    Shetland Islands, north Scotland 67 <0.1
    Peperites 63 <0.1
    Beringia 57 <0.1
    Comb layering and textures 55 <0.1
    Forensic science 53 <0.1
    Orbicular textures 52 <0.1
    Silicides (see also fulgurites) 48 <0.1
    Niningerite (meteoritic sulphide) 47 <0.1
    Specimen labels (mostly historical) 44 <0.1
    Larvikite (syenite) and Larvik, Norway41 <0.1
    Anthropocene * 40 <0.1
    Rucklidgeite , Pb Bi telluride *40 <0.1
    Dawn space mission to Vesta and Ceres (launched 2007) * 39 <0.1
    Ardnamurchan, TVD, Scotland 32 <0.1
    Remote sensing with LiDAR imagery * 31<0.1
    Rickardite, Cu telluride 20 <0.1
    Doggerland 14 <0.1
    Shiant Islands, TVD, Scotland 14 <0.1
    Quasicrystals * 11 <0.1
    Graphene 7 <0.1

    The majority of the MINLIB subjects listed by coverage in this table can also be viewed in associations of linked themes, and in alphabetical order, at the MINLIB page. Note that some geopolitical themes and non-technical articles are better covered in WORLD than MINLIB, e.g., currently 2301 records in National Geographic magazine, cf. 367 in MINLIB (the latter selection, of course, having a more clearly geological and generally scientific mandate). Another example is agriculture (982 records in WORLD cf. 408 in MINLIB). Archaeology has 590 items in WORLD (as of March 2017), cf. 1998 in MINLIB, a significant addition. The geopolitical expert R.D. Kaplan is represented by 3 records in MINLIB, and another 62 in WORLD.

    Last major revision on 14-15 December 2014, last small amendments on 10 July 2024.


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