ABSTRACT
The mineral aggregate industry in Alberta is comprised of about 300 public and private sector producers operating several thousand pits. Total provincial mineral aggregate production in 1991 was 45,484,836 tonnes worth $153,226,689. This places Alberta fourth in total mineral aggregate production in Canada. Ninety-nine percent of Alberta's mineral aggregate is produced from sand and gravel deposits. Most production comes from recent alluvial deposits, glaciofluvial deposits, and preglacial fluvial deposits. Mineral aggregate from privately owned land in Alberta is a private resource but in the future more aggregate is expected to come from Crown lands. The preglacial deposits record the erosional history of the Plains over a period of about 50 million years from the Early Tertiary to Late Quaternary prior to the last continental glaciation. The preglacial gravels are found as caps on the hills and ridges and the glaciofluvial deposits are scattered about the plains.
