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Rock enthusiasts hit the tundra to map bedrock

"For every $1 of government geoscience spending that we access... we get about $5 in new private sector spending"

TINA ROSE

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Andrew Hilchey collects till samples as part of the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office North Baffin Project about 200 kilometres southeast of Pond Inlet in 2003. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CANADA-NUNAVUT GEOSCIENCE OFFICE)

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Two teams, each made up of 10 to 15 students and geologists, will scour the tundra this summer for the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office.

Every summer since 1999 the Geoscience Office has been conducting this fieldwork in order to build a geo-science database. To do that, they have to get out and look at the rocks.

One field team will be on North-Central Baffin Island, approximately 250 km southeast of Pond Inlet, to look at the loose material that rests on the surface.

They will sample it "to look for things like kimberlite indicator minerals, something that might tell you that there are diamonds in the area but also looking for other metals and any indication of economic deposits," says Donald James, Chief Geologist at Iqaluit's Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office.

The other will be on the Boothia Peninsula, approximately 140 km south of Taloyoak, where they will be engaged with mapping the bedrock.

The focus is the same, says James.

"It's to help exploration companies determine the prospectivity of an area, to determine if it's going to be acceptable for looking for gold or nickel or diamonds, or any commodity that they might be looking for."

The two teams will spend their summer analyzing all the rocks they see.

"It's our job to go out and look at all of the rocks, and to look at the relationships, to find out how old they are, if they're deformed or metamorphosed."

That information is then analyzed and used to produce geological maps and reports for clients who are potentially looking to expand into the North.

Although large portions of Nunavut have previously been mapped during summer expeditions, exploration companies require more detailed bedrock maps to make informed decisions about mineral potential and for Nunavummiut to make effective land use decisions.

According to James, "it would take us more than 30 years to bring mapping coverage to the level of detail found in some provinces."

This summer's fieldwork will cost an estimated $500,000, but James is confident it will pay off.

"For every $1 of government geoscience spending that we access or use to produce geoscience data, studies have shown that we get about $5 in new private sector spending that comes back. That's a pretty good return on your investment... If an exploration company ends up finding a mineral deposit, the return on that $1 might be as high as $125," says James.

That money comes back to Nunavut in taxes and local hires.

"Last year I think exploration spending in Nunavut was over $170 million, it's a big expenditure. By spending a small amount of money here we can help to sustain that and promote exploration interest."

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