A large high-resolution geophysical survey will provide additional insight for mineral explorers and development companies interested in the Northwest Territories’ (NWT) Slave Geological Province.
Based on prior studies and exploration efforts, numerous gold, diamond, base metal and rare-earth deposits are known to be present in the Slave Geological Province.
Mike Westwick is the Senior Communications Officer, for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment with the Government of the Northwest Territories.
“The Survey cost approximately $1,110,000 in total,” Westwick said. “The report is part of the regular course of business for the NWT Geological Survey in its role to improve understanding of our geology.”
This study, commissioned by the NWT Geological Survey (NTGS), provides detailed airborne magnetic survey data from a promising, yet under-studied region.
“Naturally, there’s generally a fair amount of interest from the minerals industry as this is the kind of information their industry runs on,” Westwick said. “In the past, there has been significant interest in this type of data, so we’re in the habit of making public announcements ahead of time so those interested can plan accordingly.”
The survey measured naturally occurring variations in the Earth’s magnetic and electromagnetic fields which can help indicate the potential for the presence of several types of mineral deposits. The Survey encompassed mainly the east-central Northwest Territories Westwick says.
“The survey was completed over 35 flying days with three planes,” Westwick said. “Broadly, it’s the Slave Geological Province around the Point Lake Greenstone Belt, which crosses Point Lake on geographic maps of the area.”
This work was funded by the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) and NTGS to inform a variety of mineral exploration and geological research objectives, Westwick added.
“It is the latest in a series of reports further defining the geological makeup of the Slave Geological Province,” Westwick said. “In our view, it has already paid dividends. Our mandate is to get good information out there. It can be beneficial for economic development, but more broadly it’s about generating new geoscience data so our government, industry, other stakeholders and the public can have a better understanding of our territory. This then supports solid decision-making for all those involved.”
Westwick says there has been quite a bit of work underway to get a better understanding of this region.
“For the NWT Geological Survey, they’ll continue to implement their strategic plan,” Westwick concluded.
The report will be released on September 16, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. MST.
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