GEM: Mapping out the Resource Potential of Canada's North

By Marisa Brennan

May 2010

Just another day on the job in the Multiple Metals - Cumberland Peninsula project for ridge-traversing project participants Mike Young (left) and Carolyn Richer (right), while project leader Mary Sanborn-Barrie (lower right) studies a bedrock outcrop. Just another day on the job in the Multiple Metals - Cumberland Peninsula project for ridge-traversing project participants Mike Young (left) and Carolyn Richer (right), while project leader Mary Sanborn-Barrie (lower right) studies a bedrock outcrop.

Our knowledge of rocks in Canada’s north is very limited — for instance, two-thirds of Nunavut still remains a geological mystery.

But Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM), a $100-million program administered by Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), is looking to the North with renewed interest. The program aims to guide the search for hidden resource potential, so that future resource discoveries can help fuel the northern economy.

“The government is looking for outcomes that benefit northerners and all Canadians, such as socioeconomic development, jobs and community well-being,” says Simon Hanmer, the GEM coordinator. That’s because discovering geological resource potential up north is likely to increase outside investment in more effective exploration and resource development.

Uncharted Territory

Most of the geological mapping of Canada’s north was done in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s by helicopter. “This form of mapping was not very detailed, especially when you consider that a greenstone belt — volcanic rock dominated by basalt — that might contain gold may only be 500 metres wide,” says Simon.

Multiple Metals - Cumberland Peninsula project participants Roxanne Takpanie-Brière (left) and Kate Ribingh discuss the details of their days' findings. Multiple Metals - Cumberland Peninsula project participants Roxanne Takpanie-Brière (left) and Kate Ribingh discuss the details of their days' findings.

GEM, on the other hand, has the advantage of employing advanced surveying and mapping tools that were unavailable to early geologists. These tools include:

  • Magnetic surveys to locate iron-rich minerals that reflect rock structures in the earth’s crust;
  • Radiometric surveys that assist in the remote mapping of subtle variations in rock types;
  • Seismic surveys to reveal the internal three-dimensional structure of the earth;
  • Electromagnetic surveys to identify rock types according to their ability to conduct electricity in the crust and mantle; and
  • On-the-ground mapping guided by up to date knowledge to find evidence of folding and fracturing from ancient geological upheavals, and minerals that record temperature and pressure at the time they were formed.

But even with all these modern approaches, identifying geological resource potential remains challenging. As is the case with most scientific work in the North, there is a huge amount of remote territory to cover in very uncertain weather conditions. In addition, only a very small percentage of bedrock is visible at the surface, with water, ice, soil and vegetation constituting the vast majority of ground cover.

While much of the original geological evidence pointing to resource potential has long since been disturbed by subsequent geological events or lost through the action of rivers and glaciers, clues to the presence and location of mineral and energy resources can still be discovered in the unconsolidated deposits they left behind.

Thanks to modern knowledge and geoscience, there is reason to be optimistic. “In the end, we want to produce a database with four-dimensional geological information, including the time element,” says Simon. “And from the database, people can then produce their own maps.”

Oil and Gas Potential

GEM’s assessment of oil and gas potential covers selected Northern areas likely to hold hydrocarbons. Among the various geological characteristics that define petroleum systems, traps in which oil and gas deposits can pool are of particular interest. In the Sverdrup Basin in the Western Arctic, one type of trap is a salt dome, which is formed when the weight of overlying rock squeezes layers of salt, forcing the salt to rise through the rock. This rising salt spreads out laterally and forms domes and lenses that can trap oil and gas beneath them — creating a trapping mechanism, which is of great interest to oil and gas developers.

Valuable Minerals

Studies on uranium, base metals, precious metals, diamonds and rare metals will also span the Arctic, targeting areas of high potential. One promising area for minerals is Melville Peninsula, located between the Nunavut mainland and Baffin Island, which contains rocks that are approximately 1.9 to 2.7 billion years old.

“We’re finding that these volcanic and sedimentary rocks have great potential, from base metals and nickel through to gold,” says Simon.

Of course, all of this surveying is not done alone. GEM works closely with NRCan’s Polar Continental Shelf Program, which coordinates logistics, communications and transportation for scientific groups from around the world. GEM also consults with the Advisory Group of Northerners (AGN), a panel established by NRCan consisting of representatives from all three Territories, which helps to ensure that northerners benefit from GEM activities.

And the program will also have long-term, wide-ranging benefits. With the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, GEM is providing $1.2 million for energy and minerals related research — which will help build the pool of qualified personnel in the geological sciences relating to minerals and energy resource exploration.

To learn more about this project, visit “GEM: Telling the Geological Story of Canada’s North”in the April edition of Canadian Geographic. For additional information, visit the GEM Web site and the Polar Continental Shelf Program Web site.