Project Metadata

As part of the Western Churchill National Mapping Program (NATMAP), a surficial geological mapping and geochemical sampling project was designed to assist mineral exploration in the region.  Studies were carried out in the Rankin Inlet area, across the Meliadine trend, Kivalliq Region, Nunavut.  Some of the objectives of this component of the program are to provide a Quaternary geological framework for drift prospecting; to determine the signature of known gold occurrences in glacial sediments; to supply a surficial materials database to serve as a baseline for environmental assessment; and, to produce surficial geology maps at 1:50 000 scale.  The data are published in Geological Survey of Canada Open File 3747.

Till sampling was also carried out in 1998-1999 in the MacQuoid Lake area, in the western part of the MacQuoid-Gibson greenstone belt, Kivalliq Region, Nunavut.  The purpose of this component of the project is to aid mineral exploration by: developing sampling methodologies; identifying the chemical and mineralogical components of till associated with mineralization; establishing a geochemical database to determine background and threshold concentrations; and, establishing a geological framework for interpreting geochemical, mineralogical and lithological dispersal patterns.  The data are published in Geological Survey of Canada Open File 3944.

Funding was provided by the Western Churchill Project, part of the National Geoscience Mapping Program (NATMAP) and the Geological Survey of Canada.