Development of the Slave Geological Province (SGP)

The SGP represents an area in the eastern Northwest Territories (NWT) and northwestern Nunavut covering approximately 190,000 square kilometres. The geological area is rich in mineral deposits, being recognized as having significant potential for gold, base metals, and diamond production.

In 2017, the Northwest Territories saw a surge in claim numbers following the release of two geophysical reports on the SGP. The reports were jointly funded by CanNor and the NWT Geological Survey to inform a variety of mineral exploration, geological and environmental research objectives.

1. Development of the SGP Access Corridor

• Canada is investing $2.7M and the GNWT is investing $678K for this two year project.
• Funding will go towards planning the development of an all-season access corridor into the Slave Geological Province (SGP).
• Existing mines are reached via a winter road and the immediate priority for the GNWT is to replace the southernmost section of the current winter road with an all-season gravel road.
• An all-season road could significantly improve the economics of many operating and potential resource projects by facilitating year-round access, as well as increasing the operating season of the winter road by at least 30 days.
• The scope of the project includes updating economic and mineral potential studies, initiating consultation with Indigenous groups, undertaking wildlife and vegetation studies along the proposed alignment and identifying gravel sources for future construction.
• As a result of the project, the GNWT will have further advanced planning and engineering work on the southernmost 179 kilometre section of the proposed road with the goal of beginning construction within five years.

2. Exploration Development Initiative

• CanNor is investing $2.4M, the GNWT is investing $280K, and industry partners are investing $749K for this project.
• Funding will go towards the capturing and analysis of a high-resolution airborne geophysical survey aimed at furthering resource development in the SGP.
• The program will target underexplored areas for their economic potential, at a scale that can potentially indicate the presence of previously undiscovered mineral deposits.
• As a result of the project, mineral explorations will have access to publicly-available mapping products which will lead to renewed multi-commodity mineral exploration in the territory—ultimately contributing to economic growth.
• Previous similar work funded by CanNor led to the staking of numerous mining claims and exploration drilling programs by both major mining and junior mineral exploration companies in the SGP demonstrating that the area remains viable for diamond-bearing kimberlite discoveries.