The Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Program or GEM is helping the North to make decisions
to help guide its future.
We are uncovering the hidden stories of the land, including ancient volcanoes, seas and
giant glaciers that have come and gone.
We go into the field looking for clues about these geological processes because they can
tell us if there might be mineral or energy resources.
GEM has already found six areas with potential for resources such as gold, silver, copper
and nickel through scientific analysis and fieldwork.
Identifying areas of resource potential is useful in making decisions about the future.
For instance, Inuit negotiators considered GEM data when deciding land rights in the
North.
Elsewhere, GEM results were used in the designation of a protected area.
This work is led by the Geological Survey of Canada, supported by a team of local community
members and university experts.
We bring samples back to our labs to learn more about the types of rocks we’ve seen,
and use the resulting information to piece together the history of the area.
All of this history is captured in a geological map, completing a piece of the geological
puzzle in the north.
Sometimes, once we start to study an area, we find something completely different.
For example, a project on Baffin Island started out with the idea that we would find an area
with gold and base metal potential.
Instead we found an area with diamond potential, where millions of years ago magma shot up
from the earth’s core and diamonds were formed.
Based on these new findings, the local communities requested a workshop to learn more and to
help inform their land use decision-making.
Members of industry were also able to access the maps produced and to use the information
for staking in the area.
This is just one example of GEM results.
All of our results are made public and available at no cost to users.
Public geoscience produced by GEM helps northerners and industry to find common ground.
We know there is a lot of resource potential in Canada’s North, but we need to understand
the past and how it shaped the land so that choices can be made for the future.
For more information visit: nrcan.gc.ca/gem
