Geological evolution and mineral resource potential of the Mesoproterozoic Fury and Hecla basin, Northern Baffin Island

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The late Mesoproterozoic (ca. 1.1 billion years old) Bylot basins in northeastern Nunavut are important both for their resource potential (e.g. the Nanisivik Pb-Zn deposit) and for the information they preserve on the tectonic history of Proterozoic North America and the biogeochemical evolution of Earth's surface environment. The Fury and Hecla basin, which straddles the Fury and Hecla Sound between northwestern Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula, is the least studied of the Bylot basins, but is nevertheless well exposed, relatively accessible, and prospective for U and sediment-hosted base metal mineralization. The Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office (C-NGO) is planning a two-year bedrock mapping program in the Fury and Hecla region, with field seasons in 2018 and 2019. We propose to work with C-NGO to maximize the research outcomes of this fieldwork and provide a synergistic training opportunity for three graduate students to carry out thematic projects. Specifically, we will participate in the proposed fieldwork in the Fury and Hecla region with aims of 1) updating the stratigraphic framework of the Fury and Hecla Group, 2) generating new geochemical and geochronological data from sedimentary and volcanic strata in the stratigraphic succession, and 3) developing a new model for the evolution of the Fury and Hecla basin within the broader context of the tectonic origin of Bylot basins. The results will contribute directly to the C-NGO mandate of expanding geoscience knowledge in Nunavut while also providing important geological and geochemical baselines for future mineral exploration, informing broader questions of the tectonic history of northern Canada spanning the assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia, and documenting the biogeochemical evolution of the atmosphere and oceans at a time when early eukaryotes were diversifying and oxygen levels were increasing.