Critical element prospectivity in the Northwest Territories

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Critical metals are metals whose supply chain is at risk and for which there are no current substitutes. Metals are the building blocks for clean and digital technologies and the International Energy Agency expects an increase in the global demand of critical metals of up to 500 %, and of infrastructure-related metals up to 100 %, by 2050. As a result, addressing instabilities in the supply chain is necessary to secure technical, environmental and social development. The Northwest Territories is a region of Canada highly endowed, and actively or historically mined for critical metals including tungsten, cobalt and rare earth elements. In addition, mining and exploration are the major private employer in the NWT. In collaboration with the Northwest Territories Geological Survey, this project aims to (1) evaluate how tungsten and cobalt occur in the MacKenzie Mountains and the East Arm of the Great Slave Lake respectively and the implications for exploration and (2) expand tools for effective gold exploration in the Yellowknife Gold Belt. This project will therefore help define the prospectivity for critical metals in the NWT contributing to evaluate local availability of critical metals in Canada, and will collect and disseminate data directly applicable to exploration in the region.