March 3, 2023
The Northwest Territories Geological Survey has released a summary of mineral exploration in the Northwest Territories in 2022. The report comes in advance of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)’s annual mining convention which begins Sunday in Toronto.
High interest in critical metals and high gold prices resulted in renewed exploration activity in the NWT and saw mineral exploration companies spending an anticipated $92.3 million in the 2022 fiscal year. 177 claims were recorded or are pending, and eighty-three claims were taken to lease.
Twenty-one areas of mining and exploration activity, involving diamonds, gold and base metals, are identified and highlighted in the report.
While diamonds, gold and base metals have had a long history of exploration and mining in the NWT, the increased demand for critical and strategic metals is driving mining projects and advanced exploration projects such as Nechalacho, NICO, Pine Point, Prairie Creek as well as various cobalt, rare earth element (REE) and lithium exploration projects.
The NWT, with its wealth of untapped geological resources and well-developed mining sector, is positioned not only to become a supplier of critical minerals, but to be a leader in how they are developed in an environmentally and socially responsible way.