Making plays for coveted properties Some companies staking claims for exploration, other companies paying up for projects

By Derek Neary Northern News Services

Things are heating up for some gold, diamond, copper and uranium projects in Nunavut. Here are some recent developments in exploration across the territory.

Project: Back River

Owner: B2Gold

Resource: Gold

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Location: 364 km southwest of Cambridge Bay

Status: Sabina Gold and Silver shareholders approved a $1.2 billion takeover offer on April 12 from Vancouver-headquartered B2Gold, a miner with international holdings.

Prior to that, Sabina accepted a $139-million joint bid in January from CGT Industrial (“CGT”) — comprising Clark Builders, Gisborne Industrial Construction Ltd. and PTW Energy Services — to build the process plant for the Goose mine and other related buildings.

In March, the company released its 2022 year-end financial results, which showed a net loss of $14.4 million as Sabina focuses on the construction of the Goose mine. The Company ended 2022 with cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $65.8 million. In February 2022, Sabina secured US$530 million in financing to proceed with building the mine.

Project: Angilak �������������������������������������

Owner: Labrador Uranium

Resource: Uranium

Location: 350 km west of Rankin Inlet

Status: ValOre Metals agreed on March 13 to sell the rights to Angilak to Labrador Uranium for $3 million in cash and 100 million common shares of Labrador Uranium valued at 40 cents apiece.

The 686-square km property has a historical inferred resource estimate of 2,831,000 tonnes containing an inferred 43.3 million pounds of U3O8 and 10.4 million pounds of molybdenum.

Hunter Tootoo, executive assistant to Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) President Kono Tattuinee, said Labrador Uranium had not been in touch with KIA as of April 3. In regards to the potential for uranium mining, Tootoo stated, “ValOre Metals have a licence to explore. Exploration is allowed but if and when it comes to mining, any company would be required to follow the established regulatory process.”

Tom Hoefer, executive director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, expressed his hope that the draft Nunavut Land Use Plan will undergo significant revisions in the future to help protect “Nunavut’s great mineral development opportunities in its next version.”

“With respect to critical minerals, uranium is now listed as critical mineral, and Canada has adopted a supportive approach to nuclear power and small modular reactor technology,” said Hoefer. “The EU (European Union), I understand, considers nuclear a green energy to invest in. And nuclear is now recognized as necessary to successfully address climate change. We expect that the public’s support will also increase with this… I understand uranium prices are also increasing as a result, and this would bode well for the higher costs of mining in Nunavut. With both the price and public acknowledgement of uranium, I’m hopeful we will see something happen in Nunavut.”

Project: Chidliak ������������������������������������

Owner: De Beers

Resource: Diamonds

Location: 120 km northeast of Iqaluit

Status: Chidliak, which De Beers has said it would like to turn into a diamond mine, is heading for an environmental review after federal ministers endorsed such a proposal from the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) in February. NIRB expressed a desire to further analyze unfamiliar technologies that De Beers is proposing to use through its FutureSmart Mining program, such as a modular nuclear reactor and remotely-operated vehicles and mining techniques. There are also concerns relating to impacts on Inuit harvesting and wildlife.

Project: Nagvaak �����������������������������������

Owner: StrategX Elements Corp.

Resource: Graphite, nickel, vanadium, cobalt, copper, silver and platinum group metals

Location: On the Melville Peninsula, southwest of Sanirajak, northeast of Naujaat

Status: StrategX touted on March 7 that, based on drill core intersections and surface grab samples, it has added graphite to the assorted metals found at Nagvaak.

The graphite is described as high grade and jumbo flake. Samples taken from drill intersections included 22.2 per cent graphitic carbon over eight metres.

“Our exploration team is putting the Melville Peninsula on the map as a major new prospective region to discover critical minerals for the global energy transition,” stated Darren Bahrey, CEO of StrategX.

The company indicated that its next steps are to “further evaluate the quality of the graphite in additional surface and drill core samples and determine the extent and dimensions of graphite mineralization at Nagvaak.”

In December, StrategX announced a best drill result of 2.63 per cent copper equivalent over 58 metres, starting at a depth of 27 metres below surface.

Preparations are made for underground drilling at the Back River project, which is now held by B2Gold after that company took over Sabina Gold and Silver in April. Photo courtesy of Sabina Gold and Silver

Project: Ferguson Lake

Owner: Canadian North Resources Inc.

Resource: Nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals

Location: 250 km west of Rankin Inlet

Status: The field season is underway and 20,000 metres of drilling is planned for 2023, the company announced on April 3. This follows a 18,144metre, 68-hole campaign in 2022 at the 254-square-kilometre property. The indicated mineral resource stands at 24.3 million tonnes grading at 0.85 per cent copper, 0.60 per cent nickel, 0.07 per cent cobalt, 1.38 grams per tonne palladium and 0.23 grams per tonne platinum. The inferred mineral resources is estimated at 47.2 million tonnes at 0.91 per cent copper, 0.53 per cent nickel, 0.06 per cent cobalt, 1.4 grams per tonne palladium and 0.25 grams per tonne platinum.

Project: Naujaat ��������

Owner: North Arrow Minerals

Resource: Diamonds

Location: Nine km northeast of Naujaat

Status: Australia’s Burgundy Diamond Mines officially earned a 40 per cent interest in the Naujaat project in February with the cutting and polishing of 0.31 carat and 0.21 carat fancy colour diamonds that were extracted as part of the 2021 bulk sample at Naujaat’s Q1-4 diamond deposit. The refining of the diamonds marked the final step in a $5.6-million financing agreement that the two companies signed in June 2020.

Project: Seal/Storm ���

Owner: Aston Bay Holdings

Resource: Copper, zinc, silver

Location: 120 km south of Resolute Bay

Status: Following the discovery of near surface highgrade copper by project partner and operator American West Metals Limited last year, that company released news in late March that it’s planning to use two drills to bore 10,000 metres this year, almost five times the amount of drilling done during the last exploration season.

Storm encompasses a staggering 3000-sq-km area, including the Seal zinc and silver project.

Project: Bathurst Inlet lithium

Owner: North Arrow Minerals

Resource: Lithium

Location: 80 southwest of the Doris gold mine

Status: North Arrow acquired 100 per cent interest in a Bathurst Inlet lithium property in late February. The site, formerly held by Panarc Resources, is within nine kilometres of tidewater and 12 km from Sabina (now B2Gold’s) port. “With the help of recent satellite imagery, we’ve been able to prioritize target areas for follow up detailed mapping and prospecting for lithium mineralization in early summer 2023,” said Ken Armstrong, President and CEO of North Arrow.

Project: North Thelon

Owner: Forum Energy Metals Corp.

Resource: Uranium

Location: 50 km west of Baker Lake

Status: Forum Energy announced on April 17 that it was turning to the markets with a goal of raising $2 million to drill at its 1,020-square-km Nunavut Uranium Project later this year. The company refers to the territory’s Thelon Basin as “a geological equivalent to the Athabasca Basin,” which is a prolific source of high-grade uranium in northern Alberta and northern Saskatchewan.

Project: Hood River, Ulu, Roma

Owner: Blue Star Gold Corp.

Resource: Gold

Location: 125 km west of Bathurst Inlet

Status: The Government of Nunavut’s Discover, Invest, Grow (DIG) program is injecting up to $250,000 into Blue Star’s drilling activities, the company announced on April 4. A $125,000 initial contribution would be complemented by an equivalent amount following review and approval of the company’s exploration summary report for 2022, Blue Star stated. The company also signalled its intention to participate in DIG in 2023.