| Title | Carving stone and mineral resource potential at Opingivik deposit, southern Baffin Island, Nunavut |
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| Author | Steenkamp, H M; Beauregard, M A; Mate, D J |
| Source | Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office, Summary of Activities 2014, 2015 p. 153-162  Open Access |
| Links | Online - En ligne
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| Image |  |
| Year | 2015 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20140295 |
| Publisher | Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Nunavut |
| NTS | 26G; 26H |
| Area | Baffin Island; Cumberland Sound; Opingivik |
| Lat/Long WENS | -66.0000 -65.5000 65.5000 65.0000 |
| Subjects | industrial minerals; carving stone, commodity; monzo-granites; serpentinites; Opingivik deposit |
| Illustrations | location maps; photographs; tables |
| Program | Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office, Funding Program |
| Released | 2015 01 01 |
| Abstract | TheOpingivik carving stone quarry, located in southwestern Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island, Nunavut, provides serpentinite carving stone to Inuit carvers in theHamlet of Pangnirtung. In the 2014 field
season, the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office and the Government of Nunavut Department of Economic Development and Transportation partnered tomake a detailed study of the Opingivik site. Given the size of the carving stone deposit, and stone quality
and characteristics, Opingivik has the potential to expand and supply carving stone to a broader community of carvers beyond Pangnirtung.Work in the study area also revealed two layered mafic - ultramafic intrusions and several sulphide mineral
occurrences. These new discoveries indicate the potential for economicmineral resources and highlight the need formodern geologicalmapping in this area. Representative rock samples were collected from each lithology for geochemical analysis and
assay, and for carving suitability where appropriate. The geological field relationships and observations, assessment of the carving stone deposit and a subset of the analytical data are provided in this summary paper. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
On the southwest coast of Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island, Nunavut, a small carving stone quarry called Opingivik has been providing a soft, green stone
(serpentinite) to Inuit carvers in the Hamlet of Pangnirtung. Since carving stone is an important natural resource in Nunavut, geologists from the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office and Government of Nunavut Department of Economic Development and
Transportation wanted to assess the carving stone, and understand the relationships between rock types near the carving stone deposit. In August, geologists visited the site, mapped the local geology, and collected samples of each rock type. While
mapping, new mineral occurrences with potential for copper, nickel, cobalt, chromium, platinum, palladium or gold were found and incorporated into the mapping and sampling efforts. This report summarizes the different carving stone characteristics
identified in the deposit, the rocks around the Opingivik quarry, and new geochemical data from rocks that could have elevated metal concentrations and be of interest as potential economic resources. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 295512 |
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