Economic potential of northeast Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

The economic potential of northeast Ellesmere Island has been assessed at a reconnaissance level. Three types of Zn-Pb showings are present. From basin to platform these are carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn-Ag-Au-Cu (Sb-As) quartz veins of the Hazen Formation in the northwestern part of Judge Daly Promontory; Zn-Pb-Fe showings in the Hazen Formation close to the shelf margin and Daly River Fault Zone; and carbonate-hosted Zn-Pb showings in platformal strata of the Scoresby Bay and Cape Clay formations. Three hydrocarbon play types can be visualized for the northeast Ellesmere Island area: structural traps in lower Paleozoic carbonate in the footwall of the thrusts, the Silurian reef tract in undeformed area, and offshore areas (grabens?) with thick Cretaceous - Tertiary sediment. Signifi cant coal occurs in the Bache Peninsula graben in 21 seams, each more than 1 m thick. About 100 million tons of coal could be present if an 8 km2 area is underlain by 3.2 m to 19.9 m of coal seams.