• Magnetic and Radiometric Surveys (2004, 2005) and Ground Truthing (2006)

• Regional Stream Sediments and Water Geochemical Survey (2004, 2007 and 2008)

• Reconnaissance (2005)

• Outreach: Canol Heritage Trail Geology Guide (2006)

• Bedrock mapping (2006, 2007 and 2008)

• Hydrocarbon Potential of the Plateau Fault (2006 and 2007)

• Stratigraphic and geochemical studies

• Metallogenic studies
  
  

NTGO funded a regional stream sediment and water geochemical survey which was conducted in 2004 under the direction of Geological Survey of Canada personnel according to their National Geochemical Reconnaissance protocol.

These survey data are available in the following publications, which can be downloaded from the GSC's Geoscan website by clicking on the link below:

• GSC Open File 4949

And from the NTGO website:

• NWT Open Report 2008-013

NTGO personnel participated in two reconnaisance trips in 2005 that resulted in the following products:

Dewing K, Sharp RJ, Ootes L, Turner EC, and Gleeson S, 2005: Geological assessment of known Zn-Pb showings, Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories;  Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research 2006-A4.

E. Martel et al., 2005: Sekwi Mountain project; results of 2005 reconnaissance mapping and digital compilation; Yellowknife Geoscience Forum poster. An image of the poster in jpeg format can be downloaded here.

Information gained during reconnaisance was used in planning field activities for the rest of the project.

The Canol Heritage Trail extends from the Northwest Territories - Yukon border to Norman Wells. During the summer of 2006, several locations along the Trail were visited for the purpose of compiling a layman's guide to the geology of the Trail. This guide, intended for hikers, hunters and outdoors enthusiasts (including armchair enthusiasts), is available as a pamphlet under NTGO’s Educational Publication (EP) series.

Click image for full size or click here to download PDF of pamphlet.

2006 Bedrock Mapping:

Mapping during the first full field season was conducted mainly within NTS map sheet 105P. Four areas of interest were selected for regional mapping ( Caribou Pass , Godlin Lakes , the "Ramp" area, and the "Four Corners" area). They provide good exposure of diverse rock units, and stratigraphic horizons of economic significance. The results are summarized in NWT Open File 2008-04.

	From left to right: Chris Leslie, Andy Parmenter, Justin MacDonald, Edith Martel, Kirsten Rasmussen, Charlie Roots, Beth Fischer, Guy Thibault (helicopter pilot)		NWT Open File 2008-04. Preliminary geology map of Sekwi Mountain map sheet NTS 105P.

2007 Bedrock Mapping:

Mapping during the first full field season was conducted mainly within NTS map sheet 106A, along and across the SE striking Plateau Fault. The area is characterized by box anticlines cored by the Proterozoic Katherine Formation, and synclined cored by the upper Devonian Canol and Imperial formation. The footwall of the Plateau Fault consist of tightly folded and thrusted Proterozoic to Devonian rocks of the Ten Stone Range Structural Complex. This complex was mapped in detail as part of a M.Sc. thesis.

Map of the preliminary results of the 2007 field season is available as a joint publication (NWT Open Report 2008-014 and GSC Open File 5984).

2008 Bedrock Mapping:

During the third and final field season of the Sekwi Mountain project, mapping was conducted on the SE corner of Plateau Fault 106 and northwest corner of 95M. Problematic areas identified during the previous field season were revisited. Areas marked as unmapped on 1970’s GSC maps were mapped.

Final results of mapping are being compiled and will be released as 9 maps (1:100,000 scale) of 106A, 105P and northwest quadrant of 95M. Cross sections are being drafted and will be released as part of the final publication for the Sekwi Mountain Project.

In association with the NTGO Sekwi Mountain Project, the Geological Survey of Canada (Earth Sciences Sector, Natural Resources Canada) conducted studies on the hydrocarbon potential of the regional-scale Plateau Fault in the central Mackenzie Mountains. This work is part of the GSC project “Mackenzie Corridor: Access to Northern Energy Resources” and is a contribution to GSC Secure Canadian Energy Supply Program.

The Mackenzie Mountains generally have been discounted as a prospective area for hydrocarbon exploration based on breached structural traps at the level of Paleozoic reservoirs, and presumed over-maturity with regard to hydrocarbon generation.  A notable exception, however, is the Plateau Fault (Gabrielse et al., 1973), which Cecile et al. (1982) suggested as a potential, large-scale hydrocarbon trap.

The hydrocarbon potential of the Plateau Fault depends critically upon the fault’s structural style, for which two interpretations have been proposed. Cecile and Cook (1981; also Cecile et al., 1982) interpreted it as a shallow-dipping thrust sheet beneath which a large area of Paleozoic reservoir rock could be preserved. Alternatively, Gordey (1981) presented a reconstruction that viewed the structure as a steep reverse fault with little or no trapping potential.

During the summer of 2006, 2007 and 2008 GSC and NTGO personnel conducted field work focused on central Wrigley Lake (95M) map area, where existing evidence suggested that eastward transport on the Plateau Fault may have been greatest. Detailed mapping along the Plateau Fault’s leading edge necessitated several changes in the map distribution of stratigraphic units associated with the fault. Field observations suggest that a shallow-dipping thrust sheet is developed at least locally. Results of this study are published in a map compilation and cross-section available as GSC Open File 5831.

In addition to structural studies, sampling was conducted for organic geochemical analyses (maximum burial temperatures and source-rock potential) and key exposures were studied to clarify problems in stratigraphic correlation in the region of the Plateau Fault. Geochemical and stratigraphic data currently are being compiled and analyzed.

A report on the qualitative hydrocarbon potential of the Plateau Fault is available as GSC Open File 5831.

Backbone Ranges Formation Stratigraphy:

New data from measured sections of Neoproterozoic-(?)Cambrian lithostratigraphy, from northeast Sekwi Mountain map area (105P) have been released in Current Research 2008-16.

Little Dal Group stratigraphy:

Lithostratigraphy and stable isotopes of the early Neoproterozoic Gypsum formation, Little Dal Group, Mackenzie Mountain Supergroup were investigated and results are published in NWT Open Report 2009-02.

Mackenzie Mountain Supergroup architecture:

Basin architecture and syndepositional fault activity during deposition of the Neoproterozoic Mackenzie Mountains supergroup was investigated and results are available in Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, vol. 45, p. 1159-1184.

Tsezotene Sills:

The 780 Ma Tsezotenes sills were examined and a field, petrographical and geochemical study was conducted results can be found in NWT Open Report 2008-011.

Clastic Devonian Canol and Imperial formations:

To complement the Sekwi Project 1:30,000 scale mapping of Devonian successions, clastic rocks of the Hare Indian, Canol, and Imperial formations were examined and sampled. Total organic carbon (TOC), palynological, and stratigraphic section analyses will be published in an NTGO Open Report.

The region is prospective for a variety of deposit types including stratiform Pb-Zn-Cu; stratabound Zn-Pb±Cu-Ag-Ba; polymetallic veins; tungsten, gold, and gem beryl in skarns; and Li and REE in pegmatites. A number of showings were previously recognized in the region, some of which have reached advanced exploration stage and are currently being re-investigated ( Howards Pass, Mactung, Cantung, Bear-Twit, Coates Lake, Gayna River, Lened).

A report on the regional metallogeny of the Northwest Territories Mackenzie and Selwyn Mountains is available as NWT Open Report 2008-09.