SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A mineral exploration project near Paulatuk, planned to begin this fall, is on hold until further notice.

Darnley Bay Resources Limited, a mining exploration company based in Toronto, had proposed a ground survey to take seismic readings of a section of potentially mineral-rich land bordering Tuktut Nogait National Park, originally expected to be complete by the end of September. But the survey has yet to begin because the company's contractors have been unavailable, Darnley Bay President Stephen Reford said.

"Our contractor's been inundated with a lot of work all of a sudden so they've been a bit slow getting up there," he said. "Things are a little bit up in the air in terms of exactly when and how we're going to be doing it but we hope to be doing it in the next few weeks."

After consultation with some Paulatuk community leaders in August, the company decided its fieldworkers would travel to the survey site in ATVs. However, current winter conditions in the area are causing them to reconsider those plans.

"Basically we're trying to sort out some logistical things to get up there in the most efficient way," Reford said.

People in the community have come to expect delays such as this, according to Fred Thrasher, a community liaison for both Darnley Bay Resources and Diadem Resources, two companies that are trying to develop exploration projects in the area. Thrasher said Darnley Bay's most recent drilling expedition in the area halted last year with the onset of the global financial crisis, as the company ran out of money.

"Nobody likes it, because they promise things and never show up - mostly people in town here who are willing to work," Thrasher said.

The anomaly in question is thought to be rich in nickel, platinum, copper, and/or gold, based on data from the Geological Survey of Canada.