Iqaluit (Feb 24/03) - It's official -- the mineral staking rush is on in Nunavut. Actually, it started last year.

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development processed 3,815 claims in 2002, covering a record 9.1 million acres.

Cumberland Resourceswill spend $10.5 million at Meadowbank alone this year. - photo courtesy Cumberland Resources

A year earlier, the mining recorders' office in Iqaluit processed 440 mineral claims covering 950,000 acres.

"That is a fair jump in activity and we have been exceptionally busy dealing with the applications that have come in," said Jason Sharp, DIAND mineral resources manager in Iqaluit.

"Certainly from what we are seeing you could say it is a staking rush."

Some 30 mining and exploration companies were issued claims last year.

About 90 per cent of the claims issued -- covering six to seven million acres -- involve diamond exploration within a 150-kilometre radius of Kugluktuk in the western Kitikmeot.

"We didn't have a large number of new kimberlite discoveries last year but we didn't really expect any," said Sharp.

"This would be the year. Given the level of staking activity, the anticipation is that we will see a lot of targets drilled (based on 2002 sampling results) and hopefully some new kimberlites found."

Communities benefit

Exploration companies spent about $62 million in the territory last year, down slightly from $64 million in 2001.

DIAND expects about the same level of spending in 2003.

It's estimated about 20 per cent of exploration expenditures remain in the communities through local hiring and purchases.

The communities of Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay, Igloolik, Hall Beach, Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake are seeing the most activity.

"It is reasonable to expect that a few dozen people might find jobs from each of those communities."

Exploration or mining companies staking a claim must spend $2 per year per acre to retain the mineral rights.

DIAND also issued 232 new prospecting permits last year, most involving De Beers' large land package (about 8 million acres) on northern Baffin Island.

Work requirements

Exploration spending to retain prospecting permits varies from 10 cents to 40 cents per acre a year, depending how long the permit has been held and where it is located.

That may change in the near future, said Sharp.

"One of the proposals being discussed is to increase the work requirement for a prospecting permit. The cost wouldn't be significantly different, but the idea is to ensure that the land is worked.

"If an area proves of no interest to the company holding the permit, we'd like to see it made available for somebody else to come in and work on," Sharp said.

Although diamond exploration is driving grass roots exploration, two advanced gold projects (Meadowbank and Doris Hinge) will account for the lion's share of exploration expenditures in 2003.

"Cumberland has budgeted $10.5 million at Meadowbank this year and Miramar is well along with Doris Hinge. Both companies are doing a lot of drilling and work designed to get them to the point where they can start mining. That is dollar intensive."

DIAND also issued five coal exploration licences last year, all on Axel Heiberg Island, just west of Ellesmere Island.

"They are the first coal licences we have issued in a while. There hasn't been a great deal of work done up there given the price of coal and the remote location," Sharp said.