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In 2018, archived Geological Survey of Canada lake sediment samples from west-central Baffin Island, Nunavut were reanalyzed by the Government of Nunavut through the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Canada. By re-examining the samples, it was possible to i) analyze for a larger range of elements (66 in 2018 versus 31 in 1998); ii) lower the analytical detection limits with greater data precision; iii) confirm the integrity of the previously reported analytical values; and iv) generate renewed exploration interest across the north. This open file provides an interpretation of the new data set and identifies and describes multi-element geochemical anomalies using principal component analysis and weighted sum modelling of various types of mineral deposits. Principal component analysis of a large suite of metallic elements shows some clear patterns. The dominant axis, PC1, separates Piling Group sedimentary rock units from igneous Archean and Paleoproterozoic units. Weighted sum modelling was applied for 16 different types of mineral deposit models. In all the models, the anomaly south of Flint Lake is the most obvious. Other highly metalliferous areas of interest include the area east of Flint Lake, further east along the Astarte River and Flint Lake formations at the north edge of the Paleoproterozoic basin, west of Nadluardjuk Lake overlying the Bravo Lake Formation, discrete clusters of samples further east along the Bravo Lake Formation, and a cluster of lake sediment samples overlying the Longstaff Bluff formation. |
