Mining & Minerals in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Canada's North is rich in mineral resources and the development of these resources provides socio economic benefits to Northerners. Crown lands in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are managed pursuant to the Territorial Lands Act and its related Regulations. In the northern territories sub-surface lands include hard-rock minerals, precious gems and coal. The rights to these materials are administered through the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations (formerly known as the Canada Mining Regulations) and the Territorial Coal Regulations. There is a distinction between sub-surface minerals and surface mineral substances that have specific purposes such as carving stone and building materials. These special use surface minerals are administered through the Territorial Quarry Regulations.

For more information on the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Mining Regulations, the Territorial Coal Regulations, mining royalty, major mining projects, Mineral and Energy Resource Assessments for the purpose of determination of park boundaries, or for more information on policy and legislative issues or initiatives affecting mineral exploration and development in the North, please contact:

Mineral Resources Directorate
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
25 Eddy Street, 10th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H4
Tel: 819-997-9828
Fax: 819-953-9066

For more information on the administration of subsurface rights and mineral tenures, including issuance of prospectors' licences, prospecting permits, minerals claims, claim tags, claim maps, minerals leases, or for information on mineral rights records and mineral disposition reports, please contact the Mining Recorder's Office in Northwest Territories or the Mining Recorder's Office in Nunavut.

What Information is Available?

• FAQ about Mineral Exploration in the North
• FAQ about Mineral Tenure in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
• FAQ about Mining Royalty in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
• Major Mineral Projects North of 60th Parallel in Canada
• Northern Mineral Rights and Mining Royalty Forms
• Reports

You may also be interested in:

• Mining Information Kit for Aboriginal Communities - Mining Sequence
• Northwest Territories Geoscience Office
• Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office
• AANDC NWT Region Mining and Minerals
• AANDC NWT Mining Recorder's Office
• AANDC Nunavut Region Mineral Resources
• AANDC Nunavut Mining Recorder's Office
• Other links