Quick Take
- AI technology analyzes historical drill cores across 190,000 square kilometers in Northwest Territories
- Digital scanning reduces environmental impact by eliminating need for new drilling operations
- Project targets critical minerals including lithium, copper, and cobalt in Slave Geological Province
- Initiative creates standardized data for Canada’s future Digital Core Library
- Partnership between federal and territorial governments launched July 2025
Canada is pioneering mineral exploration efficiency through a Natural Resources Canada launches groundbreaking digital core analysis project targeting critical mineral deposits across Northwest Territories.
Canada has launched a transformative mineral exploration program that uses artificial intelligence and digital scanning to revolutionize how the country discovers critical mineral deposits. The initiative, launched in July 2025 through a federal-territorial partnership, examines thousands of historical drill core samples stored in Northwest Territories archives.
Revolutionary Scanning Technology Transforms Exploration
The program uses advanced AI algorithms and hyperspectral scanning to examine existing drill cores with unprecedented precision. Rather than traditional exploration requiring new drilling operations, this digital approach extracts comprehensive mineral data from samples collected during decades of previous exploration work.
The technology will help detect previously overlooked mineral signatures, re-evaluate historic discoveries, and highlight new targets for critical minerals, explained Devin Baines, Senior Communications Advisor for Natural Resources Canada.
The automated system delivers quantitative mineral mapping across entire core lengths, providing insights that manual analysis methods cannot achieve at scale.
Massive Geological Territory Under Digital Analysis
The project focuses on the Slave Geological Province, a mineral-rich region spanning approximately 190,000 square kilometers from Great Slave Lake to the Coronation Gulf. This vast territory already ranks as the world’s third-largest diamond producer and contains significant bismuth reserves alongside promising deposits of lithium, copper, and cobalt.
The province represents one of Canada’s most strategically important geological zones for critical mineral development, particularly as global demand for battery metals and rare earth elements continues accelerating.
Environmental Impact Reduction Through Digital Innovation
Digital core scanning addresses mounting environmental concerns surrounding traditional mineral exploration practices. By analyzing existing samples through high-resolution imagery and hyperspectral technology, the program eliminates the need for additional drilling in sensitive Arctic and sub-Arctic ecosystems.
By digitally analyzing existing drill cores instead of commissioning new drilling, the initiative lowers environmental impacts, Baines noted. This approach aligns with Canada’s broader commitment to sustainable resource development while maintaining competitive exploration capabilities.
The technology enables extraction of more comprehensive geological data from historical samples without disturbing pristine wilderness areas or affecting Indigenous communities’ traditional territories.
Economic Development and Investment Opportunities
Caitlin Cleveland, Northwest Territories’ Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment, emphasized the program’s economic potential: This initiative positions the NWT at the forefront of mineral innovation in Canada. By modernizing our analysis and sharing geological data, we’re opening doors to new economic opportunities.
The project creates standardized datasets that mining companies can access for more informed investment decisions. This data standardization reduces exploration risks and could accelerate the timeline from discovery to production for critical mineral projects.
Foundation for Canada’s Digital Core Library
The scanning program establishes the foundation for Canada’s planned Digital Core Library, a comprehensive database of geological information accessible to researchers and industry professionals. This digital repository will house decades of exploration data in a searchable, analyzable format.
The library will enable comparative analysis across different geological formations and time periods, potentially revealing mineral patterns and relationships that traditional methods couldn’t detect.
Strategic Positioning in Global Critical Minerals Competition
Canada’s program emerges amid intensifying global competition for critical mineral supplies essential to clean energy technologies and advanced manufacturing. The country aims to strengthen its position as a reliable supplier of materials needed for electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy systems, and defense applications.
The AI-driven approach could significantly reduce the time and cost associated with identifying viable mineral deposits, potentially accelerating Canada’s critical minerals strategy implementation.
By combining technological innovation with environmental stewardship, the project demonstrates how advanced digital tools can enhance resource exploration while respecting ecological and community concerns. The program positions Canada as a leader in sustainable mineral exploration practices, potentially influencing global industry standards for responsible resource development.
