The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) has announced a $5 million contribution to a consortium led by Laurentian University for a seven-year geoscience research program called Metal Earth
The research program has already secured approximately $56 million from the private sector and is awaiting word from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund for an additional $52.5 million in funding.
“This would make Canada a global leader,” said Harold Gibson, a Laurentian University economic geology professor, who will head up the program.
Metal Earth examines how and why minerals have been distributed in the crust throughout time and space to aid in the discovery of new deposits.
“Areas of endowment and non-endowment can look geologically very similar,” said Gibson. “We want to take this vast area of Canada and reduce it to specific areas, giving industry and government the ability to target (their exploration).”
The consortium will involve Canadian researchers, national and international allied research centres, government and industry.
