Ontario gov’t to fly surveys near Dryden

Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development and Mines will fly a series of geophysical surveys in the Kenora district in the new year. The surveys are part of Operation Treasure Hunt — a project, now in its third year, designed to identify exploration targets.

The Ontario Geological Survey will publish the results of the survey as hard-copy maps and CD-ROMs in the spring of 2001.

“We have seen positive results with the release of airborne geophysical surveys across northern Ontario, including in the Garden-Obonga area, north of Thunder Bay,” says Mines Minister Tim Hudak, “and I am optimistic about the results that this survey will produce.”

Meanwhile, the Ontario government has created an on-line database known as Earth Resources Mineral Exploration Site (ERMES). Hudak says the database “will provide worldwide access to high-quality geoscience information seven days a week.”

The database allows clients to select and customize maps and geoscience documents. Many of the maps are interactive, allowing users to zoom in on a selected region’s structural details or view administrative boundaries, drill holes, lithogeochemistry, mineral deposits and geological features.