| Summary: | Mineral resources of Baffin Island include iron (Mary River), diamonds, carbonate-hosted zinc and lead (Nanisivik), nickel, copper, platinum group elements, uranium, thorium, gemstones (sapphire, spinel, lapis lazuli), carving stone, and coal. Iron deposits include the Mary River No. 1 to 4 deposits of northern Baffin Island, which came into production in 2015 and contain 586 Mt grading 66% Fe. The Mesoproterozoic Borden Basin hosts the Nanisivik deposit, mined between 1976 and 2002; this is a Mississippi Valley-type deposit and contains 9.0% Zn, 0.7% Pb, and 41 ppm Ag. Diamond-rich kimberlite occurs as sheets and small pipes at Chidliak on Hall Peninsula; largest by area is the CH-1 (6 ha) pipe. At least 32 carving-stone localities are known; 7 communities on Baffin Island have good access to quarried material. Coal occurs in the Cretaceous-Paleogene Eclipse Trough of Bylot and northwestern Baffin islands. Exposures near Pond Inlet have been excavated for local use.
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