Natural Resources Canada · Grant program
Targeted Geoscience Initiative
Targeted Geoscience Initiative will continue to address significant public geoscience gaps by expanding the industry toolkit for exploration, with further innovative geoscience tools, exploration models and new techniques to more efficiently and effectively detect the presence of buried mineral deposits that will provide better returns on private sector investments.
- Total value
- $3M
- Agreements
- 32
- Sep 2021 to May 2025
- Median agreement
- $100K
- Typical range
- $82K–$100K
- the middle half of agreements
Federal grants and contributions, agreements starting Jan 2006 to Oct 2026, each counted once at its latest amended value. Source: Treasury Board proactive disclosure, published October 11, 2026.
See every record for this program on the government’s search. How to apply: look up the program on Natural Resources Canada’s website.
Who got it
Organizations with the most funding under this program.
By year
Agreements by the year they started.
| Year | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | $998K |
| 2023 | 13 | $1M |
| 2025 | 8 | $1M |
By province
| Province or territory | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 11 | $909K |
| Nova Scotia | 9 | $875K |
| British Columbia | 4 | $495K |
| Quebec | 3 | $282K |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2 | $237K |
| Alberta | 2 | $194K |
| Manitoba | 1 | $50K |
By type of recipient
As the department classified the recipient.
| Recipient type | Agreements | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Academia | 30 | $3M |
| Other organizations | 2 | $45K |
Latest agreements
| Start | Recipient | What for | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2025 | Memorial University of Newfoundland | Passive Array for Critical Minerals on the Island of NewfoundlandGrant | $187,320 |
| May 2025 | University of Victoria | Magnetite chemistry as an indicator of magmatic-hydrothermal processes and vector to critical metal ore depositsGrant | $196,829 |
| Apr 2025 | Next Generation Explorers Award Association | Next Generation Explorers Award (NGEA™)Grant | $30,000 |
| Mar 2025 | Unversity Of British Columbia | Developing, testing and validating a novel combined Pb-Tl isotopic approach for blind porphyry copper deposit explorationGrant | $100,000 |
| Mar 2025 | University of Ottawa | Deciphering timescales of mineralization along the Detour-Harricana-Turgeon Belt through conjunctive geochronologyGrant | $127,592 |
| Mar 2025 | Dalhousie University | A Study on Potential Extraction of Rare Earth Elements (REE) from processed kimberlite and post-emplacement mobilization of REE in kimberlitesGrant | $112,361 |
| Mar 2025 | Dalhousie University | Experiments and observations bearing on the origin of highly fractionated granites and their critical metal endowmentGrant | $87,639 |
| Feb 2025 | Saint Mary's University | Intrusion-related critical metal (Sn-W-Mo-Cu-Zn-In-Li) deposits in the Appalachian orogen: constraining magma ore metal fertility through coupled zircon-melt inclusion analysisGrant | $176,259 |
| May 2023 | Dalhousie University | Tracking critical metals in felsic igneous systems: Ongoing Development of Tools and ApplicationsGrant | $68,506 |
| Apr 2023 | Memorial University of Newfoundland | Ultra-trace element characterization of streamwater in Southern Newfoundland: An innovative exploration tool to identify critical mineral deposits in covered terraineGrant | $50,000 |
| Apr 2023 | The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | Convolutional Neural Networks for pan-Canadian mineral prospectivity: automatically tuned and explainable maps of Zn-Pb, Ni (+/-Cu +/- Co +/-PGE) and Li potentialGrant | $100,000 |
| Apr 2023 | The Governing Council of the University of Toronto | The paleo-redox setting, formation, and preservation of the Prairie Creek Zn, Pb, Ag, and Ge depositGrant | $99,485 |
| Apr 2023 | The University of British Columbia | Lithium mineralization styles, regional zonation, and origin of the Snow Lake-Wekusko Lake Pegmatite District, ManitobaGrant | $99,900 |
| Apr 2023 | Saint Mary's University | Critical mineral deposits associated with Metasomatic Iron Alkali Calcic (MIAC) Systems of the Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault Zone (CCFZ), Nova ScotiaGrant | $50,000 |
| Apr 2023 | The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University | Development of a genetic model to guide cobalt exploration in the Cobalt-Gowganda mining districtGrant | $84,000 |
| Mar 2023 | University of Ottawa | Halogen controls on precious metal solubility in massive sulfide depositsGrant | $59,400 |
| Mar 2023 | Next Generation Explorers Award Association | Next Generation Explorers Award (NGEA™)Grant | $15,000 |
| Mar 2023 | Lakehead University | Petrology and Geochemistry of the Sunday Lake Intrusion, N. OntarioGrant | $100,000 |
| Mar 2023 | The Governors of the University of Calgary | Laboratory constraints on mechanisms of REE enrichment in sedimentary phosphatesGrant | $100,000 |
| Mar 2023 | Governors of St. Francis Xavier University | Lithium pegmatites in southwestern NewfoundlandGrant | $100,000 |
| Mar 2023 | Carleton University | Primary controls on Cu sulfide mineralogy in Mid-Continent Rift ore depositsGrant | $100,000 |
| Nov 2021 | Laurentian University of Sudbury | Origin and Exploration Significance of the Five-Element Vein (Co-Ni-As-Ag-Bi) Ore FluidGrant | $100,000 |
| Oct 2021 | Governors of St. Francis Xavier University | The thermal reconstruction of pegmatite fields at the time of dike propagation and emplacement: a guide for targeting concealed lithium and tantalum depositsGrant | $100,000 |
| Sep 2021 | Corporation de l'École Polytechnique de Montréal | Unlocking deep learning capabilities for mineral prospectivity mapping with novel geoscience data augmentation techniquesGrant | $97,712 |
| Sep 2021 | University of Manitoba | Carbonatite magmatism and rare-earth potential of the Superior Boundary Zone, ManitobaGrant | $49,882 |