The mineral potential of the Northern Kluane Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) is rated as HIGH.
Within the KWS, rocks of the Wrangellia Terrane rate the highest as they include two mineral deposits with proven reserves, one past producer, favorable stratigraphy for a variety of mineral deposits with production history and proven reserves elsewhere in the Cordillera as well as over 45 mineral occurrences within the boundaries of the KWS. Ultramafic hosted Ni-Cu-PGE; Fe, Cu, Au skarn, replacement or basaltic copper, VMS and polymetallic vein deposits are hosted in this belt of extremely high mineral potential.
Pennsylvanian and post-accretionnary Cretaceous and Tertiary plutons are also of high potential for a variety of mineral deposit types including porphyry copper, epithermal gold and silver, skarns and polymetallic veins. Sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Gravina-Nutzotin belt are host to VMS, skarn, and gold and polymetallic vein occurrences.
The lower part of the Alexander Terrane, which is exposed within the KWS, contains few mineral occurrences locally but, at a regional scale, contains numerous important and varied mineral deposits. The Triassic succession of Alexander Terrane is not known to outcrop within the KWS although similar Triassic rocks of the Karmutsen Assemblage do. The Alexandrian portion of the KWS occupies the most remote and ice covered corner of the study area.
The mineral potential of the Wrangell lavas and related plutons is not well understood. More mapping is needed in order to define the extent of the reported but undocumented felsic end member of this suite. A sliver of Coast Plutonic Metamorphic Complex and Kluane Schist occurs within the KWS.
The Amphitheater assemblage and the Quaternary cover are the lowest rating units.
Geological map coverage is very poor for the area between the White and Donjek Rivers and needs to be upgraded in order to determine the extent of high potential rocks in that part of Wrangellia.