Carving stone deposits found near Iqaluit | Inuit Nunangat Stories |

Carving stone is a catchall term used by most sculptors for metamorphic rock such as soapstone, marble and alabaster, according to Mate. The deposits found on the Hall Peninsula are a wide range of different rocks of the serpentine group with colours from apple and olive green to dark aquamarine.

Carving stone is formed when hot fluids flow through iron-and magnesium-rich rock deep in the Earth's crust, altering it into softer minerals. At one time, Hall Peninsula used to be one of the world's biggest mountain belts, which has now eroded away.

"When you're walking around there, you're walking 30 kilometres deep into a mountain so you're looking at the deeper crust in this part of the world," said Mate, a self-described geology geek. "That's why we're finding carving stone.

"Every night there were exciting conversations about rocks that were found and what they mean and how that might change the interpretation of how the land formed."