Mineral resource potential of South Greenland

Introduction to South Greenland

		Topography, climate and infrastructure The landscape of South Greenland comprises four elements: an archipelagic coastal zone, a fjord zone, a glacier and nunatak zone, and the Inland Ice. The coastal zone has often low topography, but inland the terrain elevates to alpine topography with many peaks above 1500 m and up to 2700 m above sea level. The climate is arctic to sub-arctic with a mean temperature for the warmest month slightly below +10oC. Only low-altitude terrain supports significant vegetation comprising herbs, low bushes and scrubs. Administratively, the region is divided between the municipalities of Nanortalik, Qaqortoq/Julianehåb, Narsaq, Ivittuut, Paamiut/Frederikshåb and Tasiilaq/Ammassalik, which hosts approximately 20% of the 55 000 inhabitants in Greenland. In addition to the larger settlements, there are many small settlements along the southwest coast. Today most passenger traffic into the area takes place through the airport Narsarsuaq with connections to Copenhagen (Denmark), Reykjavik (Iceland), and the capital of Greenland, Nuuk. Local transport is by scheduled fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter or by boat. Outline of the geology South Greenland comprises three major chronostratigraphic units: (1) the southern part of an Archaean craton, (2) the Palaeoproterozoic Ketilidian orogen, and (3) the Mesoproterozoic Gardar province (see simplified map to the top right). The Ketilidian orogen comprises four zones, a Border zone with Palaeoproterozoic foreland supracrustals, a Batholith zone with granitoid complexes of volcanic arc origin, 1.85 to 1.8 Ga of age, two zones with forc-arc sediments which were intruded by Rapakivi granites around 1.74 Ga. The Quaternary glaciation covered the region, possibly with the exception of the highest peaks. The ice cap, the Inland Ice, still remains over most of Greenland with glaciers extending towards the coast through valleys and fjords. Mining Presently, there is no active mining in South Greenland, but a few mines have been operated in the past. The most important one was the world-class cryolite mine at Ivittuut, which produced 3.7 mill tons of ore with 58% cryolite from 1854 to 1987. At present a gold mine, Nalunaq, is under development in the southern part of South Greenland, near Nanortalik (see map and photos to the right).
				Simplified geological map of South Greenland. Click on the map to enlarge.
				Upper photo shows the Amitsoq mine, which was active 1915-25. Left hand photo taken in 1992 shows relics from the abandoned Amitsoq graphite mine seen against Ketilidian mountains. Right hand photo shows the Nalunaq gold prospect with the track to the test adit excavated in 1998. Click on the photos to enlarge.