Annual Report 2004
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Mineral resources |
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The hunt for diamonds continues
A total of 119 micro-diamonds and 9 macro-diamonds are among the results of GEUS' examination of tonne-sized kimberlite samples collected in West Greenland in 2003.This is evident from a report published by GEUS in 2004, and the findings have helped spur on the mining industry's interest in diamond exploration in Greenland.An exploration company found macro-diamonds in the same area. The occurrence of diamonds in West Greenland has been known for decades, but it was not until after the establishment of diamond mines in Canada that the mining industry began to show real interest in West Greenland. In the 1990s there was a large-scale search for diamonds and several mining companies have retained interest in the area. In recent years, GEUS has followed up on the work of the companies through support from the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, since opportunities for finding more of the attractive diamonds have been far from exhausted. Geologists continued their examinations and surveys of kimberlitic rock in West Greenland in 2004.Toward the end of the year, GEUS published a new digital comparative overview of diamond data from West Greenland with a plethora of information from mining company research and GEUS' own data. The overview of data comprises many new research data, which have become available as the period of confidentiality for several company reports ended, and data collection has almost doubled compared to the previous overview published in 2003. |
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Treats for the mining industry
The mining industry is demanding more geological knowledge and access to several other types of geodata when deciding whether a region is worth investing in. In order to attract the industry to Greenland, for a number of years GEUS has been presenting its knowledge in a user-friendly form, so that it is easier for companies to access. In 2004, a summary and evaluation of geodata from the Precambrian Shield of West Greenland between 66 degrees north and 70 degrees 15 minutes north was published. The information is collated on a DVD and in four reports, which describe and evaluate the data. The content of the DVD includes maps of topography, geology, geophysics, geochemistry, mineral resources licenses, descriptions of 160 known mineral occurrences, as well as lists of publications and company reports from the region. Greenland's potential mineral resources are also being marketed by GEUS at large conventions where the mining industry is present. In collaboration with the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, in 2004 GEUS participated in two large conventions in Canada and published a theme number of the magazine "Geology and Ore" on diamond exploration in Greenland, as well as four fact sheets in the series "Exploration and mining in Greenland" with the themes: gold in the Nuuk region, diamond exploration, gold in Southwest Greenland, and Greenland's prospective nickel resources. GEUS received regular visits from exploration companies wanting to draw on publicly available knowledge about Greenland's geology at GEUS. |
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Overview of Greenland's geology
After 40 years' work, in 2004 GEUS completed the geological 1:500,000-scale overview mapping of Greenland with the publication of the map sheet: "Humboldt Gletscher, Sheet 6", which covers the north western corner of North Greenland. Furthermore, a description was published alongside the map sheet.This means that through a total of 14 map sheets an overview has been created of the geology in ice-free areas of Greenland; an area almost 10 times the size of Denmark. Concurrent with the overview mapping, geologists have worked on mapping Greenland in the more detailed scale of 1:100,000, which is more suitable for mineral resources exploration by mining companies.Today, a total of 57 maps in this scale have been published, leaving over 170 map sheets to be prepared before all of Greenland is covered. GEUS is concentrating this work on the areas where mineral resources interests are greatest, and in 2004 two 1:100,000-scale map sheets were published which covered areas in West Greenland. These are "Kangaatsiaq, 68 V.1 Syd" and "Ussuit, 67 V.2 Nord" south of the Disko Bay, and in the summer of 2004, geologists commenced their field work for the map sheet "Kapisillit" in the Nuuk region, known for some of the world's oldest rock types and several financially interesting occurrences of mineral resources. |
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Focus on gold in the Nuuk area
Gold has been found in many places throughout Greenland, and the opening of the Nalunaq gold mine in 2003 in South Greenland has proved that gold occurrences exist which are worthy of mining. Especially in recent years, promising gold mineralisation has been discovered in the Nuuk region, and in 2004 the rock masses in this area were therefore subject to geologists' scrutiny in order to clarify the geological history and to gain a better understanding of the natural processes that have led to concentrations of gold in the rocks. The many types of new data gathered in the previous years, including magnetic, gravity, and geochemical data, were used in the detailed scrutiny of the area. The socalled greenstone belts have the geologists' attention, because they are similar to rocks which have revealed large finds of gold and nickel elsewhere in the world. Closer mapping and surveying the greenstone belts and their formation are therefore of great interest to the mining industry. The activities are being carried out with support from the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum. |
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Survey of moler on Mors
Moler is an important Danish mineral resource, of which the main products are absorbent granulate and insulating moler brick. Moler granulate is used, for instance, for cat litter and as an additive in fertilizer and feed stuff, as well as in the medicinal industry. In 2004, GEUS completed a project for the company Damolin A/S and Viborg County to identify the moler reserves and the amount of surface soil in the Barkærgård area in Ejerslev Molerfelt on the island of Mors in northern Jutland.With the help of existing drilling data and data from three new drillings, a mathematical statistical calculation was made of the moler reserves and of the amount of surface soil, which in this area consists of moraine soil and "Askelagsserien" (the ash layer series). Furthermore, a comparison was made with drilling data from Ejerslev Molerfelt. The results will be part of the assessment of the costs of moler extraction in the area and of the County's survey and planning of management of the area and mineral resources extraction. |
