Geology and Ore 8, 2007

The potential for Platinum Group Element (PGE) resources in Greenland

The potential for Platinum Group Element (PGE) resources in Greenland is clear and encompasses mineralisation in Precambrian to Palaeogene environments. The PGE potential in Greenland attracted interest already in the 1960s and has been part of the Survey’s considerations since the 1970s.

The corporate interest in PGE targets in Greenland was initiated by Kryolitselskabet Øresund in the early 1960s and was related to a suite of norites in West Greenland. Platinomino A/S was established in 1968 to search for Merensky Reef type deposits in the Fiskenæsset Complex. In the late 1980s, Platinova Resources prospected known PGE indications in Amitsoq peridotites in southern Greenland. Since 1995 norites in the Tasiilaq region, East Greenland have been the target for Cu-Ni-PGE exploration by several companies.

In 2005 NunaMinerals initiated PGE exploration in the mafic intrusions of the Fiskefjord area. In the 1980s GEUS and university groups focused on the formation of massive sulphides in the Palaeogene basalts of Disko Island, which has led to continued exploration for Noril´sk type mineralisations.

Renewed academic studies and exploration by Platinova Resources in the classic Skaergaard intrusion (East Greenland) resulted in 1987 in the discovery of a reef-type, world class PGE deposit.

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