Greenland

Greenland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the Canadian arctic archipelago. While it is geographically part of North America, historically and economically, Greenland is closely related to Europe. From a mineral exploration perspective, Greenland is highly prospective yet underexplored; it is politically stable, maintains a long lived democracy and tax system, is open to foreign investment, and is mining friendly. The Greenland Home Rule Government recognizes that the responsible development of mineral resources is critical to the future economy of Greenland.

Greenland is governed as a democracy by the Greenland Home Rule Government, and is recognized as an OECD member. Greenland’s population is approximately 56,000 people, most of which live in towns along the fjords in the southwest of Greenland where the climate is relatively mild.

The economy has been historically dependant on fishing and fish exports; however, with fisheries in decline, Greenland is looking to mineral and hydrocarbon resources to replace these industries in the years to come. Tourism is a growing industry, but is limited due to a short summer season and high travel costs. The economy relies heavily on employment through the public sector, with approximately half of government revenues coming from grants from the Danish government. The GDP (per capita) alone is equivalent to those of weaker European economies and unemployment is high. With the Danish government looking to reduce its subsidy of Greenland, and Greenland looking to increase its economic independence, development of resource projects is now high on their list of priorities.

For more information, visit: http://www.greenlandexpo.com

Prospectivity of Greenland

Greenland records over 4 billion years of earth history, preserving many dynamic geological events conducive to mineral deposit formation. Approximately 80% of Greenland is covered by the icesheet, with the exposed area forming a fringe around the coast. These coastal areas provide a transect across the diverse geology of Greenland, exposing numerous mineral belts that are highly prospective for gold, nickel, platinum group elements (PGE), copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds and specialty metals including rare earth elements (REEs). A new gold mine and a new olivine mine have recently been commissioned, and the feasibility of a number of other large-scale mining projects is currently being assessed by the likes of Quadra Mining (TSX). Rio Tinto Exploration is active in Greenland through an alliance with Nuna Minerals, a partly state owned entity that is exploring Greenland for a variety of mineral deposit types.

Operating in Greenland

The Greenland Geological Survey (GEUS) has been active for years, producing high quality maps, large geochemical databases, mineral occurrence databases, and airborne geophysical surveys. The Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum (BMP) promotes Greenland as an attractive destination for mineral explorers through international trade shows such as the PDAC (Toronto) and the Cordilleran RoundUp (Vancouver). Exploration is generally carried out in the Greenlandic summer and shoulder seasons (May to October), as is done in other high latitude areas such as Canada and Alaska. A number of exploration and mining service providers operate out of Greenland and provide drill crews and well-trained personnel.

Greenland Minerals and Energy contracts Greenland Mining Services A/S (GMS), a Greenland-based service provider, to facilitate the ongoing exploration and development programs. GMS provides drill rigs and crews, in addition to well-trained field technicians and trades people. The company is actively participating in information forums in the local municipalities in Greenland, and currently employs 10 to 15 people from the town of Narsaq.