Greenland Minerals and Energy (ASX: GGG) is a mineral exploration and development company, focused on unlocking the mineral riches of Greenland, one of the world’s last natural resource frontiers.
The company strategy is to identify large mineral deposits with the potential to underpin long term, economically robust mining operations.
Greenland Mineral's flagship project is Kvanefjeld, a multi-element deposit located near the southwest tip of Greenland. Through focused exploration, Kvanefjeld is rapidly growing to become one to the world’s largest undeveloped deposits of rare earth elements, uranium and naturally occurring sodium fluoride.
Greenland Minerals and Energy: high grade rare earth element and uranium intersections at Kvanefjeld
Satellite deposits to the Kvanefjeld resource deliver the potential for a major upgrade to the projects contained metal. JORC Resources for Zone 2 and Zone 3 are due within months, along with more drilling results - which continue to whet investors’ appetite.
Greenland Minerals and Energy (ASX: GGG) is ramping up the news flow in early 2012, with the company delivering some broad high grade rare earth element and uranium intersections from the Kvanefjeld multi‐element project in Greenland - with more results to be announced in coming weeks.
The importance of today's intersections from Zone 2 on the northern Ilimaussaq complex is the continued development of a significant deposit in its own right, which is located just 6 kilometres from the world-class Kvanefjeld resource hosting contained metal of 350 million pounds U3O8, 6.6 million tonnes TREO and 3 billion pounds of zinc.
Highlights from Zone 2 include:
- 66 metres at 474ppm U3O8, 1.55% TREO, 0.34% zinc;
- 60 metres at 486ppm U3O8, 1.15% TREO, 0.34% zinc;
- 65 metres at 417ppm U3O8, 1.36% TREO, 0.33% zinc;
- 52 metres at 452ppm U3O8, 1.49% TREO, 0.33% zinc;
- 45 metres at 443ppm U3O8, 1.70% TREO, 0.35% zinc; and
- 39 metres at 449ppm U3O8, 1.29% TREO, 0.37% zinc.
These intercepts continue to delineate a thick, high‐grade upper lens that remains open to the north, while also providing the strong possibility of a significant future increase to the total projects resource base.
News flow: more drilling results, JORC estimates
Investors will already be well aware of the potential of Kvanefjeld to develop into a company making project for Greenland Minerals and Energy, and it's worth re-capping the recent introduction of a uranium licensing framework for the Kvanefjeld project, which importantly is inclusive of new deposits.
Pending announcements that will boost the credentials of the project even further include drilling results from Zone 3, which are forecast to be announced to the market in coming weeks.
Shortly after will be initial JORC Resources for Zones 2 and Zones 3, which are expected to be released in the March quarter of 2012.
Greenland Government uranium decision "momentous" for Kvanefeld
At the end of 2011 Greenland Minerals and Energy received some very positive news, in that the Greenland Government is introducing a uranium licensing framework for Kvanefeld, which looks to have delivered a blue print for the company to move ahead with a strategic partner and ultimately move closer to heavy rare earths production.
Under the licensing framework in Greenland, the licensee maintains the right to apply for an exploitation (mining) license for all exploitable elements listed on the exploration license.
Importantly the exploration license now includes radioactive materials, providing the company with the clear right to apply for the exploitation of radioactive elements along with all other exploitable elements - which brings the potential production of heavy rare earths into play.
At the time, Roderick McIllree, managing director of Greenland Minerals, commented on the good news and said, "The company expects in the first few months of next year to announce its final flow sheet that will almost certainly see Kvanefjeld optimised on heavy rare earth production, underpinned by an economic keel of uranium production."
Exploitation of Kvanefjeld timeline
The Government of Greenland amendment comes around one year after the issuance to Greenland Minerals of an evaluation permit to allow for comprehensive feasibility studies to be conducted on a mineral deposit that includes uranium.
Through the first half of 2011, the company conducted extensive stakeholder engagement to establish the terms-of-reference for environmental and social impact assessments.
These terms were approved by the government in July, and both the EIA and SIA are progressing on schedule, with the Greenland Minerals saying that it is extremely pleased with this critical development and expects to lodge an application for the exploitation of Kvanefjeld at the end of 2012.
