Recent gold discoveries in Archaean rocks of central West Greenland

AbstractAn early Archaean greenstone belt and mid-Archaean supracrustal rocks in central West Greenland host a number of significant mineral occurrences that have recently been targets for exploration, which has included diamond drilling. Diamond drilling in the ca 3750-m.y. Isua greenstone belt detected a large hematite orebody concealed beneath the Inland Ice; recent exploration in the Isua greenstone belt has identified small gold showings. The mid-Archaean supracrustal rocks host extensive copper, zinc and tungsten mineralization and significant gold occurrences have been explored recently. The gold is hosted in various supracrustal rock units and is spatially, and possibly genetically, associated with a major shear zone/terrane boundary. Diamond drilling and chip sampling have revealed economic grades over minable widths. The mineralization is conveniently located near ice-free waters and in close proximity to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.