Assessment of the dimension stone potential in South Greenland. Part 1 - Desk top study

Worldwide, the use and production of dimension stones is a substantial sector measured in turnover and tonnages, although comprehensive market figures for the global business have not been found. Ideally, the dimension stone production concept, seems well suited for Greenland, given the relatively small scale of operation in terms of manpower and size of land, small environmental impact and easy access to navigable fjords for shipping the blocks. In combination with attractive – and outcropping – geology, encompassing a wide range of rock-types and colours, justifies a survey of the dimension stone business potential in South Greenland.

The Ministry of Mineral Resources in Greenland (MMR) and the Geological Survey of Den-mark and Greenland (GEUS) agreed (2017) to reinitiate investigations on the potential for commercial dimension stone projects in South Greenland. Previous surveys were carried out in the 80’s and 90’s (Larsen, 1985; Gothenborg et al. 1994) and again in 2002 & 2003 (Kalvig et al. 2002; Rasmussen 2003, Rasmussen & Olsen 2003). The present campaign encom-passes three phases: (i) Survey centred to gain knowledge about the dimension stone mar-ket and its dynamics, establishing contacts to the industry/potential investors, and identifica-tion of commercially interesting rock types/-colours; (ii) Fieldwork/target seek-out August 2018; (iii) Excursion for potential investors to selected sites, summer 2019. Stage (i) is re-ported in the following.