Economic geology and exploration potential of the Frederikshåb Isblink - Søndre Strømfjord area (Sheet 2 Geological map of Greenland)

The region of Frederikshab Isblink - Søndre Strømfjord is centred roughly over the town of Nuuk on the southwest coast of Greenland. Nuuk, with a population of about 12 000 boasts excellent air and other support services and along with most of the coast in this area is ice-free throughout most of the year.

The area is entirely underlain by Archaean basement, including some of the oldest dated successions known. Quartzo-feldspathic gneisses of several ages predominate, but within them there are extensive screens and enclaves of metamorphosed supracrustal rocks, and intrusive bodies of anorthosite and leucogabbro. Swarms of early Proterozoic mafic dykes are common, a few carbonatites and many kimberlitic bodies have been mapped.

Mineral occurrences discovered through routine geological mapping and by reconnaissance prospecting by a few companies are typical of those found in other shield areas of the world. Showings include copper-zinc occurrences of possible volcanogenic massive sulphide affinity, gold mineralisation, copper-nickel sulphides associated with norite bodies, and PGE and chromite occurrences within a deformed anorthosite complex. In addition there are niobium and phosphate deposits associated with carbonatites. In a stream draining a multitude of kimberlite dykes a few microdiamonds have been found.

Despite all the indications that the region has at least some of the classic geology of some productive shield areas in the world, the area is very lightly explored, and indeed can be said to have never been systematically examined for gold and base metals. The belts of supracrustal rocks are similar in size and extent to those in other areas in the world such as the western Superior and southwestern Grenville Provinces in Canada, where economic discoveries of both gold and base metals have been made and developed.

A strong case can be made that the exploration potential of this area has been undervalued by industry in the past, and that given the number of promising geological indicators and low level of competitive activity, the area merits a fresh look for groups seeking excellent grassroots opportunities.