Chromite in the Fiskenæsset stratiform anorthosite complexe, West Greenland

The Fiskenæsset anorthosite complex hosts a major low grade chromite resource, which is estimated to be of the order of 100 million tonnes. The chromite occurs in chromitite layers which attain widths of up to 20 min fold closures, but more conunonly are less than metre wide. The chromitite layers can sometimes be traced fora few hundred metres along strike, but for the most part only fora few metres or tens of metres; this is due to magmatic slumping as well as the effects of repeated deformation. The anorthosite complex has been metamorphosed to amphibolite facies, locally to granulite facies. The average chromite content in the chromitite is 37 % by weight. A number of beneficiation tests have been carried out yielding chromite concentrates with the following composition: 35.1 % Cr₂O₃ , 18.6 % Al₂O₃, 41.5 % FeO and a Cr/Fe ratio of 0.75. Rutile is a conunon acessory in the chromitites amounting to 0.35 weight %, mostly occurring as tiny inclusions.