Mining Projects

Lead and zinc in Northwest Greenland

On 21 May 2008, Angel Mining Plc (Angus & Ross Plc.) and the Greenland Government signed an exploitation licence for the reopening of the old Black Angel mine at Maarmorilik near the city Uummannaq in Northwest Greenland. The project is still in the initial phase where production plant and infrastructure are being reconstructed. A cable car will be installed and production will start in 2012. In the exploitation phase the mine is expected to employ close to 100-110 persons.

In addition to extracting the pillars in the old Black Angel mine, 3 other deposit targets are considered to be exploited. At the continental ice sheet where the ice front has receded, a new deposit called South Lakes Glacier of the same type has appeared. The ore bodies in the area around the mine are at present estimated to contain 160,000 tons of zinc metal and 61,000 tons of lead metal and in addition silver. The mine is expected to produce from 7 to 10 years.

Extraction of olivine in Fiskefjorden near the city of Maniitsoq

On 30 June 2005, an exploitation licence was granted for extraction of the industrial mineral olivine from the Seqinnersuusaq deposit in Fiskefjorden near Maniitsoq. The licence was granted to Seqi Olivine A/S which 100 % is owned by Minelco AB, a subsidiary of LKAB which is a Swedish-owned mining company. In 2007, the company changed its name from Seqi Olivine A/S to Minelco A/S.

The exploitation is done in a surface quarry. Prior to shipping, the raw olivine is crushed and graded in different fractions and qualities according to the type of use. The transportation of olivine from Fiskefjorden takes place in bulk on board freighters with a load capacity of up to 50,000 tons. The olivine is at present mainly shipped to the European market.

In the summer of 2006, the company made comprehensive drillings to further determine the extent of the deposit. The results indicate that the size of the olivine deposit is larger than the 100 million tons originally estimated. Approx. 30 people are employed at the olivine mine. The mine was closed down in 2010.

Gold Production in Greenland

The gold deposit in Nalunaq is found in connection with quartz veins of an average thickness of 0.7 metre. The gold is found as small grains the size of which varies from microscopic to a diameter of a few millimetres.

In September 2009 the Greenland Government granted Angel Mining (Gold) A/S a permit to reopen the gold mine in Kirkespirdalen in Kujalleq Municipality in South Greenland. The former licensee operating the goldmine under the name Nalunaq Gold Mine A/S produced gold in the mine for more than 4 years from 2004-2008. The mine is located approx. 11 km from the coast, and until 2007 the gold ore was shipped to the reprocessing plant at Rio Narcea in Spain. From 2007 the ore was reprocessed at Nugget Pond in Newfoundland, Canada.

The new owners will do processing on location and the only product leaving the site will be the gold dorè.

Molybdenum

In 2008, International Molybdenum Ltd./Quadra Mining applied for an exploitation licence for the molybdenum deposit at Malmbjerg in East Greenland. The exploitation licence is granted and the initial phase will hopefully begin once the economic recession is over and if the molybdenum market price increases again. The initial construction phase is estimated to take three to four years. The exploitation plan was postponed due to the international recession in 2008.

It is expected that approx. 500 persons will be employed during the initial phase. In the production phase, the staff is expected to count approx. 400 people. Production will take place in an open pit. Subsequently, the ore will be extracted in a reprocessing plant on location. The concentrate is transported via a 70 km long road towards south to the port and further transported by ship to be sold on the world market.