Mining Intelligence and News
Greenland

Kvanefjeld Project

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Categories

Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StagePermitting
Commodities
  • Total Rare Earth Oxides
  • Uranium
  • Zinc
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotOn 16 December 2022, the Company lodged an amendment to its existing application for an exploitation licence for the Kvanefjeld Project in Greenland to the Mineral Resource Authority. The amendment supplements the Company's existing application to include an alternative development scenario. Specifically, under the alternative development scenario the Company will exploit only rare earth elements, zinc and fluorspar (and not uranium).

The Company maintains its original exploitation licence application, by which it continues to apply for an exploitation licence for the Kvanefjeld Project inclusive of uranium exploitation rights. The Company has confirmed this to the Greenland Government along with its expectation that the Greenland Government will continue to process its exploitation licence application on that original basis.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Energy Transition Minerals Ltd. 100 % Indirect
The Kvanefjeld Project EL 2010/02 is held by Greenland Minerals A/S, the 100% owned of Energy Transition Minerals Ltd. (formerly Greenland Minerals Ltd.)

Deposit type

  • Magmatic

Summary:

The lujavrite series within the Ilimaussaq\ Complex is at least 500 m thick and are generally fine-grained and laminated but there are locally some medium to coarse-grained pegmatoidal varieties. Black (arfvedsonite bearing) lujavrite is the rock type that hosts REE, uranium, and zinc multi-element mineralisation. Economic REE and uranium grades occur in the uppermost sections of the lujavrites, and are associated with distinct ore minerals. Mineralisation is predominantly orthomagmatic, with metal enrichment a function of differentiation of the lujavrite magma.

Steenstrupine is the most important host to both REEs and uranium in the lujavrite-hosted deposits. It is a complex sodic phospho silicate mineral. Mineralogical studies suggest that steenstrupine commonly contains between 0.2% and 1% U3 O8 , and greater than 15% total rare earth oxide. Steenstrupine is the dominant host to both uranium and REEs. The phosphorous in the mineral structure makes steenstrupine amenable to concentration by conventional flotation techniques.

The grain size of the steenstrupine commonly ranges from 75 µm to over 500 µm. Other minerals that are important hosts to REEs include the phosphate mineral vitusite and, to a lesser extent, britholite, lovozerite group minerals and rare monazite. Aside from steenstrupine, uranium is also hosted in zirconium silicate minerals of the lovozerite group. In these silicates a portion of the zirconium is substituted by several hundred ppm each of uranium, yttrium, REEs and tin. Zinc is hosted in the sulphide mineral sphalerite, which is the dominant sulphide, disseminated throughout the deposits.

Several substantial deposits of multi-element mineralisation (REEs, uranium, zinc) are hosted in the lujavrites of the northern Ilimaussaq Complex. A world-class multi-element resource has been established at Kvanefjeld, and substantial new satellite deposits have recently been confirmed at Sørensen and Zone 3. Geological evidence suggests that Sørensen and Zone 3 represent outcropping, or nearsurface expressions of a mineralised system that extends over several kilometres from Kvanefjeld, and is interconnected at depth. This is endorsed by exploratory drill holes that demonstrate that mineralisation is widespread outside the defined mineral resources.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnitsAvg. Annual
Uranium U3O8 t 451
Zinc Concentrate kt 6.1
REE Oxide t 32,000
Fluorspar Concentrate kt 12
Neodymium Oxide t 4,260
Praseodymium Oxide t 1,420
Dysprosium Oxide t 270
Terbium Oxide t 45

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual ore mining rate 3 Mt *
Annual processing rate 3 Mt *
Stripping / waste ratio 1 *
* According to 2019 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs Total Rare Earth Oxides USD 4 / kg * **  
Assumed price Fluorspar USD 400 / t *  
Assumed price Total Rare Earth Oxides USD 19.6 / kg *  
Assumed price Uranium (U3O8) USD 40 / lb *  
Assumed price Zinc USD 1,000 / t *  
* According to 2019 study / presentation.
** Net of By-Product.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNamePhoneProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ........... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 30, 2023

Total WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2020

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