Tungsten exploration in the southern part of the Godthåb area, West Greenland

Abstract

Recent work by the Geological Survey of Greenland (GGU) in the Godthåb (Nûk) area has revealed a large tungsten province with extensive scheelite mineralisation in the Archaean Malene supracrustal rocks (Appel, 1983, 1984). In the area between Godthåb and Frederikshåb Isblink several large supracrustal amphibolite belts occur (fig. 1). These are presumably of the same age as the scheelite-bearing Malene amphibolites of the Godthåb area (Bridgwater et al., 1976). It was therefore decided to carry out a regional stream-sediment sampling programme in the area south of Godthåb, and this was accomplished in the summer of 1985. The aim of the programme was mainly to find scheelite, but the samples will subsequently be analysed for a number of other elements such as Cu, Pb and Mo. The folIowing report is mainly based on field observations. Laboratory work is confined to X-ray determination of scheelite in three heavy mineral concentrates.