Fact Sheet 8, 2004

The Taartoq gold field, South West Greenland

The gold potential of the Taartoq area is apparent and significant, judged from several showings hosted in different parageneses and associations. Since the discovery of the main gold occurrence in the area in 1971, a number of companies have devoted substantial resources to assessing the ore potential. GEUS has included the area in regional survey projects since the 1950s. The Taartoq gold field is so far representing the only South Greenland Archaean hosted gold mineralisation with average gold grades of 8–15 g/t, reaching up to a maximum of 50 g/t gold.

Geological setting

The Taartoq area, located in the heart of South West Greenland, is considered as the Archaean foreland composed of high-grade gneisses and greenstones (the 'Tartoq Group'). The environments for gold deposition are sequences of volcano-sedimentary supracrustal rocks, which rest unconformably upon the Archaean gneisses of low to medium metamorphic grade.