Tag Archives: Greenland Resources

Greenland Resources enlists help of FLSmidth for Malmbjerg molybdenum project

Greenland Resources says it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) for supply of metallurgical process equipment, technology, services and technical solutions for the Malmbjerg molybdenum project with FLSmidth.

The Malmbjerg molybdenum project is an open-pit operation with an environmentally friendly mine design focused on reduced water usage, low aquatic disturbance and low footprint due to modularised infrastructure, Greenland Resources says. A 2022 definitive feasibility study on Mambjerg by Tetra Tech outlined proven and probable reserves of 245 Mt at 0.176% MoS2. It also highlighted a 20-year open-pit mine life with average annual production in years 1-10 of 32.8 MIby of contained molybdenum metal at an average grade of 0.23% MoS2 and average annual life of mine production of 24.1 MIb with a cash cost of $6.38/lb Mo.

The company has now added FLSmidth to the list of Denmark-based companies associated with the project. These relationships are expected to facilitate equipment financing from government banks in Denmark, it says.

Greenland Resources enlists Nuna Group for Malmbjerg molybdenum project construction

Greenland Resources Inc says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nuna Group of Companies for the construction and commissioning of the infrastructure at the Malmbjerg molybdenum project in Greenland.

Nuna is a Canada-based, majority Inuit-owned civil construction company that specialises in remote Arctic infrastructure, construction and logistics. Its expertise includes mine construction, maintenance and operations, and the construction and oversight of specialty technical services that include maritime structures and docking, fuel farm and storage facilities, electrical reticulation setup, tailings management facility (TMF) operations and aviation facilities, among others, Greenland Resources says.

Greenland Resources views Nuna’s successful long track record in developing mine projects in the Canadian Arctic, combined with the collaboration of the Nunavut Inuit and the Greenlandic Inuit people, as well as the government of Canada’s views of molybdenum as a critical mineral, as very favourable for the development of the project.

The MoU sets the path for the construction and commissioning of the mining, processing and TMF management infrastructure to tie in all the unit operations associated with mining, Ropecon conveyor transportation, metallurgical processing and shipping the final product to EU end users.

A 2022 definitive feasibility study on Mambjerg by Tetra Tech outlined proven and probable reserves of 245 Mt at 0.176% MoS2. It also outlined a 20-year open-pit mine life with average annual production in years 1-10 of 32.8 MIby of contained molybdenum metal at an average grade of 0.23% MoS2 and average annual life of mine production of 24.1 MIb with a cash cost of $6.38/lb Mo.

Greenland Resources makes plans to employ Doppelmayr RopeCon at Malmbjerg moly project

Greenland Resources Inc is taking a different tack to mine haulage at its Malmbjerg molybdenum project in Greenland, laying out plans in a feasibility study to use a Doppelmayr RopeCon® aerial conveyor to transport ore to the concentrator.

In a definitive feasibility study that outlined a 20-year open pit mine life with annual life of mine production of 24.1 MIb of molybdenum, Dr Ruben Shiffman, Executive Chairman, said the company had chosen to “prioritise the environment over capital expenditure”.

In addition to the planned use of a Doppelmayr rope conveyor over cheaper and less environmentally friendly diesel haul trucks – which would save the company over $80 million in capital expenditure, according to Shiffman – the company also planned to use salt water as process water in its process plant, with very low reagent concentrations to mitigate any potential environmental contamination.

The Malmbjerg project comprises of a conventional open-pit mine producing 35,000 t/d of molybdenum-rich ore for processing in a conventional base metal sulphide concentrator. The mine plan equipment fleet consists of two 34 cu.m hydraulic shovels loading 13 x 230 t haul trucks operating on 12 m benches.

The operational mining plan will utilise an economic grade control system where higher value ore will be separated and transported to the concentrator while the lower value ore will be stockpiled and processed at the end of conventional mining.

Waste rock will be stored on the west side of the deposit and used for haul road and construction activities at the mine site.

Current mining reserves dictate a mine life of 20 years where the concentrator will be fed directly from the open pit for a period of 11 years and stockpiled ore will be processed for the remaining nine years.

Ore produced from the open pit will be transported to the primary crusher and loaded onto the Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH ropeway aerial conveyor for transportation to the concentrator located 21.7 km northeast of the open pit on tidewater.

“The ropeway aerial conveyor is similar to historic ore tramline systems that are employed in challenging topography where ore surface transportation systems are not topographically and economically favourable,” Greenland Resources said. “The ropeway is expected to generate electrical power for the mine site during the life of the operation.”

The ropeway aerial conveyor discharges ore into a 35,000 t “live” stockpile at the concentrator for processing. The concentrator is of a modular design constructed on barges and transported from an overseas shipyard to the project site where the barges will be permanently located in a dedicated beach location. The 35,000 t/d concentrator modular design was selected based on the economics of offsite construction and reduced concentrate production commission time.

The life of mine average mill feed grade is 0.176% MoS2 at an estimated recovery of 84.6% MoS2.

The concentrator comprises two SAG circuits feeding a conventional multi-stage flotation circuit to produce a molybdenite-rich concentrate. Due to the four-to-six-month ice-free shipping season, concentrate will be inventoried in containers on site during the non-shipping period and shipped to end users when the shipping season commences.

The estimated initial capital for the project is $820 million with $194.4 million of this being set aside for the rope conveyor.