{"id":27499,"date":"2022-11-30T09:08:17","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T09:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=27499"},"modified":"2022-11-30T09:08:17","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T09:08:17","slug":"greenland-drilling-programme-has-been-success-for-eclipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/greenland-drilling-programme-has-been-success-for-eclipse\/27499\/","title":{"rendered":"Eclipse achieves early success in Greenland drilling programme"},"content":{"rendered":"
Advancing from the planning and preparation stage, Eclipse has completed a maiden drilling programme at its flagship Greenland project, with initial objectives of drill hole and trenching activities and sampling already completed.<\/p>\n
Eclipse’s southwest Greenland project hosts two targets, the historical Ivigt\u00fbt cryolite mine precinct and the Gronnedal carbonatite rare earth element (REE) complex. Over both sites, the project has multi-faceted commercial potential for REE and high-purity quartz (HPQ), lithium, cryolite, siderite, and several base metals.<\/p>\n
Whilst the historical mine at the site produced 3.8 million tonnes of high-grade cryolite (a mineral used as a flux in the production of bauxite into aluminium), Eclipse is the first company targeting the REE and multi-commodity potential at both Gr\u00f8nnedal and Ivigt\u00fbt. Capitalising on this opportunity first requires Eclipse to transform the exploration targets of both sites into an accurate evaluation of the potential of the systems.<\/p>\n
Following successful fieldwork studies and mobilisation planning, Eclipse commenced its maiden drilling programme at both Greenland sites in October 2022. With earlier surface sampling, indicating that the Gr\u00f8nnedal carbonatite complex could be highly prospective for both light and heavy REEs, the primary objective of this phase was to collect sub-surface samples of the REE-bearing carbonatite formation and obtain samples of the Ivigt\u00fbt mine wall rocks. These samples would confirm this, along with other mineralisation in the exploration licence area.<\/p>\n
This maiden drilling and trenching programme follows approvals from Greenland’s Minerals License and Safety Authority (MLSA). Since the programme’s initiation, Eclipse has completed 31 percussion drill holes at Gr\u00f8nnedal, nine holes at Ivigt\u00fbt, and more than 50 excavated pits and trenches to sample carbonatite at Gr\u00f8nnedal and the Ivigt\u00fbt mine waste dumps.<\/p>\n
Harnessing local expertise, including Greenlandic geological consultants and drilling and earthmoving contractors, Eclipse’s Executive Chairman Carl Popal was on site to observe and assist with activities, concentrating the company\u2019s resources on this critical step in exploration activities.<\/p>\n
Since its partial drill testing in the mid-1900s, Eclipse’s current drill programme, of the Gr\u00f8nnedal carbonatite complex, is the first systematic exploration since closure of the Ivigt\u00fbt mine. By early November, Eclipse had completed 31 drill holes between three and 24 metres, utilising a grid pattern where possible and excavating trenches where appropriate.<\/p>\n