Suchergebnisse

Previous investigations by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and exploration companies have demonstrated that some of the kimberlites in West Greenland are diamond bearing, making the region an important target for diamond prospecting. High-resolution hyperspectral (HS) remote sensing data have been successfully used for the location of kimberlitic rocks, e.g. in Australia and Africa. However, its potential as a viable method for the mapping of kimberlite occurrences in Arctic glaciated terrain with high relief was previously unknown. In July–August 2002, GEUS conducted an airborne hyperspectral survey in central West Greenland (Fig. 1) using the commercially available HyMap hyperspectral scanner operated by HyVista Corporation, Australia. Data were processed in 2003, and in 2004 follow-up field work was carried out in the Kangerlussuaq region to test possible kimberlites indicated by the HS data (Fig. 1). The project was financed by the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, Government of Greenland.

On 2 December 2002, EU Commissioner Poul Nielson on behalf of the European Development Fund signed a €40 million grant to the Ghana Government. The purpose of this grant was to finance a Mining Sector Support Programme (MSSP) that covered a broad spectrum of geoscientific projects and other projects aimed at an overall strengthening and modernisation of Ghana's mining sector. One of the major components was collection and interpretation of airborne geophysical data contracted to the two commercial geophysical companies Fugro Airborne Surveys and Geotech Airborne Ltd. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) was contracted to perform the quality control (QC) of the airborne geophysical data collection and processing in a separate MSSP project (No 8 ACP GH 027/37). The initial Provision of quality-control services to the Airborne Geophysical Survey required GEUS to be on site in Ghana for 22 man-months; an expansion of the programme and various circumstances (see below) resulted in a total of 37.25 man-months before the project was completed in January 2010. The Danish National Space Center was subcontracted by GEUS to perform part of the QC of gravity data acquisition and processing. The QC project was reported by Thorning et al. (2010).

Between October 2001 and the end of 2003 there was a close co-operation between the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the Geological Survey Department of Ghana (GSD), as part of a project to enhance GSD's institutional capabilities and effectiveness, mainly in the fields of management, geological mapping, map production and data handling. During this period a team of geologists, GIS (Geographic Information System) and database experts as well as administrative staff from GEUS have visited GSD, and GSD officers have visited GEUS in Copenhagen. The main obstacles to GSD becoming an effective organisation are its status as a department under the Ghana Ministry of Mines, insufficient funding by the government, and poor remuneration of its professional staff. To overcome these obstacles, attempts are being made to change the status of GSD from a 'civil servant organisation' into a semiautonomous institution, which will permit the Survey to generate funding for its core activities by providing services to outside organisations, and pay better salaries to its personnel. Despite many problems, geological mapping has been resumed and three new geological maps have been produced by GSD during the project and stored in GIS format. A mapping manual has been prepared, and the structure and 'Mission and Vision Statements' for the Survey have been revised.

In the following we describe the project Geoscience Documents and Data for Exploration in Greenland, in short DODEX. A central part of DODEX is an interactive web application (http://www.geus.dk/dodex/) that provides easy access to all non-confidential company geoscience reports received by the authorities in Greenland and Denmark in accordance with the Mineral Resources Act of Greenland (1 January 2010) and associated regulations. From the web application it is possible to search in the DODEX report database using alphanumeric and geographic search criteria and to access report metadata. It is also possible to download the actual report as a PDF file. In addition to the open DODEX web application, the project also includes the development of a closed web application where authorised users can access confidential reports. The DODEX project was carried out at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) in cooperation with the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum (BMP) under the Government of Greenland as part of the promotion of the mineral resources of Greenland.

The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum (BMP, under the Government of Greenland) have co-operated on the international promotion of the mineral resources of Greenland for more than ten years. The Government of Greenland follows a strategy aimed at the development of a mining and petroleum sector in Greenland capable of yielding a significant proportion of the national income. To reach this goal it is necessary to attract international investment. In respect of mineral exploration, many parts of Greenland can still be considered virgin territory and it is therefore vital that all data relevant for the identification of possible exploration targets are available to the international mining industry. GEUS has produced many compilations of geoscience data for that purpose in traditional reports, on CD-ROMs and in scientific journals. In 2004, a new source of geoscience information was developed based on an interactive GIS facility on the Internet, and mineral exploration data and information from a region in central West Greenland are now accessible at the Greenland Mineral Occurrence Map (GMOM) website at GEUS (Fig. 1; www.geus.dk/gmom). Technically, this new facility will be maintained and developed in accordance with general principles for Internet services adopted by GEUS (e.g. Tulstrup 2004). New information from other regions of Greenland will gradually be added.