Assessment of potential of the Maniitsoq Ni-Cu deposit in Greenland

The Maniitsoq deposit is located about 160km north of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The deposit is a very large highgrade nickel-copper deposit discovered in recent years. The mine owners North American Nickel Company has carried out a series of exploration activities in the deposit, the cumulative drilling has reached 29840m, of which a 74.05m long core at he depth of 268.70~342.75m in MQ-16-117 drill hole has nickel content of 1.08% and copper content of 0.54%. As the Chinese scientists and enterprises are very interested in going abroad to participate in mineral exploration and development of Greenland area, the systematic understanding of geological characteristics of the deposit and resource potential is extremely necessary. The authors comprehensively collected and analyzed the relevant data of the deposit, and compared it with China's Jinchuan nickel ore deposit. The results show that the Maisuoke nickel-copper deposit is a "small rock body forming a large deposit" and a typical representative of the "deep liqua-tion-injection mineralization" ore-forming mechanism. Based on the previous survey data, the authors hold that the metal content of the nickel is 19.5 million tons, which has reached the world class scale, and the Chinese enterprises should pay due attention to this situation.