Greenland Mines lifts contained PGM by 31% at Skaergaard

An updated technical report for Greenland Mines’ (Nasdaq: GRML) Skaergaard palladium-gold-platinum project increased contained palladium-equivalent metal across resource categories by more than half while boosting grades by about 80%.

The S-K 1300-compliant report used re-engineered criteria for Skaergaard, which now hosts 153.6 million indicated tonnes grading 1.53 grams palladium per tonne, 0.65 gram gold and 0.12 gram platinum, a 36% rise in grade over the previous estimate from 2022, the company said Wednesday. Contained indicated metal now totals 7.5 million oz. palladium, 3.2 million oz. gold and 600,000 oz. platinum, a 31% increase from the 2022 report. Skaergaard is about 1,000 km northeast of the capital Nuuk.

“We have taken the 2022 mineral resource – already substantial – applied current gold and palladium prices and an improved block model methodology that better reflects the true geometry of the deposit,” Greenland Mines President Bo Møller Stensgaard said in a release.

“The S-K 1300 conversion gives us the regulatory foundation to move directly into an initial assessment, which will, for the first time, formally evaluate what an open-pit scenario looks like at Skaergaard alongside underground options.”

Top ranked resource

Skaergaard now ranks among the world’s largest undeveloped PGM projects, offering a potentially significant future Western source of palladium and platinum outside of South Africa and Russia. The metals are widely used in catalytic converters and industrial processes, with platinum expected to play an expanding role in hydrogen technologies. However, developing mines in Greenland faces technical and regulatory challenges.

Company shares gained almost 4% to 19¢ apiece on Wednesday morning in New York, for a market capitalization of $28.2 million (C$39.6 million). The stock has traded in a 12-month range of 18¢ to 55¢.

Inferred grades gain 43%

In the inferred category, tonnage fell 13% to 177.5 million tonnes grading 1.36 grams palladium, 0.75 gram gold and 0.11 gram platinum, a 43% rise. Contained metal gained 24% to 7.75 million oz. palladium, 4.28 million oz. gold and 600,000 oz. platinum.

The new report hinges on updating the long-term metal prices to $3,500 per oz. gold, $1,725 per oz.  palladium and $2,100 per oz. platinum. It is based on 42,050 metres of drilling across 93 holes – the same exploration database as the 2022 report. It also changed the economic cut-off grade to $84 per ton net smelter return from 1.43 grams palladium-equivalent, and adopted a standard block model approach that removes a source of artificial ore dilution, the company said.

The initial economic assessment for Skaergaard will focus on evaluating an open-pit mining scenario for the northern plateau area of the deposit, where gold, palladium and platinum mineralization sit near the surface. Greenland Mines didn’t specify a timeline for the assessment.