A bulk sample of 42 000 t from the Dundas ilmenite project has left Greenland for the Port of Contrecoeur in Canada, in what project developer Bluejay Mining said on Monday marked the most northern shipment of bulk cargo anywhere in the world.

The material will be refined at Bluejay’s pilot facility in Canada to produce about 10 000 t of heavy mineral concentrate, half of which will be sent to Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Canada (RTIT) for testing at the Sorel-Tracy plant, in Quebec.

“Once delivered this refined sample will be extensively analysed to confirm suitability for large scale commercial use. As previously stated, we believe that this testing, together with RTIT's site visit at Dundas in the lead-up to the extraction of the bulk sample, will prove to be a value-add as we now move to finalise the permitting application process,” Bluejay Mining CEO Roderick McIllree said on Monday.

Making special mention of Bluejay’s internal team at Dundas – Hans Jensen, Carsten Olsen, Jens Lennert and Eric Schjorring, as well as many other Greenland team members – McIllree said that the shipment was a “complicated logistical precedent to implement”.

US-based bulk commodity specialists Mid-Ship assisted in the identification of logistic specialists capable of delivering on a project of this scale.

The shipping was executed by Pangaea Logistic Solutions, through its subsidiary Phoenix Bulk Carriers, Copenhagen-based Nordic Bulk Carriers, specialists in the shipment of bulk cargoes through the north west passage, with stevedoring executed by Phoenix partner Guy J. Bailey from Newfoundland.

Ship-loading was completed in less than three days, at an average loading rate of just over 19 000 t/d with minimal disruption. 

GLOBAL ATTENTION

McIllree said that Bluejay was well placed to take advantage of the global drive to tap into Greenland’s mineral wealth.

“The size and quality of that endowment cannot be denied. Bluejay have 15 years of in-country expertise, plus first mover advantage and has worked hard to place ourselves at the forefront of the upcoming strategic drive for resources.  

“Now Greenland is receiving the wider attention and recognition it deserves we are perfectly placed to capitalise on this, given our long portfolio pipeline of globally significant projects.”

With two deposits identified in Greenland during the last 12 years, work would soon turn to preparations for Bluejay’s third project, Disko.

The project is a 2  776 km² landholding prospective for magmatic massive sulphide nickel/copper/platinum/cobalt and the mineralising system is remarkably similar to the world's largest nickel/copper magmatic massive sulphide mine, Norilsk-Talnakh, Russia.

“Interestingly, our already large licence holding has recently been surrounded by a 9 000 km² blanket licence by major mining company Anglo American, further confirming our highly prospective project pipeline. Lastly, but not least, is the Kangerluarsuk zinc/lead/silver project, where decades old work by Rio Tinto encountered grades of 41% zinc, 9.3% lead and 596 g/t silver,” said McIllree.

Dundas is one of two large-scale projects currently being assessed for development in Greenland and the Bluejay board anticipates this asset will be the next Greenland mineral project to receive an exploitation licence.

Canada-based Hudson Resources recently shipped 14 400 t of GreenSpar 250 anorthosite product and 56 t of GreenSpar 90 from its mine in Greenland to the US. Unloading of the shipment was hindered by an impending hurricane and difficulties at the facility that was not set up to properly deal with the dry product.