Conico moves to diversify from cobalt in WA to gold and other metals in Greenland

Conico (ASX: CNJ) has advanced its quest to diversify by acquiring exploration targets in East Greenland.

The Ryberg project covers an area of 4,521 square kilometres.

The junior, which now has a 50:50 joint venture with Barra Resources (ASX: BAR) in the Mt Thirsty cobalt project in Western Australia, is acquiring an unlisted British company, Longland Resources, in return for 120 million of its shares.

Longland brings with it the Sortekap gold prospect, located on a newly discovered greenstone belt. Limited surface sampling has produced grades up to 2.7 grams per tonne gold.

The other projects consist of two magmatic sulphide prospects, Miki Fjord and Togeda, which are prospective for copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum group elements and gold. Mineralisation occurs over more than 50km with surface samples grading up to 2.2% copper, 0.8% nickel, 0.1% cobalt, 3.3g/t palladium and 0.15g/t gold.

Longland also has an exclusive application for the Mestersvig project containing the historic Blyklippen zinc-lead mine, which produced 9.3% lead and 9.9% zinc between 1956 and 1962, and the Sortebjerg lead-zinc prospect.

Renewed interest in Greenland for exploration

Director Guy Le Page says the deal gives Conico exposure to a dominant licence area in East Greenland.

“There is renewed interest in Greenland as a world-class mineral province, with new shipping routes, and hosting the world’s largest rare earths elements project outside China,” he added.

That REE project is Kvanefjeld owned by Greenland Minerals (ASX: GGG).

Conico intends to accelerate exploration with a proposed field program for 2020. This will be aiming at generating drill targets at the Sortekap gold project, additional magmatic sulphide occurrences and, on granting of the Mestersvig licence, carry out the first ever high-resolution gravity survey to identify extensions to the old mine.

The company says Ryberg is an under-explored mineral province containing multiple targets and deposit styles.

The basement rocks are Archean greenstones and gneisses akin the Yilgarn in Western Australia.

Access is by ship or by air

Ryberg is located in an uninhabited area of Greenland, 400km from the nearest population centre of Tasiilaq, the most populous place on the eastern coast of Greenland with just under 2,000 inhabitants.

The other closest places are Ittoqqortoormiit 450km to the north-west (population 340) or across 430km of water to Isafjordur in Iceland (population 2,736).

There is an airstrip at Ryberg and a deep-water fjord. Access is by fixed-wing aircraft or ship from Iceland, or by helicopter from Greenland or Iceland.

There has been sporadic activity at Ryberg over the years by other junior exploration companies.