ABSTRACT
The most likely type of mineralisation in the extensive carbonate platform areas of North Greenland is epigenetic lead–zinc. Flat-lying and virtually undeformed Palaeozoic carbonate rocks cover the areas closest to the margin of the Inland Ice, forming rather featureless plains or plateaus separated by wide valleys. Quaternary glacial deposits are ubiquitous and tend to partially cover prospective ground and dilute or obscure the geochemical signature of underlying bedrock. This, and the somewhat anonymous petrophysical properties (especially conductivity) of lead and zinc minerals, to some degree limit the ability of regional geochemical and airborne geophysical surveys to detect mineralisation in these areas. Thorough fieldwork in prospective areas remains essential to localising targets for detailed geophysics and drilling. Remote sensing using hyperspectral image analysis, however, is a new technique that should have great potential as a regional exploration tool in these regions.
