Eclipse Metals gears up for drilling to expand Greenland rare earths resource
- Doug Bright
- Sep 3
- 3 min read
Eclipse Metals (ASX: EPM) will launch a diamond drilling program at its Gronnedal rare earths project in Greenland this month to expand the company’s existing JORC-compliant inferred mineral resource of 89 million tonnes at 6363 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO).
The estimate equates to 567,600 tonnes of TREO, calculated at a 2000 ppm TREO cut-off and positions Gronnedal as a major rare earth elements hub in the North Atlantic.
Eclipse’s drilling contractor says the project will be the next cab off the rank, when final approvals from the Mineral Licence and Safety Authority (MLSA) are received.
The proposed drilling will target deeper zones in Gronnedal’s carbonatite complex and test high-priority geophysical anomalies to enhance and potentially upgrade the resource base.
In parallel, Eclipse has confirmed significant rubidium and gallium enrichment at its nearby Ivigtut project - a former cryolite mine - which could complement its multiple critical elements mineral portfolio.
The large Ivigtut cryolite deposit in southwest Greenland was once the world’s only commercial source for this sodium aluminium fluoride mineral.
Analyses of five trench samples from Ivigtut’s old mine waste stockpiles show consistent rubidium grades averaging 421ppm and ranging from 401ppm to 469ppm. Gallium enrichment averages 39ppm within a range of 36ppm to 43ppm.
The results are supported by a 2021 archival drill core sample from beneath the Ivigtut open pit, which returned 1335ppm rubidium and 35.8ppm gallium, further reinforcing the site’s potential. The old Ivigtut mine also hosts very high-purity quartz and zinc.
Rubidium and gallium are both on the United States Critical Minerals list and are vital for quantum technologies. Rubidium is used in atomic clocks, while gallium’s arsenide and nitride compounds are used in semiconductors.
Gallium arsenide is excellent for high-frequency, low-noise applications such as mobile communications, while gallium nitride is ideal for high-power and high-temperature devices such as power supplies, electric vehicle chargers and high-frequency amplifiers.
Eclipse’s upcoming drilling program, to be overseen by Eclipse Board member and geologist Alfred Gillman, will be complemented by high-tech mineralogical studies to better understand the host phases of rubidium and gallium.
The studies, alongside by-product recovery assessments, align with Eclipse’s global critical mineral strategies.
The project’s relative proximity to European markets and its alignment with the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and US critical minerals policies enhance its appeal to global partners.
The company remains engaged with Greenlandic authorities and communities to ensure sustainable development of the country’s assets. Only 6 per cent of the Gronnedal carbonatite has been mapped, indicating significant growth potential.
The current inferred resource also includes about 29 per cent combined neodymium and praseodymium, both high-value magnet rare earths critical for the sustainable clean energy and defence industries.
Further likely upside comes from niobium, which has been identified at grades up to 4670ppm and from yttrium, grading up to 777ppm.
Eclipse looks well-placed to meet rising demand for secure, Western-aligned critical mineral supplies, complemented by its year-round deep-water port access at Ivigtut and Greenland’s low sovereign risk.
As global electrification and technology demands surge, Eclipse Metals’ Gronnedal and Ivigtut projects position it as a key player in supplying rare earths and possibly other critical minerals, which will help drive innovation in clean energy, quantum technologies and semiconductors.
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