Annual contest turns Greenlanders into rockhounds

The onset of summer in Greenland brings with it ujarassiorita, a state-sponsored competition in which residents are encouraged to send rocks to the government to be tested for minerals.

Ujarassiorita, which means “go rock hunting” in Danish, has turned the island’s residents into part-time prospectors since its inception a decade ago. Although cash prizes are given to senders of the most intriguing specimens, the competition serves a cheap way for the government to identify areas with mineral potential.

Residents of the island are invited to send samples they find, free of charge, to the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, which examines them for mineral content. Following analysis, the amateur rockhounds receive letters with details of the results.

Each year, the collected samples are passed on to a committee, which judges which specimens have yielded the most useful information. Each year, the government gives out US$12,000 in prize money.

On average, more than 1,000 samples are sent each year, although that number fell last year to 650. However, the government notes that the quality of the samples has improved, owing to the increased experience of the mineral hunters.

Once the competition is over, government geologists investigate the more interesting collection sites in order to evaluate their mineral potential. Last year, the government sent crews to the Ikamiut area, in the southern part of the Disko Bugt region, after students from the local high school sent in a number of samples with anomalously high levels of gold.

After the competition, the government publishes descriptions and locations of the rock samples, analytical results and the results of follow-up work.

The interest in mineral exploration created by ujarassiorita prompted the government to introduce a basic prospecting course, called atatsitassarsiorit (“go and explore”), in 1995.

Participants for the summer course are drawn from across Greenland. All costs are covered by the Bureau of Mines and Petroleum. The courses include theory, practical exercises and excursions, and many of the graduates go on to work for mineral exploration companies.