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Greenland rare earth mining project to be halted after opposition's election victory
Arij Limam
Europe;Greenland
The opposition left-green Inuit Ataqatigiit party won 37 percent of the votes in the election. /Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

The opposition left-green Inuit Ataqatigiit party won 37 percent of the votes in the election. /Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

 

Greenland's left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) party pledged its opposition to a large rare earth mining project after winning a parliamentary election which was closely watched by the global mining industry.

IA's comfortable victory, only its second in more than four decades, casts doubt on the mining complex at Kvanefjeld in the south of the Arctic island and sends a strong signal to international mining companies eyeing the opportunity to exploit Greenland's vast untapped mineral resources.

"The people have spoken," IA leader Mute Egede, told broadcaster DR when asked about Kvanefjeld. "It won't happen."

 

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The opposition left-green party won 37 percent of votes in Tuesday's snap election, compared to 26 percent in the last election, overtaking the ruling social democratic Siumut party which secured 29 percent of votes, according to official results.

IA is expected to grab 12 out of the 31 seats in the Inatsisartut, the local parliament, up from eight currently – but without an absolute majority, the most likely scenario is that it joins forces with smaller parties to form a coalition.

The pro-mining Siumut party, which headed the outgoing government, is Greenland's largest party and has dominated island politics since Greenland gained autonomy from Denmark in 1979, but it was partly weakened by internal struggles. It gained 29.4 percent of the vote, still two percentage points higher than its results in the 2018 election.

 

The early elections were largely seen as a referendum on a controversial mining project of rare earth metals. /Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

The early elections were largely seen as a referendum on a controversial mining project of rare earth metals. /Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

 

Deep divisions

The dividing line between the two parties was whether to authorize a controversial giant rare earth and uranium mining project, which is currently the subject of public hearings.

Though not opposed outright to mining, IA has a strong environmental focus. It has campaigned to halt the Kvanefjeld project, which aside from rare earths including neodymium – which is used in wind turbines, electric vehicles and combat aircraft – also contains uranium.

IA has called for a moratorium on uranium mining, which would effectively put a halt to the project.

Mikaa Mered, lecturer on Arctic affairs at HEC business school in Paris, told Reuters the outcome "will without doubt hamper mining development in Greenland."

While most Greenlanders see mining as an important path towards independence, the Kvanefjeld mine has been a contentious point for years, sowing deep divisions in the government and population over environmental concerns.

"It's not that Greenlanders don't want mining, but they don't want dirty mining," Mered said, referring to uranium and rare earth projects. "Greenlanders are sending a strong message that for them it's not worth sacrificing the environment to achieve independence and economic development."

 

 

The winning IA party has said it is not against all mining, but is worried about the environmental impact of mining uranium. /Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

The winning IA party has said it is not against all mining, but is worried about the environmental impact of mining uranium. /Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

 

Bumpy road ahead

IA leader Mute Egede told KNR public television he would immediately start discussions to "explore different forms of cooperation" before forming a coalition government.

The 34-year-old, who was minister for natural resources in a coalition government from 2016 to 2018 and took over the reins of the left-green party a little over two years ago, will be first to try to form a new government. A potential government ally could be Naleraq, an independence party that also opposes the Kvanefjeld project.

Support from outgoing Prime Minister Kim Kielsen and his governing Siumut party helped license-holder Greenland Minerals gain preliminary approval for the project last year, paving the way for a public hearing.

The Australian firm has already spent more than $100 million preparing the mine.

Greenland Minerals CEO John Mair said the public hearing has "lacked the normal due process" due to the early election, which was called due to a political crisis created by the mining project.

"This unfortunately created a void that was filled with a wave of misinformation," he told Reuters on Wednesday. He declined to comment on the election outcome until a new government had been formed.

"The challenge for IA will be to explain to the world that Greenland is still open for business and still an attractive mining jurisdiction," said Dwayne Menezes, head of London-based think-tank Polar Research and Policy Initiative.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters

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