The director of an Australian mining company calls the timing of the visit leading up to the Greenlandic election "coincidental", writes TV 2.
A delegation from the Australian mining company Energy Transition Minerals landed in Nuuk on Monday, February 3, to "seek clarity" about a reported mining project.
This is what the company's director, Daniel Mamadou, tells TV 2.
In front of the media, Mariane Paviasen calls the timing sensational.
This is because parliamentary elections are to be held in Greenland no later than April 6.
But Daniel Mamadou says that the timing is "completely coincidental".
If it is perceived as political interference, that is certainly not our intention. We are not there to interfere, but we are there to defend the interests of our investors and to seek clarity, he told the media.
Energy Transition Minerals has been looking for rare earths at the southern Greenland mountain Kuannersuit, known in Danish as Kvanefjeld, since 2007.
However, in November 2021, the newly elected government in Greenland passed a new law that prohibits the extraction of uranium.
This meant that Energy Transition Minerals was refused permission to carry out the project at Kuannersuit, as radioactive uranium would be extracted at the same time as the extraction of rare earths.
The mining company has since sued both the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities and the Greenlandic Self-Government. The company is demanding compensation of around 76 billion kroner from Denmark and Greenland.
The rare earths are crucial in the batteries that will be used in modern technologies and in the green transition.
These are indispensable substances for the production of solar cells, wind turbines, batteries for electric cars and many other things. It is a field that China has a strong hold on, which increases dependence.
Denmark helped grant the exploration license to Energy Transition Minerals in 2007, because at that time the mineral resource area had not been formally taken over by Greenland.
However, the Attorney General argues in an assessment of the case that Denmark has effectively only functioned as a "rubber stamp" since 1998, when the parties agreed that the area belongs to Greenland.
According to the Attorney General, the purpose of the case is to put "undue" pressure on the self-government in Greenland in the hope of obtaining a permit for the project.
Defense attorney specializing in international law Poul Hauch Fenger has previously told DR that, in his opinion, the mining company has a good case against Denmark and Greenland.
Source: KNR (in Danish)
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