Greenland’s QEQERTARSUATSIAAT FJORD
The Reuters news agency reports that
A mining firm in southern Greenland is making a bet on a rock identical to the one brought back from the moon by the Apollo missions to address some of Earth’s climate change issues.
Anders Norby-Lie, a geologist in Greenland who has been studying anorthosite for nine years, believes that the rock was formed early in the planet’s creation.
For the last several years, it’s thrilled mining firms and investors expecting to sell it as a component in the production of fiberglass and an aluminum-based sustainable source.
Greenland’s new administration has made it a priority to market the country as ecologically friendly, and even NASA has taken notice.
For miners seeking anything from copper and titanium to platinum and rare earth minerals, which are used in electric vehicle motors, the mineral-rich island has become a hot possibility.
Increasing Greenland’s small economy in order to achieve long-term independence from Denmark may seem like a simple answer, but that’s not the case. The government ran on an environmental platform and must adhere to it.
According to Greenland’s Minister of Mineral Resources Naaja Nathanielsen, “not all money is worth obtaining.
Our greener profile means we’re more likely to act fast when necessary.
The government has already prohibited new oil and gas exploration.
Reuters reports that Greenland has decided to halt its failed oil exploration efforts and reinstall a prohibition on the mining of uranium.
Due to the deposit’s high uranium content, it is known as Kuannersuit in Greenlandic and Kvanefjeld in Danish. This law would put a halt to the development of one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits, which is known as Kvanefjeld in Danish.
A controversial issue during the April election was the mining permit for Kuannersuit, an Arctic island that found green power can be a curse because of local fears that the uranium it contains will harm the country’s fragile environment. Kuannersuit’s operator was in the final stages of securing a mining permit.
For license holder Greenland Minerals CEO John Mair, “uranium is a political problem being driven by inflated and false statements,” according to Reuters.
According to official estimates, the mine may generate annual royalties of up to 1.5 billion Danish crowns ($233 million).
Two tiny mines in the nation generate very little money, and Nathanielsen claims that the government’s budget projections do not take mining earnings into account.
THE DANISH FINANCIAL FRAUD
Some argue that mineral exploration is pointless until Greenland is free.
A Danish colony until 1953, the Kingdom of Denmark’s semi-autonomous region has the ability to declare independence by a simple majority vote, although that scenario seems unlikely to materialize anytime soon.
To prepare for eventual independence, Greenland has commissioned work on a constitution.
Greenland’s 57,000 residents, on the other hand, are entirely dependent on fisheries and Danish aid.
Some have argued that the minerals should be left in the ground for the time being since the grants would be decreased in proportion to future mining profits.
Large-scale mineral exploitation has no place under the existing agreement, according to Pele Broberg, Sweden’s minister for economy and commerce.
There is no need to do it when under the control of another country.
According to them, investing in large-scale mining of more traditional minerals is a good approach to diversify the economy and make it independent.
Sik’s Jess Berthelsen had hoped that the Kuannersuit mine and other large-scale projects would provide jobs for Greenland’s workers and claimed that Danish funding were holding Greenland back.
“Sometimes, I wish Denmark would cease giving aid because it would force the people of this nation to face reality.
Because of that, we’re falling asleep “he asserted, according to her.
meantime, business lobbyists are alarmed by plans to re-impose the uranium prohibition eight years after it was repealed by the government.
Christian Keldsen, the chairman of the Greenland Business Association, stated, “The firms are used to being under government pressure, but they are not used to this sort of volatility.”
HELP FROM THE PEOPLE IN YOUR AREA
Those who live near the government’s proposed sustainable mining site for the country’s most valuable mineral are more likely to support government efforts to generate new revenue.
“We need to come up with new ideas for generating revenue.
We can’t only rely on fishing to provide for our needs “said Johannes Hansen, a Qeqertarsuatsiaat firefighter and carpenter.
It will take around 50 minutes by boat to reach the proposed anorthosite mine from the town of 160 residents.
According to Greenland Anorthosite Mining, which owns the mine and plans to send 120 tons of crushed anorthosite to the fiberglass sector, anorthosite is a better choice than kaolin since it’s less harmful to the environment.
Anorthosite melts at a lower temperature than kaolin, has a lower heavy metal concentration, and creates less waste and greenhouse gas emissions, according to the firm, which wants to have an exploration licence by the end of 2022.
In the long run, the goal is to replace bauxite in the production of aluminum with anorthosite since it can be used to make cars lighter and is entirely recyclable. Aluminum is one of the minerals widely regarded as critical to cutting emissions.
In Greenland Anorthosite Mining’s opinion, it is possible to create aluminum with less waste than current methods without using bauxite ore (the major source of aluminum).
Anorthosite is also a good fit for the EU’s goal of diversifying its mineral supply.
Bauxite is found in a band around the Equator, while aluminum is found in Canada, Norway, and Greenland.
Asuncion Aranda, the leader of an anorthosite research project financed by the EU, says the technology has been proven to function, but further study is needed to decrease costs and reduce environmental effect.
They have no idea if their approach will be competitive with the current production method yet, she added.
We might see commercial production in eight to 10 years if all goes according to plan and the aluminum sector joins in.
UNFORTUNATE INTENTIONS
NASA wants to find new places where humans may live and work, but the EU is more concerned with terrestrial applications and reducing emissions.
As part of a space race that might include mining on the moon and even creating settlements there, it has been utilizing crushed anorthosite powder from a smaller Greenland mine currently in production, run by Canadian-based Hudson Resources (NYSE:HUD).
A space scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center stated that the deposits found on Greenland and elsewhere are “pretty darn similar” to those found on the moon, but they’re not identical.
It’s clear that if humans are going to live in a sustainable way on the south pole of the moon, they will have to learn to cope with anorthosite, the predominant rock type.
This new Greenland anorthosite supply is fantastic.
Climate activists, on the other hand, aren’t so certain.
Deep sea mineral extraction is opposed by Greenpeace because it threatens ecosystems we don’t fully understand, and the organization makes similar arguments against mining in space.
“We should be looking for long-term answers rather than expanding our search to new horizons.
In terms of these ecosystems, there is a lot we don’t know “Kevin Brigden, a Greenpeace Research Laboratory senior scientist, agreed (NYSE:LH).
According to an email response from Greenland’s resource ministry, the country does not expect its resources to be utilized only for green technologies.
Nevertheless, it stated, “we actively seek to optimize the green profile and use our resources in service of the good cause.”
(One dollar is equal to 6.4332 Danish crowns.)
