25.10.2013 · With a very small majority, the parliament in Greenland overturned a decades-long ban on the exploitation of radioactive resources such as uranium. In addition, the country has granted a major mining license for the first time.
After a heated debate in parliament, Prime Minister Aleqa Hammond's Socialist-led government won the 15 poll on Thursday with 14 votes. The law also allows foreign companies to extract so-called rare earths. These metals are needed to make high-tech products such as cell phones or powerful batteries.
Environmental groups warn that the exploitation of these resources threatens the island's unique ecosystem in the North Atlantic. In the debate, Hammond also pointed to high unemployment and weak economic growth. The "zero tolerance policy" for the extraction of radioactive mineral resources must therefore come to an end.
Billions: British company promotes iron ore
Greenland has also awarded an extensive mining license for the first time. The British company London Mining received permission to mine iron ore at a distance of about 150 kilometers from the capital Nuuk, the government and the company announced on Thursday. "This is a historic moment for Greenland," said Minister of Industry and Mining Jens-Erik Kirkegaard. It is "the largest commercial project so far" in Greenland and will have positive effects on employment and government revenues.
Spread over a lifetime of 15 years, the Greenland agreement could bring in an estimated XNUM billion (about XNUM billion) of corporate and capital gains taxes, said Chinese mining company London Mining. Another 28,5 billion crowns could come together through income taxes.
The island, which is officially part of the Danish Kingdom, has largely governed itself since 2009. Hammond became the first woman to head Greenland after the election in March. In the election campaign, the Social Democrat had on the one hand advocated that foreign investors in the promotion of raw materials to ask more cash. At the same time, she advocated the relaxation of the ban on radioactive substances and rare earths.
Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine / Wirtschaft (http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspektiven/bodenschaetze-groenland-kippt-foerderverbot-fuer-uran-und-seltene-erden-12633715.htm)
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