Mining the far north

Greenland’s government has announced intentions to open up the country to the mining of radioactive materials.

In late October, Greenland’s parliament voted in favor of lifting a 25-year ban on mining for such things as uranium, thorium and rare-earth metals in the hopes of securing the business of large-scale natural-resource importers such as China, according to an article on Russian news site RT.com.

Australia’s Greenland Minerals & Energy already has its eye on a mineral field in the south of Greenland estimated to contain roughly 40,000 tons of extractable rare-earth deposits. Rare-earth metals are used in the manufacturing of electric cars, smartphones, weapons and wind turbines.

As Greenland’s prime minister, Aleqa Hammond, put it earlier this year: “Mining will come to Greenland.”