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A mining project was at the center of the Greenland elections held on Tuesday, the outcome of which could have important consequences for international interests in the Arctic.
But it’s not just any mine, but Kvanefjeld, one of the largest deposits of rare minerals in the world.
The main opposition party, the leftist Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), won the legislative elections with 37% of the vote. The aboriginal party, strongly focused on the environment, is now seeking to form a government.
The Social Democratic Party of Siumut comes in second. Since 1979, there have only been four years that Siumut was not in power.
IA opposes the Kvanefjeld mining project in southern Greenland, whose future remains uncertain after the election result, which has been closely followed internationally.
Greenland is a large autonomous arctic territory, with only 56,000 inhabitants, which belongs to Denmark.
Its economy depends on fishing and subsidies from the Danish government, but due to melting ice, the mining opportunities increase and with them the interest of the world powers for this territory.
Greenland is at the center of intense competition between the United States, Russia and China for Arctic resources.
A controversial project
The Kvanefjeld mine is owned by an Australian company, Greenland Minerals, which in turn is backed by a Chinese company.
The company says the mine has “the potential to become the leading producer of rare earths in the western world,” a group of 17 elements that have been used since from smartphones to electric vehicles and weapons.
However, a disagreement over the mining project led to the collapse of the Greenlandic government earlier this year and snap elections were called.
Many residents expressed concern about potential radioactive contamination and toxic waste on farmland surrounding the mine, and Inuit Ataqatigiit had pledged to block the project.
On the contrary, Siumut has supported development, arguing that it would create hundreds of jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year for several decades, which could lead to greater independence of Denmark.
As of 2009, this virtually ice-covered territory has managed its own resources, but still relies on annual grants from Copenhagen for around $ 638 million, which is roughly a third of its budget.
Denmark also controls the island’s external relations and defense.
Although independence had a residual role in the campaign compared to other elections, the main parties and the majority of the population are in favor of separating from Denmark and differ only in time and manner of securing the necessary income.
Siumut leader Erik Jensen told Danish TV2 network he believed the controversy surrounding the mining project was “one of the main reasons” for his party’s defeat.
Many residents of the town of Narsaq are concerned about plans for nearby Kvanefjeld.
Why is Greenland important?
Greenland has grabbed the headlines several times in recent years, with former President Donald Trump suggesting in 2019 that the United States could buy the territory.
Denmark was quick to call the idea “absurd”, but international interest in the island’s future continued.
China already has mining agreements with Greenland, while EE.UU.
Denmark itself recognized the importance of the territory and in 2019 put Greenland at the top of its national security agenda for the first time.
And in March of this year, a panel of experts concluded that the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, known as the Five Eyes Alliance, should focus on Greenland to reduce their dependence on China for the supply of key minerals.
Greenland is at the center of intense competition between the United States, Russia and China for Arctic resources.
However, mining is not Greenland’s only problem.
The territory is on the front lines of climate change, and scientists reported record ice loss last year.
This, in turn, has important implications for low-lying coastal areas around the world.
But at the same time, it is the melting ice This has increased mining opportunities and the possibility of opening new shipping routes across the Arctic, which could reduce global transport times.
This shifting reality has also increased attention to long-standing territorial disputes, with Denmark, Russia and Canada seeking sovereignty over a vast underwater mountain range near the North Pole known as the Crest of Lomonosov.
Russia, meanwhile, has stepped up its economic and military activities in the Arctic, where it has a long coastline, which worries Western governments.
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