RE: re morning all29 Aug 2019 17:06
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https://www.ft.com/content/b71354a0-c990-11e9-a1f4-3669401ba76f
The question for Greenland is whether its nascent mining industry can live up to the hype or will it fail to take off? The answer is seen as crucial in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, where mining and tourism are considered the two industries that can help reduce the island’s dependence on fishing and lead it towards independence. But mining is also important for the geopolitical battle taking place over Greenland, where China’s longtime interest in the island and its minerals is now being challenged by the US. Dundas — which Bluejay claims is the highest-grade ilmenite sand project in the world — illustrates why. Within almost spitting distance of the beach where the sand is being taken from lies the Thule air base, owned by the US. It is an increasingly valuable military installation for the US as Russia bolsters its Arctic defence presence on the other side of the North Pole. “What happens when the next one is found not by a British-listed company but a Chinese state-owned group? The US has woken up,” said Mr McIllree. In Nuuk, there is still nervousness about the speed of development and the lack of big mines in production, a decade after self-governing Greenland gained control over its natural resources. So far, only two smaller mines have been opened, one for rubies and one for anorthosite, a mineral mostly used in fibreglass. “We know there have to be lots of failures just to have one big success. But in Greenland there is always a fear that if people come to make money then it must be mafia people coming to steal,” said Henrik Leth, chairman of the Greenland Business Association. He fears that red tape is holding back mining companies while politicians fret about the impact on the island’s small population of a flood of imported workers to run the mines. Nearly all the mining activity has been by smaller companies from the likes of Canada and Australia. Big companies, according to a well-placed businessman in Nuuk, are waiting for “proof of concept that Greenland is profitable” before entering in a big way, although Anglo American last month received several exploration licences for nickel, copper, and platinum.A further question mark is over Chinese interest. A Chinese company is involved in the main rare earths project in Greenland but otherwise they have slowly been squeezed out. Denmark, under heavy pressure from the US, last year trumped a Chinese offer to build three new airports in Greenland. “The US has been ensuring slowly but surely that Chinese influence disappears from Greenland,” said another bus
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