Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Washington walk across a glacier in Greenland’s ice sheet July 15, 2013.
The Inuit Community, one of Greenland’s main left-wing political parties, reaffirmed its opposition to a major rare earth project on Wednesday (April 7) after winning Tuesday’s parliamentary elections. The outcome of the election threatens to have international implications for rare earth and uranium mining and to hinder attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to expand its monopoly on rare earths.
According to Reuters, official results from Greenland show that the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) won 37 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s election, defeating the ruling party, which won 29 percent of the vote. The “Forward” (Siumut) party, which won 29 percent of the vote.
Experts believe that the election results will have an impact on the mining project in Kvanefjeld in southern Greenland and send a strong signal to Greenland Minerals, an Australian company controlled by the Chinese company Shenghe Resources Holdings Ltd, which wants to exploit resources in the area. Ltd.”, a Chinese company that wants to exploit resources in the region, sent a strong signal.
The Siumut party, which was defeated in the election by the IA party, has supported mining, and Siumut has been the ruling party for most years since 1979.
IA is so concerned about environmental issues that it has launched a campaign to stop the Cuanaste Mountain project, which includes uranium mining in addition to rare earth mining, including neodymium.
When asked about the Mount Cuanaste project, IA leader Mute Egede told broadcaster DR, “Public opinion is clear that this will not happen.”
After winning the election, IA leader Egede will try to form a new government, and a potential political ally could be the Naleraq party, which also opposes the Mount Kuanast project.
According to Mikaa Mered, a lecturer in Arctic affairs at HEC Paris, Greenland’s election results “will undoubtedly hinder Greenland’s mining development.
The Mount Kuanast project has been a controversial issue for many years. Some people are concerned about the environmental damage caused by mining. Others want to achieve economic development.
Communist China’s activities in the Arctic in recent years have brought Greenland under increasing international scrutiny, as evidenced by President Trump’s (Trump) offer to Denmark to buy the island in 2019. Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Greenland is not only rich in minerals but also pure water, fish resources, seafood resources, renewable energy, etc. Among them, the most attention is that Greenland is rich in rare earth minerals.
Rare earths are known as “industrial vitamins”, which is the collective name of 17 chemical elements, and due to their unique physical and chemical properties, they are vital to many highly sophisticated technological products. Rare earths are used in military laser-guided weapons, advanced warplanes and missiles, as well as in commonly used cell phones and electric cars.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s annual rare earth report released in February 2019, China accounted for 70.5 percent of global production of rare earths in 2018. Eighty percent of U.S. rare earth imports from 2014 to 2017 came from China.
The Chinese Communist Party’s monopoly on rare earths has raised concerns in the West. since July 2018, the U.S.-China trade war has escalated, and one of the trump cards that China has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of using is to restrict rare earth exports to the U.S.
The Chinese Communist Party has stepped up its investments in Greenland in recent years, proposing to build scientific research stations, satellite ground stations, renovate airports and expand mining, sparking concerns from the U.S. government.
Trump’s idea to buy Greenland is seen as a way to curb the expansion of the Chinese Communist Party. Damien Degeorges, a consultant who specializes in Greenland, has said that Trump’s interest in Greenland is not unreasonable. He said the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland could be interpreted as, “Let’s buy it before the Chinese (Communist Party of China) does.”
Analysis suggests that this Tuesday’s election in Greenland, in which the IA party, which opposes the Mount Kuanast project, won, will hinder Beijing’s efforts to further expand its monopoly on the rare earth supply chain. The Wall Street Journal says the election amounts to a knockout blow to the project, which is part of Beijing’s quest to tighten its grip on the world’s rare earths.
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