[E-rundbrief] Info 2047 - NOAH (DK)_Uranium mining in Greenland

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief Info 2047 - NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark: Uranium and 
rare earth. Kuannersuit/Kvanefjeld REE/uranium mining project (in 
Grönland).

Bad Ischl, 17.12.2020

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Uranium and rare earth NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark publishes the 
EIA report for the Kvanefjeld project
14. december 2020 · Kl. 20:54 Nyhed

https://www.noah.dk/nyheder/noah-friends-earth-denmark-publishes-eia-report-kvanefjeld-project?fbclid=IwAR1ojXH0Fm9RJ4bdUUTP0YfkhaB9A7cgj9ob9q_oea0yXdp5IurLSoxfYTE


Under Greenland’s freedom of information act, NOAH has been granted 
access to the redacted EIA report for the big Kuannersuit/Kvanefjeld 
REE/uranium mining project. It is owned by the Australian company 
Greenland Minerals Ltd., GML. According to GML, in addition to 
containing the second biggest uranium and by far the largest thorium 
deposits, the Ilimaussaq-complex, of which Kvanefjeld is a part, 
possesses the second largest deposits of rare earth elements in the 
world. The mine, which would be the world’s second largest open pit 
uranium mine, is located on top of a mountain, 600 metres above 
sea-level, only six kilometres away from Narsaq, a town of 
approximately 1,500 inhabitants, and also near some of the parts of 
the Kujataa World Heritage Site. According to the EIA report, the 
mining project will increase Greenland’s current total CO2 emissions 
by 45 percent.

Four earlier drafts of the EIA report were rejected because of lack of 
documentation. Among other things, they were criticised by Greenland’s 
Environmental Agency for Mineral Resources Activities (EAMRA) for not 
providing a comprehensive assessment of the earthquake risk in the 
region, final results of tests of toxic elements during extraction and 
processing, final radiological estimates, and results of 
investigations of impacts of radioactive minerals. Also missing were a 
credible description of the embankment structures for the tailings 
facility and alternatives regarding tailings management and the 
shutdown of the tailings facility. In September 2019, the CEO of GML 
was formally reproached by Greenland’s Prime Minister and the 
Department of Nature and Environment’s Permanent Secretary for 
lobbying high-ranking civil servants and ministers who had no 
competence within the EIA review process in order to undermine EAMRA’s 
authority.

This version of the report has been approved by EAMRA. The social 
impact assessment of the mining project has also been approved by the 
authorities. Thus, public hearings on the project will start as soon 
as the English version of the report is translated into Greenlandic 
and Danish language. The hearings are expected to last at least eight 
weeks.

Link to the EIA report:

Greenland Minerals A/S. Kvanefjeld Project. Environmental Impact 
Assessment. August 2020. 
https://noah.dk/sites/default/files/2017-03/EIA Kvanefjeld Draft 
October 2015_0.pdf

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     Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
     Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
     Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
     Wolfgangerstr. 26, 4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
     fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
     Impressum in: http://www.begegnungszentrum.at