Múte Bourup Egede, Greenland’s mining minister, is optimistic about the industry’s future. More than just a case of political optimism, he runs down a list of mining projects ready to come on-line in the coming years.
“We’ve got a pair of projects we expect to start this year,” he says, referring to a planned ruby mine and an anorthosite (used in fibreglass) mine. A third project, a zinc and lead mine, need only submit finalised plans for operation and how it will be wound down, before it can start construction, “possibly in 2018”, Mr Egede says.
With several other projects due to seek final approval to begin operation in the coming years, and with strong prices for commodities across the board in 2016, Mr Egede believes this is a sign that investment levels will rise.
The operation that will put Greenland back in the league of active mining countries is the Aappaluttoq ruby mine, near Nuuk, the capital, It will be operated by the Greenlandic subsidiary of LNS, a Norwegian firm, which overtook the operation last year after the previous owner went bankrupt. LNS now says it only needs to make final adjustments to before the first gemstones can be produced.
The next project Mr Egede believes has the potential to begin operation soon is the Moriussaq titanium mine, in the northern part of the country. Although FinnAust Mining PLC (LON:FAM), the firm developing the project, holds only a prospecting licence, the project is mature enough that it could quickly be approved for production, Mr Egede says.
