"It is time for GML to respect democratic processes and pack it in”

Green NGOs Publish Transcript from Kvanefjeld Owner’s Annual General Meeting

On May 26th, the owner of the big Kvanefjeld uranium and rare earths mining project, Greenland Minerals Ltd. (GML), held its annual general meeting in Perth in Australia. During the meeting, it became clear that the GML management had hardly familiarised itself with the new Greenlandic government’s coalition agreement and that it doesn’t take it seriously. The fact that the new government has vowed to shut down the Kvanefjeld project and ban uranium mining appears to have little or no effect on the company officials.

says Erik Jensen, Chairman of The URANI NAAMIK / NO TO URANIUM Society in Nuuk

“The recent general election was also a referendum on the Kvanefjeld project and especially in Southern Greenland, where the project is located, it was overwhelmingly voted down. It is time for GML to respect democratic processes and pack it in”

It is clear from the transcript that GML doesn’t expect the new government policies to have any substantial consequences for the Kvanefjeld project. According to the company management, even if the uranium is not exploited, but ends up in the tailings storage facility, it will not have much economic impact on the project. Unlike the French uranium mining company ORANO, which immediately suspended its exploration activities, when the new government made its policy on uranium mining known, GML plans to continue under all circumstances.

“This would perhaps be a good time for the new government to reveal its political and legal strategy to shut down the Kvanefjeld project”

says Niels Henrik Hooge from NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark.

“According to the transcript, GML does not think that the annex to the standard exploration license, which the company accepted and which entitles the government to ban uranium mining at Kvanefjeld under any pretext, will hold up in court.

More info on Nuclear Transparency Watch