British mineral company London Mining is seeking Chinese and other global investors to help it build an iron ore mine in Greenland territory just outside the Arctic Circle.
The move to establish the GBP 1.5bn mine comes as Shell and BP join other global powerhouses in exploring the region for oil and gas amid concerns from Greenland that the industrialisation set to be experienced could harm the pristine environment.
Greenland and the Arctic as a whole is viewed as one of the world’s newest frontiers for mineral wealth exploitation, but potential political or even military conflicts are a cause for concern given the autonomous territory’s uncertain national boundaries.
London Mining has, among others, started negotiations with Chinese mining group Sichuan Xinye about helping them to finance building a mine at Isua. The company’s chief executive Graeme Hossie revealed that they were considering all options, including Chinese, Danish, other Nordic and other global investors. He added that it was “challenging” to acquire the funding, adding that he was unsure when it would be finalised.
The project has been approved by Greenland’s government. It has the potential to create over 3,000 construction jobs, most of which would be taken by overseas workers, to build a pipeline and port to serve the mine.