Greenland has not yet realised much of its significant potential for uncovering large mineral deposits. This is due to its enormous frozen ice cap covering most of the land mass. Yet climate change is seeing a rise in temperatures melting the ice to a point where exploration and drilling technology can identify and extract its bounty.
It is believed to house significant deposits of gold, graphite, zinc, copper, nickel, diamonds and iron ore - however, the real prize that has caught everyone's attention is its rare earths (REE) endowment.
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Aussie explorers on the hunt
Over 250 mining companies with about 700 exploration permits have descended on Greenland, as reported here by Smallcaps.
Leading the pack, with one of the most exciting finds thus far is Energy Transition Metals' (ASX : ETM) monster 12 billion tonnes @ 1.1% total rare earth oxide (TREO) Kvanefjeld project in Greenland's south - said to be the largest discovered REE deposit outside China.
The deposit also contains uranium; and because of the enormity of the mineralised trend, Kvanefjeld is the world’s sixth-largest yellowcake find.
The ASX junior has spent $150 million developing the mine. However, it is locked in a legal dispute over its exploitation license across the landholding. This is due to a ban on uranium mining three years ago.
To further negotiations for Kvanefjeld, ETM recently enlisted Australia’s former deputy Liberal Party leader and foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop as a special adviser. It also gave her a seat on the board.
The company is looking to leverage her international deal brokering expertise to get approvals over the line. This is in one of the trickiest jurisdictions to get projects underway.
Greenland’s attitude to mining is softening though, recognising the importance of its minerals to the global shift away from fossil fuels. In addition, minerals extraction providing a badly needed boost to the country’s economy.
On the back of Bishop joining the fold, ETM this week raised $9.35 million in a share placement at 6.8c per share, a 9.3% discount to the 15-day VWAP, to fund its ongoing court battle in Copenhagen’s arbitration court and continue Kvanejfeld’s development.
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Also exploring Greenland's vast territory is Australian miner Tony Sage and his NASDAQ-listed Critical Metals Corp which is looking to develop the Tanbreez mine.
The project is a whopping 4.7 billion tonnes, mineral-rich resource across an 8km x 4km area that reaches 400m below the surface.
Importantly, it contains over 27% TREO - including the high-value heavy rare earths dysprosium and neodymium (NdPr) - used in high-tech applications.
The U.S. is currently lobbying Critical Metals' subsidiary Tanbreez Mining, the developer of the mine, to refrain from selling the project to companies linked to China as it looks to secure supply chains away from the Middle Kingdom.
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The $118 million market-capped ETM is up 1.18% today, trading at 8.6c per share.
