A long story beginning in 2007, can enter the next phase shortly.
The CEO of Greenland Minerals and Energy, John Mair, is optimistic about having approved the EIA and SIA reports concerning the mining project at Kuannersuit in the near future.
"We are convinced that impact assessments are ready to be presented for public consultation," says John Mair to KNR.
"Independent expert consultants believe that any further work will not change the results that are clear, as the project can be developed effectively for the benefit of Greenlandic stakeholders without posing a risk to the environment, workers or neighboring communities," he says.
He says that the VSB review process has been completed and that there are only minor updates to the EIA before it is ready. Translations of both impact assessments have also been completed.
First EIA was handed in in 2015
But the process has been long and difficult, he emphasizes.
The first EIA report was returned in 2015 and despite the fact that GME has updated the studies that underlie the impact assessments in the subsequent three years with further details, it has not yet led to approval. That is the director's misunderstanding.
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- There should be confidence in our approach to project research and assessment - all the way from resource definition, metallurgy, to environmental and social impact assessments. There are no projects in Greenland that have been investigated as thoroughly as Kvanefjeld, he says.
- An EIA report is an environmental impact assessment.
- An VSB is an assessment of social sustainability
- An IBA is a cooperation agreement that is concluded between Naalakkersuisut, the municipality and the mining company on, for example, purchase agreements and use of local labor.
However, John Mair is optimistic about the PDAC raw material fair in Canada last week.
He believes that the Greenlandic politicians now show a greater willingness to drop the heavy bureaucracy that is associated with the application for extraction licenses.
- There is certainly a growing awareness that greater efficiency is needed in the processing of applications. This is an area of great weakness in the Greenlandic system and an important reason for the lack of investor confidence in Greenland, says John Mair.
Agree on bureaucracy
Several politicians seem to agree with the director.
Both Naalakersuisoq Erik Jensen (S), Democrats Randi Vestergaard Evaldsen and Inuit Ataqatigiit's president, Muté Borup Egede, mentioned at the fair that they will work to facilitate the long processing time and the application process for the mining companies.
Erik Jensen emphasized to KNR that it is a work that is already underway:
- The bureaucracy is, of course, something we have to work with a lot further on. We work on a one-door principle, so that we can make it more attractive to invest in Greenland for the benefit of the whole country, says Erik Jensen.
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The Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum does not yet have any news in the case of Greenland Mineral and Energy's work on EIA and SIA reports. But the Board confirms that work is still being done on the last details of the application process.
- I can state that we are still in dialogue with the applicant company on the EIA draft on the basis of the EIA guidelines. The company has updated a number of information on several factors - among other things, cutting waste, air quality and tailings (residual waste from mining of ore), says Najaaraq Demant-Poort, who is head of the board of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency for the Mineral Resources area.
The case is also dealt with in the Ministry of Raw Materials and Labor Market and the Ministry of Business and Energy.
