en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Greenland government on Friday rejected the renewal of an exploration license for the Kuannersuit rare earth project owned by Greenland Minerals, a subsidiary of Australia's Energy Transition Minerals.

In a statement, the Greenland government said further exploration in the area is unlikely to discover deposits that can be mined in compliance with the Uranium Act. The Kuannersuit rare earth project, also known as the Kvanefjeld project, contains uranium as a byproduct. In 2021, the then-ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit party pushed through a ban on uranium mining, effectively blocking the project's development.

ETM said in April that it had received a draft decision from the Greenland government indicating that the Ministry of Mineral Resources planned to recommend rejecting the exploration license renewal application. In an email statement, the Australian miner said the project could have brought jobs, vocational training, and related revenue to Greenland and the town of Narsaq. ETM argued that the Greenland government's claim of being open for business is contradicted by this decision. ETM added that the Ministry of Mineral Resources gave the company only 48 hours to respond to a technical geological assessment nine months after receiving the application, and rejected the company's request for a one-week extension. Due to the tight timeline, the decision failed to consider ETM's recent exploration results, which identified new mineralized zones within the larger license area.

Greenland's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mineral Resources, Mute Egede, stated on social media that the government made the decision based on laws passed by parliament, while also listening to the voices of the people, particularly in South Greenland, where local residents have clearly expressed their stance for years. Egede served as Greenland's Prime Minister when the uranium mining ban was implemented in 2021.

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