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Greenland – the last frontier

History

The history of Greenland is the history of life under extreme Arctic conditions. It is the world's largest island of which 95 percent is covered by ice, restricting human activity to the coasts.

Once the indigenous population, the Inuit called their country Inuit Nunaat meaning country of human beings. Today the country is called Kalaallit Nunaat –“Country of the Greenlanders”.

Greenland was unknown to Europeans until the 10th century, when Eric the Red discovered it and built a community of Icelandic and Norwegian Vikings in the south western part of the country. Before this discovery, it had been inhabited for a long time by Arctic peoples, although it was apparently unpopulated at the time when the Vikings arrived; the direct ancestors of the modern Inuit Greenlanders did not arrive until around 1200 from what is now northern Canada.

The Norse settlements eventually disappeared after about 450 years. There were several contributing factors leading to the collapse of the Viking community including harsh weather conditions, remoteness from other parts of Europe and hostile relations with the Inuit. But it is also believed that the followers of Eric the Red and their descendants refused to eat fish and they may have been able to survive had this not been the case. The Inuit, who are very capable fishermen, survived and were the only people to inhabit the island for several hundred years.

Denmark-Norway nonetheless claimed the territory. After several centuries of no contact between the Norse Greenlanders and the Scandinavian motherland it was feared that they had lapsed back into paganism, so a missionary expedition, lead by Hans Egede, was sent out to reinstate Christianity in 1721. The base he created is now the site of the capital city Nuuk.

However, since none of the lost Norse Greenlanders were found, Denmark-Norway instead proceeded to baptize the local Inuit Greenlanders and develop trading colonies along the coast.

During World War II, Greenland became effectively detached, socially and economically, from Denmark and more connected to the United States and Canada. After the war, control was returned to Denmark, and, in 1953, the colonial status was transformed into that of an overseas Amt (county).

Although Greenland is still a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, it has enjoyed home rule since 1979.

In 1985, the island became the only territory to leave the European Union, which it had joined as a part of Denmark in 1973. It did so in protest against EU the fishing policy.

A national referendum was held in November 2008 and 75 % of the voters voted in favour of the Self-Government Act. On the National day, June 21^st 2009, the Greenland Self-Government replaced the Home Rule Government.

Today Greenland has the right to elect its own parliament and government, the latter having sovereignty and administration over areas such as education, health, fisheries, environment and climate.

The Greenlandic parliament is called “Inatsisartut”. It’s composed of 31 members who are elected for a 4-year period and convene for two periods a year (autumn and spring).

The Inatsisartut approves the executive government “Naalakkersuisut”, which is responsible for the central administration headed by a Premier with a cabinet. The sitting government elected in June of 2009 consists of a coalition between Inuit Atagatigiit, Demokraatit and Kattusseqatigiit Partiat lead by the current Premier Kuupik Kleist.

Greenland Land

Greenland lies mostly north of the Arctic Circle and is the largest island in the world that is not also considered to be a continent,

Its maximum length is about 2,655 km (1,650 mi). The maximum distance from east to west is about 1,290 km (800 mi). The length of Greenland's coast, which is deeply indented with fiords, is estimated at 5,800 km (3,600 mi).

The total area of Greenland is approximately 2,175,600 sq km (840,000 sq mi), of which about 84 per cent is icecap that can be up to 3kms in thickness.

Approximately one-twentieth of the world's ice and one-quarter of the earth's surface ice is found in Greenland.

The weight of the massive Greenlandic ice cap has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than 300 m [1,000 ft] below sea level. In fact there is some debate about whether Greenland is one island or several islands

It also contains the world's largest national park - The North Greenland National Park.

Greenland Economy

Greenland suffered negative economic growth in the early 1990s but since 1993 the economy has improved.

Since 1990 Greenland has registered a foreign trade deficit following the closure of the Black Angel lead and zinc mine in 1990.

Fishing, sealing, and fur trapping are the principal economic activities in Greenland, which must rely on large amounts of financial support from Denmark. The fish catch is primarily cod, shrimp, and salmon; fish processing is the major manufacturing industry.

Agriculture is only possible on one percent of Greenland's total area. Cattle, sheep, and goats are raised in small numbers in some portions of the south-western coast, and hardy vegetables are grown.

Denmark is Greenland's largest trading partner, and its main exports are fish, hides and skins, and fish oil. Thule Air Base in the north supports a community of American and Danish civilian and military personnel.

Tourism is a new sector that shows potential for considerable growth as more eco-tourists arrive every year to see the world’s last wilderness and to see for themselves the effects of global warming.

You can now fly from Denmark, Iceland or USA to Greenland. Cheaper travel packages have been created and since the 1990s the number of tourists has risen from 3,500 to more than 35,000 annually. The biggest advantage for Greenland is its beautiful and unspoiled nature which makes Greenland quite different and in its own way “exotic” from other travel destinations.

Take, for example, the Ilulissat glacier placed on the UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage List since 2004. Located 250 km north of the Arctic Circle, the Ilulissat Icefjord is the sea mouth of Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the few glaciers through which the Greenland ice cap reaches the sea. The glacier is one of the fastest moving in the world (19m per day). Its annual calving of over 35 cubic kilometres of ice is more than any other glacier outside Antarctica. Studied for over 250 years, it has helped develop the world’s understanding of climate change and icecap glaciology.

The future challenge for Greenland will be to get more tourists and at the same time make sure to keep the nature intact, which includes a greater awareness of environment and sustainability.

Greenland is rich in minerals and was formerly the world's main source of natural cryolite, a mineral used in the manufacture of aluminium, but by the late 1980s, reserves at the Ivittuut mine were exhausted.

Deposits of coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite and uranium are known to exist, and there are prospects for oil around the coastline.

The Potential Impact of Angel Mining on the Economy

Angel Mining will soon re-open the Black Angel Mine at Maarmorilik on the west coast of Greenland to exploit firstly the reserves of lead and zinc left behind in pillars in the old mine and then to exploit the other major reserves associated with the deposit.

We have also re-activated the Nalunaq gold mine and it is now producing and processing gold on site with a first shipment and sale of gold being achieved in August 2011.

Both these initiatives will both make a major contribution to the Greenland economy for a number of years.

Apart from the obvious direct financial contributions to the country’s revenues, the project could provide direct employment for local personnel together with subsequent knock-on economic opportunities for the people and country both locally and nationally.

Population

The population of Greenland is 56,648 with 14,719 inhabitants living in the capital Nuuk, formerly called Godthab.

The second largest city is Sisimiut (5,344), followed by Ilulissat (4,512) and Qaqortoq (3,238) besides these four growth centres situated on the west coast there are 18 towns and 120 villages in which the rest of the population lives. Greenlandic settlements are defined by having between 50 and 500 people. 

Language

The Greenlandic language is a polysynthetic language and belongs to the Eskimo-Aleutic languages. This means that it differs strongly from the Indo-European languages like French, English and German.

West Greenlandic is the official language but there are distinct dialects spoken in Eastern and Northern Greenland. Greenland is a bilingual country in which Greenlandic is the main language and Danish is the other. English is also widely spoken. In official context both Greenlandic and Danish can be used. 

Getting there and getting around

The only way to travel to Greenland is by air to one of the main gateways: Kangerlussuaq (Søndre Strønfjord) in the West or Narsarsuaq in the South both former American air bases.

There are no roads between the towns on the coast so to get around locally people travel by fixed wing planes, helicopters or by sea.

Travel by sea is possible throughout the year from Nanortalik in the South to Sisimiut in the north west but travel from Sisimiut to sites further north starts each year in May, at the earliest, because of the frozen sea. Ships sail to towns and settlements along the coast and carry passengers as well as cargo.

Why Angel Mining is Focussed on Greenland?

We believe that the undiscovered resources of the country are huge and the potential for further discoveries is high.

Despite high levels of taxation, Greenland has a favourable economic environment for companies in the mining sector.

The Country is eager to attain economic viability to facilitate the ambition of political independence from Denmark.

Working closely with the BMP (Bureau of Mining and Petroleum), the regulatory authority has enabled Angel Mining to establish a working partnership for the future benefit of both our company and the people of Greenland.

The BMP has strict rules on how mining organisations operate to ensure the environment is fully protected. All companies mining in Greenland are required to provide an unlimited guarantee, in terms of time and cost, in the event that environmental repairs are required at any site of their current or former operations.

Angel Mining wholeheartedly endorses this rigorous approach, we take great care from the earliest conceptual development plans to ensure that risks are minimised and controlled.