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Crossing Continents: Greenland: To dig or not to dig?

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Greenland: To dig or not to dig?

02/01/2014

BBC Radio 4 - Crossing Continents, Greenland: To dig or not to dig?

Will mining harm Greenland's environment, or lead the country to independence?

James Fletcher asks if mining for rare earths and uranium will destroy Greenland's environment - or lead the country to independence.

Could Greenland become the world's next resource hotspot? The government there hopes so - they've been travelling the world touting the country's vast reserves of oil and gas, and huge deposits of iron ore, gold and rare-earth elements. As melting icecaps make all these resources more accessible, mining promises riches for Greenland and the ultimate prize of full independence from Denmark. But there's a catch - many of the rare earth minerals are surrounded by uranium, pitching Greenland into the world of nuclear politics and environmental hazard. Nowhere is this clearer than in the small town of Narsaq in the country's south. Two proposed rare-earth mines could reverse the town's economic decline, but one just miles away will mine uranium too. James Fletcher travels to Narsaq to ask whether mining will be a blessing or a curse.

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