Tag Archives: Aleqa Hammond

Greenland leader worries about life after mining

Greenland‘s new premier says her government wants to make sure the sparsely populated Arctic island doesn’t get “ripped off” by foreign companies seeking to exploit its natural resources.

Aleqa Hammond, whose center-left Siumut party won a parliamentary election last month, said in Copenhagen Wednesday that “there is a life after mining” and called for laws that “protect the people, our environment, our health.”

The mining industry is looking for opportunities in Greenland, a mostly ice-covered island whose mineral resources are expected to become more accessible as climate change raises temperatures in the Arctic region.

Hammond has called for lifting a ban on uranium mining, but also wants to introduce royalties on the mining industry and revise a law that would allow an influx of foreign labor.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/AR58umM_PWE/

Pro-mining opposition wins Greenland election

An opposition centrist party that favors tapping Greenland‘s underground mineral wealth appears poised to win the Arctic country’s parliamentary election.

With some three-fourths of the votes counted, incumbent Premier Kuupik Kleist has conceded defeat in the battle for control of the 31-seat Parliament.

A preliminary vote count early Wednesday showed Aleqa Hammond‘s centrist Siumut party winning nearly 43 percent of the votes, while Kleist’s left-leaning Inuit Ataqatigiit mustered only 30 percent.

Hammond would become Greenland‘s first female head of government if she is able to form a coalition.

Many Greenlanders want to use the island’s mineral resources, including uranium, as a way to reduce dependency on Denmark. Developing a mining industry, however, would require inviting thousands of guest workers, a sensitive topic among the population of 57,000.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News