Fearing toxic waste, Greenland ended uranium mining. Now, they could be forced to restart - or pay $11bn
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/05/greenland-mining-energy-transition-minerals-environmental-laws-uranium-rare-earth-toxic-waste-investor-state-dispute-settlement-isds-aoe
#ISDS #mining #environment
'When it took power, the new government kept its campaign promise, passing legislation to ban uranium mining. While not primarily a uranium mine, the Kvanefjeld project would require unearthing the radioactive substance to extract its rare earth oxides, putting it in violation of the law.
Many Greenlanders celebrated the vote as a victory for health and the environment. But three years later, the company is suing Greenland for stopping its plans, demanding the right to exploit the deposit or receive compensation of up to $11.5bn: nearly 10 times the country’s 8.5bn krone (£950m) annual budget.
Kvanefjeld’s operator, Energy Transition Minerals (ETM), the Australian-listed company formerly known as Greenland Minerals, argues that the decision to ban mining amounts to expropriation by Greenland’s government and any environmental concerns would be addressed with the “best environmental practice, where this was technically, practically and financially possible”.
It has taken the case to arbitration through the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), a once-obscure provision in trade agreements that has become a lucrative area of international law, alongside cases in Greenland and Denmark.'
