Historically there has been a number of
mines working in Greenland. Many Greenlanders hope
that mining will become a main industry in the country in the future. Mining
produces large volumes of waste. The nature of the waste is decided by the
local mineralogy and also the specific processes implemented in the mine. In
many aspects mining in Greenland and the Arctic does not differ from mine elsewhere
in the world.
However, there are some issues that need to be paid attention to. The greenlandic
and arctic environment is considered to be more pristine and
sensitive. Also, many of the chemicals that are used in the mining industry
have not been tested towards arctic species and many of the treatment
remediation and rehabilitation technologies that are used elsewhere are
not as efficient in the Arctic climate. There may also be some advantages of
mining in the Arctic. Some of the chemical reactions that are
environmentally damaging take place at a slower pace in the waste in the Arctic
due to the low temperature and it may in some places even be possible to deposit
the waste inside the permafrost where can be left more or less inert. Like
elsewhere in the world there have been historic examples of improper and
insufficient environmental management of mines in Greenland. One example is the
mine in Mestersvig, which was running in the late 1950s and early
60s. This was a lead mine and there was no environmental management plan for
this mine at this time in history. So a lot of material was spilled accidentally
and more or less deliberately sometimes, and there was quite some contamination with lead
in the surrounding sea, which can still be monitored. Another example is the Maamorilik
mine which was running in the 1970s and 80s. Here
environmental management was actually implemented and monitoring was done.
During the monitoring it was observed that contamination occurred from dust at
the mining site, but also surprisingly from the tailings that were deposited in
a deep fjord nearby the mining site.
Therefore, the processes at the mine were changed during the mining
period. The contamination at Maamorilik can also still be monitored today.
Nowadays, an extensive environmental impact assessment has to be made
prior to getting permission to mine in Greenland. The assessment and the plan
needs to go to a public hearing process and it needs to contain a study plan on
how to study and monitor the environment prior to starting the mining,
a monitoring plan for the environment during the mining and after the mining
has ceased. Also, it needs to include a plan for handling of the waste of the
mine and on how to recultivate the mining area after the mining has closed down.
High environmental standards are aimed for in the future mines in Greenland, and one
example of this is the ambitious wastewater discharge levels that have been
implemented recently.