The national Sermitsiaq newspaper said the permits were granted with special terms, meaning Orano cannot automatically expect exploration to lead to the granting of exploitation permits.
Sermitsiaq said one area covers about 1,000 sq km to the north of the village of Arsuk in southwest Greenland. The second is 2,485 sq km and consists of two sub-areas around the Ilulileq fjord in southern Greenland and the Kangerlussuatsiaq fjord in wester Greenland.
In 2013, Greenland’s parliament voted in favour of lifting the country’s long-standing ban on the extraction of radioactive materials, including uranium, a move that could enable a separate, more advance mining project at Kvanefjeld to proceed. The project is the subject of a feasibility study to evaluate a mining operation to produce uranium, rare earth elements and zinc.
According to the Nuclear Energy Agency, uranium is planned to be mined as a by-product from a proposed open-pit mine.
Kvanefjeld is the only uranium deposit or occurrence in Greenland with reasonably assured uranium resources.
Since 2007, Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd (GMEL), a publicly listed company, has conducted exploration activities in the Kvanefjeld area. GMEL estimates that uranium will account for 5% of the revenue from the mine.
