Local actor: ''There must be calm in the raw materials area
It is poison for the mining companies that the politicians are constantly adjusting the Minerals Act.''
According to Martin Sandy Shalmi, one of the major challenges in terms of attracting raw material companies and not least investors to Greenland is that the framework conditions – i.e. legislation – constantly changing. Investors don't like that at all.
- It is possible that the Natural Resources Act is not good. But when the politicians are inside at every meeting and change the legislation in detail, it creates great uncertainty among investors and companies. It is better for the industry that the politicians agree on a piece of legislation and then keep their hands off it. You can relate to that as a company. But the constant changes are poison for investors and companies.
Frightened by bad cases
Another problem is the sometimes slow processing of cases.
- In theory, the self-government should be able to process an application for an exploration license, including consultation, in three months, but the reality is that it often takes six to 12 months to obtain a license. The same is the case in water and the ice area. Fortunately, once the license is in place, obtaining permits for, for example, field work often goes quickly. But it could well be more flexible in the administration, says Martin Sandy Shalmi.
In addition to supporting resource companies with logistics, administration and planning, Xploration Services also works actively to make Greenland visible as a resource country.
- We participate in resource fairs and are happy to knock on the doors of potential investors. What we unfortunately experience is that many have questions about the Kuannersuit project and about how the administration works in Greenland. For example, they ask whether it is common for resource companies to be expropriated. We then spend a lot of time explaining how things are connected. After this, the infrastructure is typically asked, to which we also have good answers. It is worse when they ask who else is investing in raw material projects in Greenland. It is really a challenge that there are really no locals who invest in raw material projects. Because why should a foreign investor bet on Greenland with venture capital if there are no Greenlanders who believe in it? We have a serious problem with the lack of investment from locals in the country's own potential.
https://sermitsiaq.e-pages.pub/titles/sermitsiaqinfo/13820/publications/34/pages/24/articles/2037017/24/1
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