Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Business Insider has the story about Greenland and global warming, which is peeling back thick ice and uncovering vast mineral wealth:
Latest satellite data reveal that 97% of the surface of the Greenland ice sheet underwent surface melting over four exceptionally warm days in July, indicating natural resources will become more available for extraction in the coming decades.
The potential gold rush is being welcomed by some in Greenland, but has raised fears of environmental damage, pollution and despoliation across the Arctic that could destroy one of the world’s last wildernesses.
Image showing extent of surface melt over Greenland’s ice sheet
11 Comments
ClydeP
The Vikings and Celts missed great opportunities in the 800’s and 900’s but, they were more focused on farming in Greenland.
truthseeker616
I think this is what we all expected….it is a bunch of BS
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/02/us-climate-greenland-idUSBRE8711L220120802
Mrkhrdr
I really don’t understand what this fuss is all about. The article is simply a collection of paragraphs addressing various aspects of mining’s future in Greenland. As for the melting ice, the article makes it clear that it’s surface melting over “exceptionally hot” days. In the arctic, temperatures change rapidly & summer is intense and brief. End of story.
jamesont
Greenland resources will be available for extraction in the coming centuries…..
Guest
Uh, sorry Mike, but the ice is still all there, all 2 MILES of it, before you get to the ‘good stuff’.
Gryffon
Ah, yes, this is such a FANTATIC opportunity!
The miners can get in there at the edges as the glacier boundaries retreat. All they will have to worry about is avalanche from the collapsing ice; innundation from melt water breaking through in new and unexpected places; and geological instability as the whole place domes, bulges and reacts as several trillion megatonnes of ice is removed from the land surface! (No, I haven’t done any bloody calculations – allow me a little hyperbole…)
Don’t worry, it will all be worth it though, as that will compensate for the mines they have lost world-wide owing to the 15-odd metre rise in sea-level that would be the result of the entire Greenland ice-sheet melting – which seems to be the point of this ‘good news’ (?) story. (That irrationally assumes that there is no similar melt of the West Antarctic ice-sheet, thus limiting the sea-level rise to, say, 15m: which is 25% of what it would otherwise be in the event of West Antarctica going at the same time.)
It makes me curious, though, why you would assume the Chinese or anyone else would be interested in mining in Greenland while trying to cope with the social and economic collapse engendered by the flooding of the Yangtse, Shanghai, Hong Kong and all other coastal and riparian zones. I suspect we will all have other fish to fry if your ‘potential gold-rush’ actually comes to pass (God forbid!).
truthseeker616
Again, Mr. McCrae is providing misleading news to those who know better. I think he should go back to the Vancouver Sun or maybe just go back to Prince Rupert. We’ve heard enough of this crap.
Guest
Is this the kind of news we should now expect from mining.com? It’s completely misleading and something I would expect of some tabloid.
golddigger69
Don’t get too excited: the image shows water on top of the ice. The place is still coverd by ice, it is just that there was liquid (melt) on the surface of the ice.
[email protected]
¡Vaya mentira más falsa! ¿Alguien se va a creer esto? ¿Quien será el hijo/a de puta que fabrica estas falsedades?
Markkneubuhl
I hope the government of Greenland is careful.