Greenland Grants 30 Year License for Amitsoq Graphite Mine

Greenland has approved GreenRoc Strategic Materials’ (LSE:GROC) application for a long-term exploitation license for the Amitsoq graphite project, the company said on Tuesday (December 9).

Naaja H. Nathanielsen, the country's mineral resources and energy minister, joined Stefan Bernstein, director of GreenRoc subsidiary Greenland Graphite, in a license signing on Monday (December 8).

The signing came after government approval of the project’s terms of reference and accompanying white paper.

“Greenland Graphite's exploitation license is the third exploitation license granted by the Government of Greenland this year,” Nathanielsen said at the ceremony. “This is a very positive record and it is particularly worth noting that the process from submitted application to issued exploitation license has only taken 1 year and 3 months.”

She added that the streamlined timeline clearly demonstrates that Greenland's revised Mining Act is working as intended, while still upholding environmental standards and social responsibility.

Bernstein said the day marked an important breakthrough for the company’s ambitions to help supply graphite for the energy transition, commenting, “This is a very important milestone for GreenRoc on the road to making graphite production in Greenland a reality again, 100 years after the closure of the Amitsoq mine.”

Graphite, a critical component of lithium-ion battery anodes, is considered a strategic mineral by the EU. Bernstein emphasized that the project could contribute to a more secure supply chain for Europe and North America.

"Graphite is an important raw material for the energy transition and Europe lacks secure access to it. At Amitsoq, we have proven graphite ore for many decades of operation,” he said.

Amitsoq has a combined measured, indicated and inferred JORC resource of 23.05 million metric tons at an average grade of 20.41 percent graphite, according to GreenRoc, placing it among the highest-grade known deposits globally.

The project is being developed alongside plans to build downstream processing capacity for active anode material, supported by a partnership with Norwegian battery manufacturer Morrow Batteries.

The license allows for up to 30 years of mining, but does not immediately authorize construction.

Before work on site can begin, the project’s environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment must be completed and approved, followed by negotiation of an impact benefit agreement and a mine closure plan.

Mining must begin by December 31, 2030, unless otherwise approved.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.