Greenland leader worries about life after mining

[April 17, 2013]  COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- Greenland's new premier says her government wants to make sure the sparsely populated Arctic island doesn't get "ripped off" by foreign companies seeking to exploit its natural resources.

Aleqa Hammond, whose center-left Siumut party won a parliamentary election last month, said in Copenhagen Wednesday that "there is a life after mining" and called for laws that "protect the people, our environment, our health."

The mining industry is looking for opportunities in Greenland, a mostly ice-covered island whose mineral resources are expected to become more accessible as climate change raises temperatures in the Arctic region.

Hammond has called for lifting a ban on uranium mining, but also wants to introduce royalties on the mining industry and revise a law that would allow an influx of foreign labor.

[Associated Press]

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