Greenland's government has formally rejected Energy Transition Minerals' application to renew its exploration licence for the Kvanefjeld rare earth project, also known as Kuannersuit, dealing a potentially decisive blow to one of the world's largest undeveloped rare earth deposits after a five-year regulatory impasse triggered by the island's 2021 uranium mining ban
"Further exploration in the area is not deemed likely to lead to the discovery of deposits that can be exploited in accordance with the Uranium Act," the government said in a statement The decision follows a 2021 ban on uranium mining enacted by the then-ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit party — which effectively halted Kvanefjeld's development because uranium occurs as a byproduct of the rare earth deposit — and a draft decision signalled to ETM in April indicating the government intended to recommend rejection
