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Greenland election: Opposition win casts doubt on mine

Greenland’s main opposition party has won an election which could have major consequences for international interests in the Arctic.

The left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit, which opposes a mining project in southern Greenland, secured 37% of votes.

Its leader said on Wednesday that the Kvanefjeld mine, home to major deposits of rare minerals, would not go ahead.

The social-democratic Siumut party came second, having been in power for all but four years since 1979.

Inuit Ataqatigiit, an indigenous party with a strong environmental focus, will now seek to form a government.

Greenland is a vast autonomous arctic territory that belongs to Denmark. Although it has a population of just 56,000, the result of the election has been closely followed internationally.

Greenland’s economy relies on fishing and subsidies from the Danish government, but as a result of melting ice, mining opportunities are increasing.

Source: Fiilafmonline/BBC

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