In September 2016, journalists from the Arctic Times Project travelled to Greenland to investigate the controversial proposal to develop a uranium mine near Narsaq, a small, picturesque fishing town near the island’s southern tip.
What we found was a country riven between a desire to use the nation’s massive natural resources to buy freedom from Denmark and deep misgivings about the environmental and political costs that might ensue. Narsaq is at the center of the debate, as Australian and Chinese interests lobby to start digging for uranium and rare earth minerals. The story has become emblematic of the broader geopolitical and cultural change sweeping across the Arctic as climate change alters the region. We spent two weeks in Narsaq and Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, conducting dozens of interviews with townspeople, mining company representatives and policy makers. These are the stories and images we brought back.
