Receding ice cap sparks diamond rush
Greenland’s inhabitants are facing an influx of visitors drawn not by the world’s biggest island’s remote beauty, but by the prospect of finding diamonds in rocks exposed by the receding ice cap.
After Canadian company, Hudson Resources, discovered 236 diamonds, including one 2.4-carat gem, in western Greenland earlier this year, diamond-hunters from all over the world are descending on the island to explore newly exposed rock.
As global temperatures have risen, the ice covering Greenland is shrinking away, exposing a potentially mineral- and resource-rich wilderness. Gold, zinc, lead, oil and gas reserves have all been found, fuelling speculation that the Danish dependency could survive independently. Although the island is currently self-governed, its population relies heavily on Danish subsidies; however, that could change in light of the recent discoveries, which could bringing much-needed wealth to Greenland and possible independence.
December 2007
After Canadian company, Hudson Resources, discovered 236 diamonds, including one 2.4-carat gem, in western Greenland earlier this year, diamond-hunters from all over the world are descending on the island to explore newly exposed rock.
As global temperatures have risen, the ice covering Greenland is shrinking away, exposing a potentially mineral- and resource-rich wilderness. Gold, zinc, lead, oil and gas reserves have all been found, fuelling speculation that the Danish dependency could survive independently. Although the island is currently self-governed, its population relies heavily on Danish subsidies; however, that could change in light of the recent discoveries, which could bringing much-needed wealth to Greenland and possible independence.
December 2007
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