Voice of America
10 Oct 2019, 23:35 GMT+10
LONDON - The U.S. military has conducted an aerial survey of Greenland to assess the vast arctic island's mineral potential as part of agreement between the two governments, a top U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday.
The memorandum of understanding for cooperating on developing the mineral sector there was inked in June before a diplomatic flap between the United States and Denmark, to which Greenland is linked as an autonomous territory.
U.S. President Donald Trump called off a visit to Denmark scheduled for early September after the country's prime minister rebuffed his idea of purchasing Greenland.
Frank Fannon, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for energy resources, told reporters at a gathering at London's Chatham House that the process was "quite costly and technology intensive" and so Greenland had sought U.S. assistance.
"We had the navy there to shoot a hyperspectral survey, to basically use overflight technology to better understand the resource endowment."
"That creates data room where the U.S. Geological Survey would be brought in to help interpret the data and share with the Greenlanders what the potential resource endowment might be."
According to a press release by Greenland's government, the aerial mapping would be jointly funded and involves surveying around 3,000 square kilometers in the territory's southwestern Gardar province.
The data gathered would measure the reflection of sunlight, including infrared light invisible to the naked eye, to better understand the geology of the terrain and its mineral content.
Fannon added that the United States planned to help Greenland, armed with the data, to develop a regulatory structure to exploit mineral finds and market future tenders.
Asked if relations with Greenland or Denmark had deteriorated since Trump's offer to buy the territory, Fannon responded: "I've only seen the strongest relationship with Greenland as well as with Denmark ... It's a very positive relationship."
Greenland is gaining attention as global superpowers including China, Russia and the United States look toward the Arctic region for mineral resources and strategic waterways.
A defense treaty between NATO allies Denmark and the United States dating back to 1951 gives the U.S. military rights over the Thule Air Base in northern Greenland.
After Trump canceled his planned meeting with his Danish counterpart in August, Greenland's foreign minister Ane Lone Bagger told Reuters: "We are open for business, but we're not for sale."
Get a daily dose of Broadcast Communications news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Broadcast Communications.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks diverged on Wednesday for the second day in a row. The Standard and Poor's 500 hit a new all-time...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. dollar continues to lose ground, weighed down by growing concerns over Washington's fiscal outlook...
KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan, long associated with war and instability, is quietly trying to rebrand itself as a destination for...
SANTA CLARA, California: Executives at Nvidia have quietly been cashing in on the AI frenzy. According to a report by the Financial...
NEW YORK, New York - Global stock indices closed with divergent performances on Tuesday, as investors weighed corporate earnings, central...
TORONTO, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced late on June 29 that trade negotiations with the U.S. have recommenced...
SHARJAH, 7th May, 2025 (WAM) -- The Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA) recently took part in the 76th World News Media Congress,...
Paris is withdrawing its troops after the African country scrapped a decades-old defense agreement France has handed over a military...
New Delhi [India], July 1 (ANI): On the occasion of the approval of the new 'Khelo Bharat Niti 2025', Prime Minister Narendra Modi...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 1 (ANI): The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) opens admissions for its first batch...
New Delhi [India], July 1 (ANI): In a significant step to bolster India's research and innovation ecosystem, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday...
Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL's newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions...