Amaroq Minerals Ltd. (AIM, TSXV, NASDAQ Iceland: AMRQ), an independent mine development company with a substantial land package of gold and strategic mineral assets in Southern Greenland, is delighted to announce the Government of Greenland has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) for its cornerstone Nalunaq project.
Eldur Olafsson, Amaroq CEO, commented:
“I cannot emphasis enough the importance of achieving this milestone, towards which our team has been working for over four years. It has been a rigorous process involving many hours of work and dedication, including the production of numerous detailed technical background reports in support of our project design.
“On behalf of Amaroq I would like to thank the Government of Greenland for their endorsement and support, and our advisors WSP and Copenhagen Social who collaborated closely with us to achieve this outcome. We are committed to ensuring that we apply best practice to all areas of our work on our path to bringing Nalunaq into production.”
Joan Plant, Amaroq Executive Vice President, ESG, commented:
“Maintaining Environmental and Social best practice is crucial to Amaroq in support of our core purpose; to create a Greenlandic legacy that is positive. Securing these approvals validates that the Company’s operations are fully aligned with Government guidelines and strategies, and that it is fully supported by our local communities who recognise that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards.
“We now look forward to working with the Government of Greenland and Kommune Kujalleq on the Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA), which we aim to have in place by the end of the year.”
Background to and purpose of the EIA and SIA
The purpose of the EIA was to identify, predict and communicate the potential environmental impacts of the Nalunaq project in all of its phases – construction, operations, closure and post-closure. The assessment also identified mitigation and monitoring measures designed to eliminate or minimize negative environmental effects which we are including in our project design and implementation activities.
The purpose of the SIA was to assess the project’s impact on existing social conditions. Positive social impacts that were identified included:
Creating job opportunities
Providing training and skill upgrading opportunities
Creating opportunities for Greenlandic companies to provide goods and services
Generation of public revenue through the payment of royalties, corporate and income taxes
