Australia-based Greenland Minerals is appointing a new managing director to begin a corporate strategic review and to seek out new projects outside of Greenland, Kallanish reports.

The company has appointed Daniel Mamadou, founder of Welsbach Holdings Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based technology metals specialist advisory and investment company, to be managing director. He was previously managing director at Talaxis and has two decades of experience with Deutche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Nomura. He replaces John Mair who is stepping down. Greenland Minerals says it intends to broaden its project portfolio and is seeking new opportunities in related technology minerals and metal sectors. The company says it has sufficient money on hand to fund new projects.

That plan comes after the government of Greenland has passed new rules that could kill the company’s Kvanefjeld rare earth-uranium project in southwest Greenland. The new leftist-leaning government has approved rules banning the mining of uranium, which it defines as uranium content of 100 parts-per-million or greater in the total resource. The legislation was part of a new effort to make the Danish territory more environmentally responsible.

The company is not giving up on the Kvanefjeld project with its uranium oxide content of 266 ppm but it is looking at projects elsewhere. It has been in communication with the Greenland government and has been reviewing the new legislation.

“Until there is clarity from the legislation and the impact on forward timelines and in consideration that the independent assessments, majority of studies and work programmes that underpin the Kvanefjeld project are completed, the board believes that it is prudent and timely to seek new opportunities outside of Greenland to which the company can leverage value in the near term," the company says in a statement. It says it will update on the next steps for the Kvanefjeld project “as soon as is practicable.”

The Kvanefjeld project near Narsaq in southwest Greenland features ore reserve that contain 108 million tonnes of 1.43% rare earth oxide, 0.26% zinc and 0.036% uranium oxide. The uranium oxide would produce about 5% of project revenues. Greenland Minerals had been on track to win approval from the previous Greenland government, but locals fear that the project would adversely impact the fragile Arctic environment.