2017–2018 Minerals Yearbook
DENMARK, THE FAROE ISLANDS, AND GREENLAND
[ADVANCE RELEASE]
The Mineral Industries of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland
By Joanna asha Goclawska
Note: In this chapter, information for 2017 is followed by information for 2018.
DENMARK
Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands make up the kingdom of Denmark. Denmark itself had a population of about 5.78 million people at the end of 2017 and an unemployment rate of 5.9%. although the country’s metallic mineral resources are limited, Denmark produces several industrial minerals, and petroleum and natural gas production takes place offshore in the Danish area of the north sea. Domestic wind turbines provided 43.4% of all the country’s electricity supply. In 2017, Denmark produced 18% of the world’s diatomite (moler) and was the world’s second-ranked diatomite producer (Gottlieb, 2018;
statistics Denmark, 2018, p. 15; Crangle, 2019).
Minerals in the National Economy
In 2017, Denmark’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.1% and the nominal GDP was $312.2 billion.
The industrial sector, including mining and quarrying,
represented 19.8% of Denmark’s GDP. The value of production in the mining and quarrying sector amounted to $3.97 billion (Dkk27.25 billion). The Danish laws that most closely affected mining included the Forest Act of 1989, the Act on Chemical substances and Products of 1996, the Consolidated environmental Protection act of 1998, and the Contaminated Soil Act of 1999, among others. Refined petroleum products made up 2.7% of Denmark’s exports by value, and crude petroleum, 1.4% (U.s. library of Congress, 2017; observatory of economic Complexity, The, 2018; statistics Denmark, 2018, p. 23, 29; World Bank, The, 2018).
Production
In 2017, the most significant increases in production were reported for bentonite, 37%, and granite, 22%. The most significant production decreases were for sulfur, by 35%, and peat, 34%. Data on mineral production are in table 1.
Structure of the Mineral Industry
Table 2 is a list of major mineral industry facilities.
Commodity Review Industrial Minerals
Diatomite.—Damolin a/s was purchased by Imerys s.a. of France in January 2017. With the acquisition, Imerys became the owner of diatomite operations that included quarries on
Fur Island and mors Island in Denmark (Imerys s.a., 2017;
roskill, 2017).
Mineral Fuels
Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas.—Denmark’s crude petroleum and natural gas production remained at steady levels as maersk olie og Gas a/s (maersk oil) prepared for the planned maintenance closure of the Tyra Gasfield in 2017–19.
a.P. moller-maersk a/s announced the sale of its shares in maersk oil to Total s.a. of France, and the acquisition was made final on August 21. In 2017, A.P. Moller-Maersk operated 16 oilfields and 2 gasfields in the Danish area of the North Sea.
DonG energy a/s announced the divestment of all its oil and gas assets to Ineos ltd. of the United kingdom and changed its name to orsted a/s as it shifted its focus to renewable energies.
hess Corp. of the United states announced its plans to sell its assets in the Danish area of the north sea to develop its interests in Guyana (hess Corp., 2017; orsted a/s, 2017; aagaard, 2018;
Total s.a., 2018).
Compared with production in 2010, Denmark’s production of crude petroleum in 2017 was 45% lower and production of renewable energy was 28% higher. similarly, Denmark’s consumption of energy from petroleum was 9% lower in 2017 than in 2010, and its consumption of renewable energy was 43%
higher than in 2010 (Danish energy agency, 2018).
MINERAL INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS IN 2018 (DENMARK)
In 2018, Denmark’s real GDP increased by 1.2%, which was the lowest growth rate since 2013. The nominal GDP was
$350.7 billion. Denmark’s leading export partners were Germany (which received 12.7% of Denmark’s exports), the United states (11.2%), and sweden (10.2%). The leading import partners were Germany (which supplied 17.6% of Denmark’s imports), sweden (9.8%), and the United kingdom (7.1%). Denmark had an $18.8 billion trade surplus. In 2018, 4,567 people were employed in the mining and quarrying sector compared with 4,064 in 2017. The value of production in the mining and quarrying sector in 2018 increased by 11.3% to $4.80 billion (Dkk30.34 billion) (statistics Denmark, 2019a, p. 23, 25, 29;
2019b).
The most significant production increases in 2018 were reported for peat, by 99%; granite, 89%; and clay, 30%. The most significant production decreases were for crude petroleum, by 16%; and diatomite (moler), 10%. Data on mineral
production are in table 1.
Cement production decreased for the first time in several years owing to stagnation in construction activity in the nordic countries. aalborg Portland holding s/a produced cement in seven countries and employed 3,010 people; of this number, 720 people were employed in Denmark (aalborg Portland holding s/a, 2019).
The acquisition of moller-maersk a/s shares in maersk oil by Total s.a. of France, which was initiated in 2017, became effective on March 8, 2018. With the acquisition of the Maersk oil assets, Total became the second-ranked operator in the north sea (Total s.a., 2018).
In 2018, the Tyra Gasfield was being redeveloped to secure production at the field for the next 25 years. The 2-year investment of $3.34 billion also would enable operators to seek new gas projects in the northern part of the Danish area of the North Sea. The Tyra Gasfield accounted for 90% of Denmark’s natural gas production. after the redevelopment, Tyra was expected to produce more than 200 million barrels of petroleum equivalent, of which approximately two-thirds was expected to be natural gas, and the remaining one-third, to be petroleum.
The Tyra Gasfield was owned by the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), for which maersk oil was serving as the operator (Offshore Technology, 2019).
Outlook
although crude petroleum production in Denmark continues to decrease, natural gas production and production of renewable energy continue to increase, and overall Danish energy
production continues to rise. Denmark is expected to continue to rely increasingly on renewable energy rather than on fossil fuels in the years ahead. The GDP is predicted to increase by 1.7% in 2019 and by 1.9% in 2020 (International monetary Fund, 2019).
References Cited
aagaard, helene, 2018, a.P. moller–maersk has today completed the sale of maersk oil to Total: Copenhagen, Denmark, maersk olie og Gas a/s. (accessed July 27, 2018, at https://www.maersk.com/
news/2018/06/29/a-p-moller-maersk-has-today-completed-the-sale-of- maersk-oil-to-total.)
aalborg Portland holding s/a, 2019, Investeringer øgede omsætning og resultatigen i 2018 [Investments increased revenue and profit again in 2018]: aalborg, Denmark, aalborg Portland holding s/a, april 16.
(accessed august 14, 2019, at https://www.aalborgportlandholding.com/
aalborg-portland-holdings-arsregnskab-2018/.)
Crangle, r.D., Jr., 2019, Diatomite: U.s. Geological survey mineral Commodity summaries 2019, p. 56–57.
Danish energy agency, 2018, Preliminary energy statistics 2017: Copenhagen, Denmark, Danish energy agency. (accessed July 27, 2018, via https://ens.dk/
en/our-services/statistics-data-key-figures-and-energy-maps/annual-and- monthly-statistics.)
Gottlieb, m.h., 2018, Danmark sætter ny rekord i vind [Denmark puts new record in the wind]: Frederiksberg, Denmark, Dansk energi, January 3. (accessed July 20, 2018, at https://www.danskenergi.dk/nyheder/danmark-saetter-ny- rekord-vind.)
hess Corp., 2017, hess sells interests in norway; commences process to sell interests in Denmark: new York, new York, hess Corp., october 24.
(accessed July 27, 2018, at http://www.hess.com/news-article/2017/10/24/
hess-sells-interests-in-norway-commences-process-to-sell-interests-in- denmark.)
Imerys s.a., 2017, Imerys has closed the acquisition of Damolin: Paris, France, Imerys s.a. press release, January 7, 1 p. (accessed July 27, 2018, at http://www.imerys-additivesformetallurgy.com/wp-content/uploads/
Imerys-acquires-Damolin-a-Danish-mineral-based-solutions-producer.pdf.)
International monetary Fund, 2019, Denmark: International monetary Fund, June 21. (accessed august 27, 2019, at https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/
Dnk.)
library of Congress, 2017, kingdom of Denmark: Washington, DC, library of Congress. (accessed July 20, 2018, at https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/
nations/denmark.php.)
observatory of economic Complexity, The, 2018, Denmark: Cambridge, massachusetts, The observatory of economic Complexity. (accessed July 13, 2018, at https://oec.world/en/profile/country/dnk/.)
Offshore Technology, 2019, Tyra gas field redevelopment: London, United Kingdom, Offshore Technology. (Accessed August 23, 2019, at https://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/tyra-gas-field-redevelopment/.) orsted a/s, 2017, orsted—a new beginning: Fredericia, Denmark, orsted a/s.
(accessed July 27, 2018, at https://orsted.com/en/about-us/about-orsted/
about-our-name.)
roskill, 2017, Bentonite, diatomite—Imerys buys Danish group Damolin:
london, the United kingdom, roskill, January 11. (accessed July 20, 2018, at https://roskill.com/news/bentonite-diatomite-imerys-buys-danish-group- damolin/.)
Statistics Denmark, 2018, Denmark in figures 2018: Copenhagen, Denmark, statistics Denmark, april, 37 p. (accessed July 20, 2018, at https://www.dst.dk/
site/Dst/Udgivelser/GetPubFile.aspx?id=28923&sid=denmark2018.) Statistics Denmark, 2019a, Denmark in figures 2019: Copenhagen,
Denmark, statistics Denmark, may, 37 p. (accessed may 21, 2019, at https://www.dst.dk/site/Dst/Udgivelser/GetPubFile.aspx?id=28924&sid=dki nfigures2019.)
statistics Denmark, 2019b, naBB10—employment (10a3-grouping) by socioeconomic status and industry: Copenhagen, Denmark, statistics Denmark. (accessed July 31, 2019, at https://www.statbank.dk/statbank5a/
SelectVarVal/Define.asp?Maintable=NABB10&PLanguage=1.) Total s.a., 2018, Total closes the maersk oil acquisition and becomes the
second-largest operator in the north sea: Paris, France, Total s.a., march 8.
(accessed august 14, 2019, at https://www.total.com/en/media/news/
press-releases/total-closes-maersk-oil-acquisition-and-becomes-second- largest-operator-north-sea.)
World Bank, The, 2018, Denmark: Washington, DC, The World Bank.
(accessed July 20, 2018, at http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.
aspx?source=2&country=Dnk.)
FAROE ISLANDS
The Faroe Islands is a self-governing overseas administrative division of the kingdom of Denmark. The Faroe Islands had no significant identified mineral resources, and no commercially viable petroleum reservoirs had been discovered. The fourth oil exploration licensing round opened in may 2017 and closed in February 2018 with only one application received. The application was later withdrawn, and no license was issued. In 2017 and 2018, 95% of the Faroe Islands’ exports were from the fisheries sector (Faroese Geological Survey, 2019; Hagstova Føroya, 2019; Weihe and others, 2020, p. 35).
Outlook
mineral commodities are not expected to play a role in the Faroese economy unless significant resources are identified.
References Cited
Faroese Geological survey, 2019, 4th licensing round: Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Faroese Geological survey. (accessed august 19, 2019, at http://jf.fo/en/
olju-og-gassleiting/undanfarnu-utbjodingarumfor/4-utbjodingarumfar/.) hagstova Føroya, 2019, export of goods by main groups (1993m01-2019m05):
argir, Faroe Islands, hagstova Føroya statbank database. (accessed august 19, 2019, at https://statbank.hagstova.fo/pxweb/en/h2/h2__Uh__
UH01/uh_uthbolk_t.px/?rxid=fcd6be02-ab3a-45fa-978d-53993f5f36ff.)
Weihe, Johan, hemmer, Per, and kassis, rania, 2020, Faroe Islands, in Palmer, Bob, ed., oil regulation 2020: london, United kingdom, law Business research ltd., p. 35-43. (accessed november 4, 2020, at https://www.mayerbrown.com/-/media/files/perspectives-events/
publications/2020/06/oil-regulation_book.pdf.)
GREENLAND
Greenland, officially known as Kalaallit Nunaat, is a self- governing part of the kingdom of Denmark. Greenland’s economy relied on subsidies from Denmark, which represented 24.3% of Greenland’s GDP. In 2017, Greenland’s real GDP growth was 1% compared with 6% in the previous year.
according to the Geological survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Greenland potentially had many different mineral resources, such as coal, copper, gold, lead, precious stones, rare- earth elements, uranium, and zinc. In 2017, about 30 mineral exploration licenses were active from 37 different companies for a wide variety of minerals (Geological survey of Denmark and Greenland, 2017; Government of Greenland, 2018a; statistics Greenland, 2019, p. 35, 38).
Production
Greenland ruby a/s began production at its aappaluttoq mine in may 2017, extracting rubies from corundum-bearing rocks (Greenland ruby a/s, 2018). Data on mineral production are in table 1.
Structure of the Mineral Industry
Table 2 is a list of major mineral industry facilities.
Commodity Review Industrial Minerals
Feldspar.— hudson resources Inc. of Canada completed construction of the mining facility at the White mountain mine in november, with plans to begin producing feldspar (anorthosite) in early 2019. anorthosite, a calcium feldspar, can be used as a substitute for kaolin and nepheline syenite. alumina also was produced from anorthosite in other countries, but not in Greenland owing to energy costs and chemical requirements (hudson resources Inc., 2018a, b).
Gemstones.—Greenland ruby, which owned the aappaluttoq corundum mine near Qeqertarsuatsiaat, began extracting hard rock and separating out rubies onsite in may 2017. The mine had an estimated 9-year life (Greenland ruby a/s, 2018).
MINERAL INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS IN 2018 (GREENLAND)
In 2018, the Government granted 51 mineral exploration licenses, 6 extraction licenses, and 56 small-scale exploration and extraction licenses compared with 60, 6, and 52 licenses granted in 2017, respectively. There were two active mines in Greenland. Construction of the White mountain feldspar (anorthosite) mining facility, which was started in 2016, was completed in november 2018. The mine was scheduled for commissioning by hudson resources at the beginning of 2019.
The White mountain mine was expected to produce
200,000 metric tons per year (t/yr) of calcium-rich anorthosite, and plans were in place to increase the mine’s capacity to 500,000 t/yr in the future (Government of Greenland, 2019a, p. 21; 2019b; mining Technology, 2019).
The Citronen lead-zinc project was a high-grade metal project being developed at Citronen Fjord in northern Greenland.
It was operated and owned by Ironbark a/s (a subsidiary of Ironbark Zinc ltd.) and contained one of the world’s largest undeveloped lead-zinc deposits. mineral resources were estimated to be 70.8 million metric tons grading 5.2% zinc and 0.5% lead. When in operation, the mine was expected to produce 200,000 t/yr of zinc and 20,000 t/yr of lead, and the preliminary estimated mine life was 14 years. The mining permit was granted in December 2016, and the updated feasibility study was completed in september 2017. In 2018, project logistics work and other activities were conducted to prepare for large-scale construction in 2019 (Government of Greenland, 2018c, p. 2; ns energy, 2019).
Greenland minerals and energy ltd. owned the kvanefjeld project, a substantial rare-earth-element deposit, and the company was in the final stages of obtaining the necessary permits. similarly, the Tanbreez project, which was owned by Tanbreez mining Greenland a/s, was in the process of obtaining a mining license for a uranium-free rare-earth- element mine at kringlerne. although the ore bodies were identified and international funding was available, the ultimate decisions regarding actual production would rely heavily on public approval and permit acceptance (Government of Greenland, 2018b; Greenland minerals and energy ltd., 2018;
Tanbreez, 2019).
Outlook
Greenland’s mineral reserves are well documented and have attracted international investment for quite some time, and they are expected to continue to do so in the future. The Government of Greenland has carried out several resource assessments throughout the ice-free land mass of Greenland, recognizing Greenland’s potential to diversify the national economy through mineral extraction. rare earths could become a major commodity in the country’s mineral sector if the kvanefjeld project and the Tanbreez project are developed successfully in the future.
References Cited
Geological survey of Denmark and Greenland, 2017, mineral resources assessment: Copenhagen, Denmark, Geological survey of Denmark and Greenland. (accessed July 29, 2018, at http://www.geus.dk/Uk/
mineral-resources/eval-raw-materials/Pages/default.aspx.)
Government of Greenland, 2018a, minerals and petroleum license map:
nuuk, Greenland, Government of Greenland. (accessed July 30, 2018, at https://asiaq.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=819ff201b7 6f44f99b31da7ef630c18e&locale=en.)
Government of Greenland, 2018b, mineral resource assessment: nuuk, Greenland, Government of Greenland. (accessed July 30, 2018, at https://govmin.gl/en/our-projects/mineral-resource-assessment-project.) Government of Greenland, 2018c, minex no. 51 mineral exploration
newsletter: nuuk, Greenland, Government of Greenland, 15 p. (accessed august 23, 2019, at https://govmin.gl/images/Documents/minex_newsletter/
minex51.pdf.)
Government of Greenland, 2019a, list of mineral and petroleum licences in Greenland: nuuk, Greenland, Government of Greenland, July 1, 21 p.
(accessed august 21, 2019, at https://govmin.gl/images/Documents/
Current_licences_and_activities/list_of_licences_01-07-2019.pdf.) Government of Greenland, 2019b, Producing mines: nuuk, Greenland,
Government of Greenland. (accessed august 21, 2019, at https://govmin.gl/
en/mining-and-exploration-projects/producing-mines.)
Greenland minerals and energy ltd., 2018, our story: subiaco, Western australia, australia, Greenland minerals and energy ltd. (accessed July 30, 2018, at http://www.ggg.gl/.)
Greenland ruby a/s, 2018, Break through [sic] for ruby miner: new York, new York, Greenland ruby a/s press release, may 23. (accessed
July 30, 2018, at https://www.greenlandruby.gl/press_releases/break-through- for-ruby-miner/.)
hudson resources Inc., 2018a, mining the way to green products: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hudson resources Inc. (accessed July 20, 2018, at https://hudsonresourcesinc.com/.)
hudson resources Inc., 2018b, Products: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hudson resources Inc. (accessed July 20, 2018, at https://hudsonresourcesinc.com/products/.)
mining Technology, 2019, White mountain anorthosite project: london, United kingdom, mining Technology. (accessed august 19, 2019, at https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/white-mountain-anorthosite- project/.)
ns energy, 2019, Citronen lead-zinc project: london, United kingdom, ns energy. (accessed august 23, 2019, at https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/
projects/citronen-lead-zinc-project/.)
Statistics Greenland, 2019, Greenland in figures 2019: Nuuk, Greenland, statistics Greenland, may, 40 p. (accessed august 23, 2019, at http://www.stat.gl/publ/en/GF/2019/pdf/Greenland%20in%20Figures%20 2019.pdf.)
Tanbreez, 2019, key project features: south Perth, Western australia, australia, Tanbreez. (accessed august 21, 2019, at http://tanbreez.com/en/project- overview/key-project-features/.)
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Cement, hydraulic 2,825r 3,047r 3,404r 3,554 3,343
Clay:
Bentonite, including plastic clay 360 329 322 441 429
Other 511 627 837 816 1,060
Diatomite3 437 469r 421r 406 366
Lime 61r, e 60r, e 64r, e 69 69
Sand and gravel, industrial, quartz 403 459 502 536 521
Stone, sand and gravel, construction:
Sand and gravel, unspecified 34,331r 37,835r 38,978r 41,339 39,713
Stone, size and shape unspecified:
Chalk 996e 973e 1,030e 1,058 1,197
Granite 206 216 214 262 496
Limestone 2,970e 2,900e 3,080e 3,316 3,311
Sulfur, byproduct, natural gas and petroleum, S content metric tons 4,435 4,447r 6,144r 4,004 4,194
Peat, including sphagnum metric tons 169,075 137,374 143,538 94,224 187,568
Petroleum, crude thousand 42-gallon barrels 60,375r 57,068r 51,424r 49,917 41,697
3Data represent Danish extracted moler.
TABLE 1
DENMARK: PRODUCTION OF MINERAL COMMODITIES1 (Thousand metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified) Commodity2
INDUSTRIAL MINERALS
MINERAL FUELS AND RELATED MATERIALS
eEstimated. rRevised.
1Table includes data available through August 8, 2019. All data are reported unless otherwise noted. Estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits.
2In addition to the commodities listed, kaolin, refined petroleum products, salt, and semimanufactured steel may have been produced, but available information was inadequate to make reliable estimates of output.
Major operating companies Annual
and major equity owners Location of main facilities capacity
Cement:
Gray Aalborg Portland A/S (Cementir Holding S.p.A.) Plant at Rordal 2,100
White do. do. 850
Chalk (calcium carbonate) Faxe Kalkbrud A/S (Lhuist Group S.A.) Quarries at Stevns and Sigerslev 450
Do. Dankalk A/S Quarries at Aggersund, Mjels, Poulstrup, and Batum 750 e
Diatomite (moler) Imerys Industrial Minerals Denmark A/S1 Quarries on Mors and Fur Islands 580
(Imerys Group)
Lime Faxe Kalkbrud A/S (Lhuist Group S.A.) Plant at Stubberup, near Fakse, on Zealand Island 200
Natural gas million cubic meters Maersk Olie og Gas A/S (Total S.A.) Roar and Tyra Gasfields in the Danish North Sea 5,000 Petroleum:
Crude barrels per day Dansk Undergrunds Consortium2 16 fields in the Danish North Sea 97,000
(A.P. Møller- Mærsk, 31.2%; Royal Dutch Shell plc., 36.8%; Nordsøfonden, 20.0%;
Chevron Corp., 12.0%)
Do. do. Hess Corp., 65.1%; INEOS Energy A/S, 1 field (South Arne) in the Danish North Sea 11,000 36.8%; Danoil A/S 1.7%
Do. do. INEOS Energy A/S 5 fields in the Danish North Sea 6,000
Refined do. Dansk Shell A/S (Royal Dutch Shell plc. 100%) Fredericia 63,000
Do. do. Equinor Refining Denmark A/S3 Kalundborg 110,000
Salt Akzo Nobel A/S Mine (brine) at Hvornum, plant at Mariager 1,000
Steel, semimanufactures NLMK DanSteel A/S (NLMK International Plant at Frederiksvaerk 500
BV, 100%)
Feldspar Hudson Resources Inc. Mine and plant at White Mountain (Qaqortorsuaq) 200 e
Gemstone, ruby Greenland Ruby A/S4 Aappaluttoq Mine near Qeqertarsuatsiaat NA
Gold AEX Gold Inc.5 Nalunaq Mine at Nanortalik NA
5Mine was placed under administration and operations were suspended in 2013.
4Mine began production in May 2017.
Country or locality and commodity
eEstimated. Do., do. Ditto. NA Not available.
2Maersk Olie og Gas A/S was the operator for all Dansk Undergrunds Consortium activities.
DENMARK
GREENLAND
1Formerly Damolin A/S.
3In May 2018, the company changed its name from Statoil Refining Denmark A/S to Equinor Refining Denmark A/S.
TABLE 2
DENMARK AND GREENLAND: STRUCTURE OF THE MINERAL INDUSTRIES IN 2018 (Thousand metric tons unless otherwise specified)