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Billionaires are searching for critical minerals in Greenland as ice melts

Billionaires are searching for critical minerals in Greenland as ice melts


Nuussuaq, Greenland
CNN
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Some of the world’s richest men are funding a massive treasure hunt, complete with helicopters and transmitters, on the west coast of Greenland.

The climate crisis is melting Greenland down at an unprecedented rate, which – in a twist of irony – is creating an opportunity for investors and mining companies who are searching for a trove of critical minerals capable of powering the green energy transition.

A band of billionaires, including Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates, among others, is betting that below the surface of the hills and valleys on Greenland’s Disko Island and Nuussuaq Peninsula there are enough critical minerals to power hundreds of millions of electric vehicles.

“We are looking for a deposit that will be the first- or second-largest most significant nickel and cobalt deposit in the world,” Kurt House, CEO of Kobold Metals, told CNN.

The Arctic’s disappearing ice – on land and in the ocean – highlights a unique dichotomy: Greenland is ground zero for the impacts of climate change, but it could also become ground zero for sourcing the metals needed to power the solution to the crisis.

The billionaire club is financially backing Kobold Metals, a mineral exploration company and California-based startup, the company’s representatives told CNN. Bezos, Bloomberg and Gates did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment on this story. Kobold is partnered with Bluejay Mining to find the rare and precious metals in Greenland that are necessary to build electric vehicles and massive batteries to store renewable energy.

Thirty geologists, geophysicists, cooks, pilots and mechanics are camped at the site where Kobold and Blujay are searching for the buried treasure. CNN is the first media outlet with video of the activity happening there.

A Kobold Metals worker in Greenland.

The Greenland coastline.

Crews are taking soil samples, flying drones and helicopters with transmitters to measure the electromagnetic field of the subsurface and map the layers of rock below. They’re using artificial intelligence to analyze the data to pinpoint exactly where to drill as early as next summer.

“It is a concern to witness the consequences and impacts from the climate changes in Greenland,” Bluejay Mining CEO Bo Møller Stensgaard told CNN. “But, generally speaking, climate changes overall have made exploration and mining in Greenland easier and more accessible.”

Stensgaard said that because climate change is making ice-free periods in the sea longer, teams are able to ship in heavy equipment and ship out metals out to the global market more easily.

Melting sea ice around Greenland has made it easier for the mining industry to ship equipment in and materials out.

Melting land ice is exposing land that has been buried under ice for centuries to millennia – but could now become a potential site for mineral exploration.

“As these trends continue well into the future, there is no question more land will become accessible and some of this land may carry the potential for mineral development,” Mike Sfraga, the chair of the United States Arctic Research Commission, told CNN.

Greenland could be a hot spot for coal, copper, gold, rare-earth elements and zinc, according to the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. The government of Greenland, according to the agency, has done several “resource assessments throughout the ice-free land” and the government “recognizes the country’s potential to diversify the national economy through mineral extraction.”

Sfraga said that pro-mining stance is not without regard for the environment, which is central to Greenland’s culture and livelihood.

“The government of Greenland supports the responsible, sustainable, and economically viable development of their natural resources to include mining of a broad range of minerals,” Sfraga said.

A Bluejay Mining employee digs during exploration for critical minerals in Greenland.

Stensgaard noted that these critical minerals will “provide part of the solution to meet these challenges” that the climate crisis presents.

In the meantime, Greenland’s vanishing ice – which is pushing sea level higher – is a great concern for scientists who study the Arctic.

“The big concern for Arctic sea ice is that it’s been disappearing over the last several decades its predicted to potentially disappear in 20 to 30 years,” Nathan Kurtz, a NASA scientist who studies sea ice, told CNN. “In the fall, what used to be Arctic ice cover year-round is now just going to be seasonal ice cover.”

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Four Muslim men were killed in Albuquerque. Here’s what we know about them

The recent killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque have shaken the city. Here's what we know



CNN
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After ambush-style shootings of three Muslim men and the recent killing of a fourth in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Muslim community in the city is on edge and fearful.

A well-liked city worker who had aspirations of a future in politics and a proud new US citizen are among the victims of a spree of police shootings say they may be related.

The killings of Mohammad Ahmadi, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, Aftab Hussein and Naeem Hussain have one obvious commonality though: They were all South Asian Muslims, according to Albuquerque police.

The three most recent killings happened within the span of two weeks, with local and national Muslim groups warning residents to remain vigilant. They’ve also put a spotlight on an unsolved homicide from November 2021.

Here’s what we know about the lives lost. CNN will continue to update this story with more details as we learn them:

Mohammed Ahmadi.

Mohammad Ahmadi was shot and killed outside of a business he and his brother ran together in November 2021, according to CNN affiliate KOAT.

Ahmadi was from Afghanistan, police said.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain.

Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain had been living with his brother, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, in the same apartment complex for almost five years and had never had any problems.

The brothers came to the US on student visas, studying at the University of New Mexico, and they would often take early morning or late night walks to the university library without any fear for their safety – until now.

Afzaal Hussain was shot, killed and found on a sidewalk on August 1, his face distorted from gunshot wounds, Imtiaz Hussain said.

“This is not a random killing,” said Imtiaz Hussain, who had to witness his brother’s wounds himself. “This is extremely motivated and extreme hatred.”

Afzaal Hussain was loved by everyone and a student leader excited for a future in politics once he gained US citizenship.

“We are in extreme fear,” Imtiaz Hussain said. “Living in this place is very painful.”

Hussain worked on the planning team for the city of Española. He had studied law and human resource management at the University of Punjab in Pakistan before receiving both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in community and regional planning from the University of New Mexico, according to a news release from Española Mayor John Ramon Vigil.

“Muhammad was soft-spoken and kind, and quick to laugh,” Vigil said in a news release last Wednesday. “He was well-respected and well-liked by his coworkers and members of the community.”

Naem Hussain.

Naeem Hussain, 25, had been a US citizen for less than a month when he became the latest shooting victim found by Albuquerque police officers just before midnight Friday.

His brother-in-law Ehsan Shahalami identified Hussian to CNN Sunday and said he had migrated as a refugee from Pakistan in 2016 – fleeing persecution as a Shia Muslim.

“He had a lot of dreams and he accomplished some of them,” Shahalami said. “His others of him were cut short by this heinous act.”

Hours before his own death, Hussain attended a funeral for two of the recent victims and expressed concern about the shootings, said Tahir Gauba, spokesperson for the Islamic Center of New Mexico.

Hussain worked as a truck driver for several years from Albuquerque, a job he took immense pride in, according to Shahalami.

“He was not even a citizen at the time but he would say, ‘This is our country, these people need us more than any other time,’ so he drove extra shifts to keep things rolling,” Shahalami said.

After becoming a US citizen, Hussain opened his own trucking business, had plans to bring over his wife from Pakistan and was interested in buying property in Virginia, according to Shahalami.

“He was the most generous, kind, giving, patient, and down-to-earth person that I could ever meet,” he said. “He was very hard working.”

Hussain wasn’t just working to support himself – he would share his earnings with family back home, Shahalami said.

After the funerals Friday, Gauba said, Hussain attended a lunch at the mosque and approached him asking if he had more information on the shootings.

“We (The Islamic Center of New Mexico) thought after burial of these two young men (on Friday), we would have closure and move on and let law enforcement investigate,” Gauba said. “Waking up Saturday morning to his (Naeem Hussain) death, the whole community just feels helpless. There’s a lot of fear.”

About 700 to 800 Muslims on Fridays attend the Islamic Center of New Mexico, the largest mosque in Albuquerque founded in the mid-1970s, according to Gauba.

Aftab Hussein.

Aftab Hussein was a Muslim man from Pakistan, police said.

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The recent killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque have shaken the city. Here’s what we know

The recent killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque have shaken the city. Here's what we know



CNN
—

The ambush-style shootings of three Muslim men and the recent killing of a fourth in Albuquerque have alarmed the city’s Muslim community and triggered warnings for mosque-goers as police investigate how the shootings may be linked.

The killings of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, Aftab Hussein, 41, and Naeem Hussain, 25, all have one commonality: the victims were all Muslim and of South Asian descent, according to Albuquerque police.

The three most recent killings happened within the span of two weeks, putting the city on edge as police probed for potential links between the attacks, and put a spotlight on an unsolved homicide from November 2021.

“While we are still sifting through all the evidence to look for more connections, it is deeply troubling that these three men were Muslim and of similar descent,” deputy commander of Albuquerque Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, Kyle Hartsock, said.

The FBI is assisting with the investigation, and an online portal was set up for residents to upload videos and images which might help authorities investigating the killings. The local Crime Stoppers Board has also voted to increase a reward for information leading to an arrest to $20,000.

Police have not come out with any descriptions of a suspect or suspects in the killings. They have, however, said they are seeking “a vehicle of interest,” which may be connected to the four killings. The vehicle is a dark silver sedan-style Volkswagen Jetta or Passat with tinted windows.

Here’s what we know about the killings and the investigation so far:

The most recent of the killings was reported Friday, when Naeem Hussain was found dead by Albuquerque police officers who responded to reports of a shooting just before midnight in the area of ​​Truman Street and Grand Avenue.

After the discovery, Albuquerque police said the homicide “may be connected” to three previous killings of Muslim men from South Asia.

Those three men – Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, Aftab Hussein and Mohammad Ahmadi – were all “ambushed with no warning, fired on and killed,” Hartsock previously said.

Two of them, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and Aftab Hussein, were both Pakistani men and were killed in Southeast Albuquerque near Central Avenue. Police said they “determined there is a connection” between those two deaths.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain was shot and killed on Aug. 1. He was found on a sidewalk in the area of ​​Cornell Street and Lead Avenue.

Just days before, on July 26, Aftab Hussein was found with apparent gunshot wounds in the 400 block of Rhode Island. He later died as a result of his injuries, police said.

As investigators probed the recent killings, they turned their attention to the Nov. 7, 2021, homicide of Mohammad Ahmadi, a Muslim man from Afghanistan who was killed outside a business he ran with his brother on San Mateo Boulevard.

Naeem Hussain migrated as a refugee from Pakistan in 2016 – fleeing persecution as a Shia Muslim – and had just become a US citizen last month, according to his brother-in-law, Ehsan Shahalami.

He opened his own trucking business this year and was described as being a kind, generous and hardworking person.

The day he was killed, he had attended a funeral for the two recent victims and expressed fear about the shootings, according to a spokesman with a mosque in Albuquerque.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain worked on the planning team for the city of Española. He had studied law and human resource management at the University of Punjab in Pakistan before receiving both master’s and bachelor degrees in community and regional planning from the University of New Mexico, according to a news release from the mayor.

“Muhammad was soft-spoken and kind, and quick to laugh,” Major John Ramon Vigil said in a news release last Wednesday. “He was well-respected and well-liked by his coworkers and members of the community.”

Few details have been released about the two other victims. Police said Mohammad Ahmadi was a Muslim man from Afghanistan and Aftab Hussein was a Muslim man from Pakistan.

So far, police have released a flyer showing a “vehicle of interest” in all four killings. But it remains unclear who the car belongs to, or how they are potentially connected to the attacks.

Police said the vehicle “is suspected as being used as a conveyance in recent homicides of 4 Muslim men.”

“We have a very, very strong lead. We have a vehicle of interest … we have got to find this vehicle,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said. “We don’t know at this point what it is associated with, or who owns it.”

While police have not definitively said all four attacks are connected, they have said they are looking into whether it is the case.

“There is one strong commonality in all the victims; the race and religion,” Hartsock said in a Thursday briefing.

Authorities are asking the public to come forward with any information which might help in the investigation. Tips may be submitted to the Albuquerque Metro CrimeStoppers website.

After Friday’s killing, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Saturday she will send additional state police to Albuquerque.

“I am angered and saddened that this is happening in New Mexico, a place that prides itself on diversity of culture and thought. This is not who we are,” Grisham said in a statement. “We will not stop in our pursuit of justice for the victims and their families and are bringing every resource to bear to apprehend the killer or killers – and we WILL find them.”

The attacks have also drawn condemnation from President Joe Biden, who said he was “angered and saddened” by the attacks.

“While we await a full investigation, my prayers are with the victims’ families, and my Administration stands strongly with the Muslim community,” Biden wrote on Twitter.

The city is now increasing police presence at mosques, Muslim-affiliated schools and the University of New Mexico.

“Albuquerque is on edge right now, and I want to be clear that we, and our partners across law enforcement, are directing every possible resource to these cases. We will protect our community and bring the perpetrator of these crimes to justice. We unequivocally denounce these senseless killings and stand with our Muslim community against intolerance and violence in every form,” said Keller.

“We have heard from the community that the fear is so strong, there is a concern about even things like groceries and getting meals for certain folks in certain areas of town,” Keller said in a weekend briefing. “Our senior affairs department and our community safety department is going to be providing meals as long as we need, to anyone who needs a meal who is affected by this tragedy.”

Meanwhile, local and national Muslim groups have been warning residents to be cautious.

“We urge everyone to take precautions and be aware of your surroundings including making sure that you are not being followed home and avoid walking alone at night,” Islamic Center of New Mexico posted on Facebook. “This is especially true for our members living in the southeast part of the city where these killings have taken place.”

The center said while there is no evidence its mosque is being targeted, it is still taking steps to provide additional security measures.

“The lives of Albuquerque Muslims are in danger. Whoever is responsible for this horrific, hateful shooting spree must be identified and stopped – now,” stressed Council on American-Islamic Relations National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell.

The Council is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those responsible, the organization announced, calling the series of killings a “horrific, hateful shooting spree.”

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Senate passes long-sought bill to help veterans affected by burn pits

Senate passes long-sought bill to help veterans affected by burn pits



CNN
—

The Senate voted Tuesday night to pass a long-sought bipartisan legislation to expand health care benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service, sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The final vote was 86-11.

Passage of the bill marks the end of a lengthy fight to get the legislation through Congress, as veterans and their advocates had been demonstrating on Capitol Hill for days. Many veterans were allowed into the Senate gallery to watch the final vote on Tuesday evening.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced after reaching the deal with Republicans who had blocked the bill from advancing last week while they sought to add cost-controlling amendment votes to the package.

“I have some good news, the minority leader and I have come to an agreement to vote on the PACT Act this evening,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “I’m very optimistic that this bill will pass so our veterans across America can breathe a sigh of relief.”

The bill, called the Honoring our PACT Act, was approved by the House of Representatives in July.

The bill widely expands health care resources and benefits to those exposed to burn pits and could provide coverage for up to 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans. It adds conditions related to burn pit and toxic exposure, including hypertension, to the Department of Veterans Affair’s list of illnesses that have been incurred or exacerbated during military service.

The legislation had been held up in the chamber since last week when more than two dozen Republicans, who previously supported the measure, temporarily blocked it from advancing.

Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, rallied fellow Republicans to hold up the legislation in exchange for amendment votes, specifically an amendment that would change an accounting provision. Toomey had previously said he wanted an amendment vote with a 50-vote threshold.

Toomey discusses why he voted against bill to help vets exposed to toxic burn pits

Tuesday’s final vote followed votes on three amendments with a 60-vote threshold. Toomey’s amendment, which would have made a change to a budget component of the legislation, failed as expected, in a vote of 47-48.

Last week’s surprise move by Republicans led to a swift backlash among veterans and veterans’ groups, including protests on the US Capitol steps over the weekend and early this week. Comedian and political activist Jon Stewart – a lead advocate for veterans on the issue – took individual GOP senators to task for holding up a bill that had garnered wide bipartisan support in earlier votes.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell defended his party’s handling of the legislation at a news conference on Tuesday.

“Look, these kind of back and forths happen all the time in the legislative process, you’ve observed that over the years,” he said. “I think in the end, the veterans service organizations will be pleased with the final result.”

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments Tuesday.

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PACT Act: VA secretary says Republican-backed amendments to burn pits legislation would lead to ‘rationing of care for vets’

PACT Act: VA secretary says Republican-backed amendments to burn pits legislation would lead to 'rationing of care for vets'



CNN
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Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough on Sunday pushed back against Senate Republicans blocking passage of the administration-backed PACT Act, warning that if the chamber passes GOP senators’ proposed amendment to the legislation aimed at providing care for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, “we may have to ration care for veterans.”

McDonough told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that a proposed amendment from Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey would put “a year-on-year cap” on what the VA can spend to care for veterans suffering from exposure to burn pits and sunsets the fund after 10 years, telling Tapper, “I can’t, in good conscience, do that, because the outcome of that will be rationing of care for vets, which is something I just can’t sign on.”

“This has been the No. 1 priority for President Biden,” McDonough said, touting executive action steps the Biden administration has already taken to remove the burden of proof for veterans seeking care for toxic exposure. “I guess what I’d say is, these folks have waited long enough. Let’s just get it done, and also let’s not be for a proposal that places artificial caps on year by year, and then functionally, at the end of those 10 years, makes this fund go away. Let’s not sign up to that, because at the end of the day, the risk of that is going to be rationing of care to veterans.”

On Saturday, McDonough visited people demonstrating at the Capitol in support of the legislation, delivering pizzas to the group, who pledged they would stay overnight. President Joe Biden, who remains in isolation at the White House after testing positive again for Covid-19 on Saturday, told the group via a FaceTime call, “I’ll tell you what, as long as I have a breath in me, I ‘m going to fight to get this done – as long as I have a breath in me.”

Earlier on “State of the Union,” Toomey had defended his decision to lead a group of Republican senators in delaying passage of the bill.

The Pennsylvania Republican accused Democrats of attempting to “sneak in something completely unrelated that they know could never pass on their own” while reiterating that he and his fellow Republicans are “not opposed” to the core provisions of the bill.

“[Democrats] know they’ll unleash their allies in the media and maybe a pseudo-celebrity to make up false accusations to try to get us to just swallow what shouldn’t be there,” Toomey said in an apparent reference to comedian Jon Stewart, a longtime advocate for victims of toxic burn pit exposure who has been vocal since the procedural vote failed.

Toomey’s opposition to the bill centers on the accounting categorization of certain spending in the bill, which he said would “allow our Democratic colleagues to go on an unrelated $400 billion spending spree.” He said he wants a vote on his amendment to change the spending categorization before he agrees to allow the bill to come to a vote.

“We are spending way too much money to use – to hide behind a veterans bill, the opportunity to go on an unrelated $400 billion spending spree is wrong,” Toomey said. “And we shouldn’t allow it.”

When pressed on the text of the legislation that indicates the allocated money has to be spent on health care for veterans who were injured from toxic burn pit exposure, Toomey dismissed that interpretation of the bill.

“This is why they do this sort of thing,” said Toomey, who is not running for reelection this year. “Because it gets very deep in the weeds and very confusing for people very quickly. It’s not really about veteran spending. It’s about what category of government bookkeeping they put the veteran spending in.”

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