Speaker 1: From Schwartz Media. I'm Daniel James. This is seven am.
Speaker 1: Julie Bishop built her career as a politician representing Australia
Speaker 1: on the world stage. Now she's taken on a new
Speaker 1: lobbying role, working for a company with ties to the
Speaker 1: Chinese government trying to mine uranium in Greenland. Her kit
Speaker 1: comes at a time when China and the US are
Speaker 1: ramping up their fight for domination in the Arctic, and
Speaker 1: if she's successful, the benefit will flow to China. Today
Speaker 1: contributed to the Saturday Paper, Ben Abbottangelo on the mind
Speaker 1: that could ruin Greenland and what it means for Australia's
Speaker 1: national interest. It's Monday, March ten, Ben, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1: How did you get on the Greenland Yeah?
Speaker 2: I mean Greenland came into everyone's consciousness when Donald Trump
Speaker 2: was reelected and he continually mused about his desire to
Speaker 2: acquire the tiny micro state.
Speaker 3: Well, we need Greenland for national security purposes. I've been
Speaker 3: told that for a long time, long before I even ran.
Speaker 3: I mean people have been talking about it for a
Speaker 3: long time.
Speaker 2: He also doubled down on that at the State of
Speaker 2: the Union most recently.
Speaker 3: And I also have a message tonight for the incredible
Speaker 3: people of Greenland.
Speaker 2: Reaffirming his position that he'd love to acquire it, either
Speaker 2: by economic coercion or force.
Speaker 3: And I think we're going to get it one way
Speaker 3: or the other. We're going to get it. We will
Speaker 3: keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together
Speaker 3: we will take Greenland to haights like you have never
Speaker 3: thought possible before. It's a very small.
Speaker 2: Plot, and so I started looking into the region and
Speaker 2: quickly realized that Greenland, while it has an incredibly sparse population,
Speaker 2: has a vast stretch of land which is incredibly rich
Speaker 2: with critical minerals and incredibly important from a military perspective
Speaker 2: as well.
Speaker 1: And we know that the race for critical minerals is
Speaker 1: really heating up. Can you tell me a little bit
Speaker 1: more about the opportunity that Trump sees in Greenland.
Speaker 2: Yes, there's a few things that play here. The first
Speaker 2: point of context is is that the Arctic is incredibly
Speaker 2: important for the major players Russia, China, the United States
Speaker 2: to be able to control, communicate, and coordinate all of
Speaker 2: the satellites that are responsible for many of the things
Speaker 2: that we're accustomed to today. But why Greenland is really
Speaker 2: significant is, according to a recent Danish study thirty one
Speaker 2: of thirty four materials defined as critical by the EU,
Speaker 2: like lithium and titanium, are found in Greenland. It's also
Speaker 2: incredibly rich with uranium and thought orium, and with the
Speaker 2: rising temperatures, the ice on Greenland is starting to recede.
Speaker 2: It means that the abundance of rare earth minerals deposited
Speaker 2: there are becoming more accessible. So there's already huge vested
Speaker 2: interests that are circling Greenland. People like Bill Gates and
Speaker 2: Jeff Bezos are investors in mining projects there, and also
Speaker 2: people like Howard Lutnik, who is Trump's Commerce secretary.
Speaker 4: A band of billionaires from Jeff Bezos to Michael Bloomberg
Speaker 4: and Bill Gates is all betting that below the surface
Speaker 4: of the hills and valleys on Greenland's Disco Island and
Speaker 4: Nusuwak Peninsula there's enough nickel, cobalt, and carpet to power
Speaker 4: hundreds of millions of electric vehicles.
Speaker 2: But beyond those big names is a small Australian mining
Speaker 2: company that is also looking to exploit an incredibly rich
Speaker 2: deposit in the southern part of Greenland. And not only that,
Speaker 2: they're actually trying to sue the government there to get
Speaker 2: these interests off the ground.
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about this Australian company then, who
Speaker 1: are they and what are they trying to do in Greenland?
Speaker 2: Yeah? So, Energy Transition Minerals is a junior mining company.
Speaker 2: They're Melbourne based listed on the ASX.
Speaker 5: And I'm excited to be joined by someone I haven't
Speaker 5: actually spoken to you, Daniel Mavedo Blanco of Energy Transition Minerals.
Speaker 5: An exciting new company that is exploring in different assets
Speaker 5: areas of Western Europe, North America and obviously in Greenland.
Speaker 2: Now they have one major interest in the south of
Speaker 2: Greenland called the Cavanafeld Project.
Speaker 5: Jow us a brief overview.
Speaker 6: Absolutely so. Our major project is the Quaniafield project. It's
Speaker 6: located in Greenland, the southern Battle of Greenland.
Speaker 2: This project has the capacity to supply fifteen percent of
Speaker 2: the world's rare earth elements for advanced technology, manufacturing and
Speaker 2: advanced weaponry. So as a single deposit it is really significant.
Speaker 6: Then, making it one of the largest rare earth projects
Speaker 6: outside of China.
Speaker 2: Wow So, and the wake of Donald Trump's reelection, their
Speaker 2: share price over the following weeks surged by four hundred percent.
Speaker 2: But what's important to know about energy transition minerals is
Speaker 2: its deep links to CCP linked financiers and companies.
Speaker 1: Yes, so the CCP the Chinese Communist Party. What are
Speaker 1: China's interests in Greenland and ETM in particular.
Speaker 2: Yes, there's a few things that play here. The first
Speaker 2: point of context is that China dominates the rare earth's
Speaker 2: supply chain, and what a couple of Chinese linked companies
Speaker 2: are doing is they find predominantly junior mining companies around
Speaker 2: the world that have leases or exploitation lasners over critical
Speaker 2: mineral deposits. What they then look to do is put
Speaker 2: in place agreements that allow them to obtain all of
Speaker 2: the minerals that are extracted from those deposits so that
Speaker 2: they all go back to China for processing, which enables
Speaker 2: them to maintain their monopoly over that critical minerals supply chain.
Speaker 2: But beyond that, military experts are saying that in these
Speaker 2: strategic areas like Greenland, that there's a military component to it.
Speaker 2: The region is just critical for spacecraft and they want
Speaker 2: to be able to put dual senses and other technology
Speaker 2: in there that can enable them to effectively capture intelligence
Speaker 2: of their adversaries and potentially through time, be able to
Speaker 2: also sabotage them.
Speaker 1: Right, so we've got ATM connected with Chinese interests looking
Speaker 1: to mine Greenland for its rare minerals. But in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one that was derailed.
Speaker 2: It was derailed. So in twenty twenty one the opposition
Speaker 2: party effectively went to the polls with a central promise
Speaker 2: that they would ban this proja due to fears about
Speaker 2: its close proximity to local populations, the very real concerns
Speaker 2: that it would have when it comes to people's health,
Speaker 2: the tourism sector, the environment itself, and they won the election.
Speaker 5: Now, why has development of the project been held up recently?
Speaker 6: Well, the main reason is the introduction of the Uranium
Speaker 6: Act or Act twenty by the Government of Greenland that
Speaker 6: came in.
Speaker 2: And what that meant for energy transition Minerals and their
Speaker 2: Cavanifeld project is that it was immediately halted.
Speaker 5: So it's a bit to navigate there right now.
Speaker 6: Absolutely, but we've got a great team. We're working with
Speaker 6: worldwide experts in conflict resolution and getting around that issue.
Speaker 1: Getting around that issue. What does that mean? How has
Speaker 1: ETM responded.
Speaker 2: Etm's response was quite litigious. They've lodged a statement of
Speaker 2: claim in the courts and they are looking to sue
Speaker 2: the Greenland and Denmark governments for a aggering eleven point
Speaker 2: five billion dollars US, which is approximately four times Greenlands
Speaker 2: annual GDP, and they have retained the services of Australia's
Speaker 2: former Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop to support that.
Speaker 1: After the break, what Julie Bishop got the job?
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Speaker 1: Ben, You've been looking into this Australian mining company with
Speaker 1: links to China say they've hired former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
Speaker 1: Can you tell me about that?
Speaker 8: Hmm.
Speaker 2: So, Julie Bishop was hired in January of this year.
Speaker 2: It was off the back of Donald Trump's reelection. The
Speaker 2: company noted Bishop would provide support and counsel to its
Speaker 2: board to negotiate a win win, and it explicitly referenced
Speaker 2: her time as former Foreign minister when describing I suppose
Speaker 2: the contribution that she would make, saying she had quote
Speaker 2: an outstanding track record of working with governments around the
Speaker 2: world to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes.
Speaker 1: Yes, so Julie Bishop's track record. She was Minister for
Speaker 1: Foreign Affairs for five years. As she's talked about her
Speaker 1: encounters with Trump in that time, so some strategic advantages
Speaker 1: for ETM there. Did you meet Donald Trump?
Speaker 8: Yes, yes, Donald Alina.
Speaker 1: I know you have to be diplomatic. I met the.
Speaker 8: President on a number of occasions. He is unorthodox, he's
Speaker 8: very confident, self confident and again because I was Australia's
Speaker 8: Foreign Minister, he was very warm and welcoming.
Speaker 1: But since retiring from politics, she's moved into the university
Speaker 1: sector and she's currently the chancellor of a and U.
Speaker 8: It is a great honor to take up the role
Speaker 8: of chancellor of Australian National University. Without doubt, A and
Speaker 8: U is world class in terms of education.
Speaker 1: That she can have this lobbying gig on top of
Speaker 1: her roll there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great question. And I spoke with Jeffrey
Speaker 2: Watson sc who is a director at the Center of
Speaker 2: Public Integrity, and he was astonished that not only a
Speaker 2: former Foreign Minister, but also the Chancellor of a and
Speaker 2: you would use her skills and reputation on a project
Speaker 2: like this, and just asked, you know what's for sale here?
Speaker 2: Is it Julie's reputation? Is it Australia's reputation? And I suppose,
Speaker 2: Yet it raises much broader questions around the very real
Speaker 2: fact that before this uranium band was put in place,
Speaker 2: all of the indicators were that all of the uranium
Speaker 2: and thorium that was extracted out of this project was
Speaker 2: going to go to China, was going to be processed
Speaker 2: by companies that are designated as advancing the modernization aims
Speaker 2: of China. What does that mean for Australia. So we
Speaker 2: made repeated efforts to understand if the Australian National University
Speaker 2: was aware of Miss Bishop's role with ETM, but they
Speaker 2: declined to comment. We also asked Penny Wong So, the
Speaker 2: current Foreign Minister, if there was a concern that her
Speaker 2: predecessor was working with companies that have been deemed to
Speaker 2: be out of line with Aushowia's national interest. But she
Speaker 2: also declined to comment, and we also reached out to
Speaker 2: the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, but the Treasurer also declined to comment,
Speaker 2: so no one.
Speaker 1: Wanted to talk to you about it. What do you
Speaker 1: think that says about politicians leaving office and taking these
Speaker 1: types of lobbying gigs where the benefit to Australia is
Speaker 1: actually quite questionable. What does that tell you?
Speaker 2: It just makes me think that all persuasions, it feels
Speaker 2: within Australian politics are okay with leaving office and using
Speaker 2: the skills, the influence, the gravitas, the networks, the rolodecks
Speaker 2: that they've acquired during those roles to further advance their
Speaker 2: own aspirations. Christopher Pine was integral in defense and then
Speaker 2: is now a defense contractor. I mean, we think of
Speaker 2: Scott Morrison as well, who was bounced into a whole
Speaker 2: range of roles that are linked to Orcus and many
Speaker 2: other significant policies that his government pushed through. I think
Speaker 2: everyone deserves to have a life post politics, but I
Speaker 2: think it's really alarming that you can use what you've
Speaker 2: acquired during that time.
Speaker 1: So back to Greenland. The litigation is underway. This Australian
Speaker 1: government is suing the Greenland government. Julie Bishop is lobbying
Speaker 1: for them. So where do you expect this to land.
Speaker 2: Ben, So we're on the eve of Greenland's election. The
Speaker 2: current party that is seeking reelection has doubled down on
Speaker 2: the fact that it will maintain the uranium ban. But
Speaker 2: the opposition party who is putting itself forward for this
Speaker 2: election has refused to say whether or not they will
Speaker 2: keep or repeal that uranium ban. So it is high
Speaker 2: stakes for Greenlanders and for energy transition minerals and Julie Bishop.
Speaker 2: And I suppose there's still those circling question marks around
Speaker 2: the US, China, Russia who all want to have their
Speaker 2: noses in the Greenland trough.
Speaker 1: I didn't see Greenland on my Bingo card ticket this
Speaker 1: year as being the talking point that it is. But
Speaker 1: thank you for your reporting and thank you for coming
Speaker 1: in and speaking to us.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: You can read Ben Abbotangelo and Rochel Hoffman's story about
Speaker 1: Julie Bishop and the Greenland mining project at The Saturday
Speaker 1: Paper dot com dot A. You also in the news today.
Speaker 1: Six soldiers have serious injuries after an accident near Lismore
Speaker 1: on Saturday night. Two military trucks rolledwide doing clearance work
Speaker 1: in the flood affected area. The soldiers from the Gallipoli
Speaker 1: Barracks in Brisbane are now being treated in the hospital
Speaker 1: to aur in a serious condition. And Wa Premier Roger
Speaker 1: Cook has won his first election as premier as Labour
Speaker 1: swept a victory in the state election for a third
Speaker 1: consecutive time. The ABC election analyst to Anthony Green sa
Speaker 1: that the result was disastrous for the Liberal Party and
Speaker 1: pointed to a significant recovery in the Greens vote after
Speaker 1: the party underperformed last time around. I'm Daniel James. This
Speaker 1: is seven am. We'll be back tomorrow. Don't anything you