New Greenland Ruby Mine Owner Begins Production

New York--Greenland Ruby A/S officially has started its production at the Aappaluttoq ruby mining site in the southwest region of Greenland.

Aappaluttoq is Greenland’s first corundum mine, located about 155 miles south of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. According to the company, the deposit is “primary” type, meaning that the rubies are extracted from hard rock, mainly mica and amphibole.

At this time, it’s too early to know how much ruby and pink sapphire the mine might produce, a spokesperson for the company said.

The area originally was being mined by True North Gems, but the company entered into voluntary bankruptcy in September.

The mining license for the Aappaluttoq Ruby Mine then was awarded to LNS Greenland, an investor in the project, after it made a bid. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Greenland Ruby A/S, its sister company, was established in October to take over the exploitation license and handle the promotion and sales of the mine’s rubies and pink sapphires.

Concurrent with the news that Greenland Ruby has started production at the site, True North provided an update on its bankruptcy proceedings regarding its operating subsidiary in Greenland, True North Gems Greenland A/S.

The company’s management says it believes the “bankruptcy process managed by court-appointed Trustees and supported by the Greenland government was biased, unnecessarily expedited and potentially negligent.”

In response, it formed a special committee to investigate the process and actions of the trustees and the Greenland government to determine if legal action should be taken.

The company’s specific concerns in regards to the proceedings include a conflict of interest of trustees who have business relationships with LNSG, LNS and the Greenland government and a lack of transparency in the bidding process and the criteria on which the decision of which to accept was made, among other factors.

These concerns have been presented to the trustees, True North said, but no response has yet been given. (The court could not be reached for comment or update by press time.)

They also hired Danish counsel Skau Reipurth & Partners to address the bankruptcy trustees and to formally solicit responses to unanswered questions posed by the company’s board of directors.