"The zinc and lead (mines) will be opening this October," she said late on Tuesday, adding that construction of the aluminium smelter should be complete by 2014.

Greenland, a self governing province of Denmark, has been mining gold and olivin -- a material used to strengthen steel-- since 2005 and 2006 respectively, she said.

Eight of the world's largest oil companies are already exploring the country's western coast, she said.

"We know there is oil in Greenland. You can touch it coming out of the mountain," she said, noting that production dates would depend on the explorers' success.

She said that boosting the oil and minerals sector would mean increased pollution risks as well as the possible inundation by foreigners of Greenland's 56,000 population.

"It definitely puts us in a dilemma," she said, adding that the oil and mineral wealth would reduce dependence on Denmark, which provides 420 million Euros (US$660.2 million) in subsidies every year.

"Greenland wants to be politically independent from Denmark," she said.

Greenland also needs to adapt to the loss of livelihoods caused by rising sea temperatures and melting ice, she said.

"Our whales are migrating different, our birds are migrating different, the salmon are in a different place -- our hunters are having difficulty," she said.

"We can no longer count on quotas for our fisheries. It is important for us to adapt," she said on the sidelines of a biodiversity meeting.

Melting ice means that polar bears -- who need the ice to hunt seals -- must travel further and further to look for food, travelling all over Greenland.

"Now we even have polar bears in the capital," she said.

Keen to reduce their reliance on oil, Greenland is also seeking to boost its hydroenergy, Hammond said.

"I would say approximately 60 percent of the power we have today is based on hydropower," she said. "The cabinet of Greenland is aiming for 100 percent."

(Editing by Christopher Johnson)