Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Greenland, a home-governing Danish territory, decided in a referendum to increase independence from its former colonial master as it attempts to create an economy based on natural resources.

A total of 75.54 percent voted “yes” to the proposal, which was drafted jointly by Danish and Greenlandic politicians, Greenland’s Nuuk-based home rule office said on its Web site. The referendum, held yesterday, drew 28,268 voters for a turnout of 71.96 percent.

Under the proposal, the population of 56,000 will keep annual subsidies from Denmark that account for half of public spending, while receiving almost full control of natural resources, including oil, gold, zinc and lead. The vote, which also recognized Greenlandic Inuit natives as a people, will lead to a future referendum on complete independence from Denmark, Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen has said.

“Our forefathers are in my thoughts on this historic day,” he said in a statement today. “Their indomitable spirit has moved me so deeply that tears of joy are running down my cheeks.”

All opinion polls before the vote had indicated the “yes” side would win. Greenland’s parliament will now draft the proposal into law for it to be passed in the Greenlandic and Danish national assemblies.

Fishing Industry

The economy of Greenland, the world’s largest island, is almost totally dependent on its fishing industry, which makes up about 90 percent of exports, as well as the annual 3.2 billion- krone ($540 million) subsidy from Denmark, equivalent to a third of gross domestic product.

“I welcome the result with joy and note that the proposal found great resonance among the Greenlandic population as underlined by the high voter turnout,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Denmark’s prime minister, said in an e-mailed statement. The Danish parliament will approve the result in February, he said.

Some economists and politicians in Greenland have argued that economic independence is still a long way off after corporate interest in Arctic resources has cooled following a plunge in commodity prices and an increase in borrowing costs.

Crew Gold Corp., based in Vancouver, Canada, shut down its Greenland gold mine this month after the metal lost 24 percent in value since March. York, U.K.-based Angus & Ross Plc. dropped plans to open a zinc mine in August.

Opposition

The Democrats, Greenland’s fourth-biggest party, were the only political faction to urge voters to reject the proposal, arguing that the cost of running the government units would be too high for Greenland’s economy and that Denmark would receive too large a chunk of the future proceeds from natural resources.

Under the agreement approved yesterday, Greenland will get the first 75 million kroner of annual income from resources while the two governments will split additional proceeds until Denmark has received an equivalent of the annual subsidies it pays. Greenland will get all additional proceeds after that.

“Greenland needs to generate income that exceeds the current annual subsidies from Denmark to become economically independent, and that will take some time,” Martin Kviesgaard, chief executive officer of Nuuk-based Groenlandsbanken, the island’s biggest bank, said in an interview last week.

Greenland was a Danish colony from 1721 to 1979, when Denmark granted the Arctic island partial self-governance under the so-called Home Rule Act.

Enoksen has said Greenland may hold a referendum on full independence within 12 years.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Wienberg in Copenhagen at cwienberg@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 26, 2008 07:12 EST