Inside the Race for Greenland’s Billions in Rare Earth Minerals | Global News Avenue

Deep in Greenland’s melting ice sheet is the treasure house of rare earth elements, from electric vehicles to wind turbines. President Donald Trump claims that the United States should get the territory that has attracted widespread attention, and the mineral wealth of Greenland is an important reason.

Although China has dominated global supply, at least 70 % of production is controlled, Greenland’s deposit has attracted strong interest in the United States and the European Union, and they are competing to ensure the source of these key materials.

Grade Politics of Greenland

Work hard to unlock Greenland Rare earth Under the complex background of international relations. Denmark provides about $ 500 million (more than $ 8,000 per resident) to Greenland each year, which makes the world’s largest islands relying on Denmark’s support to a large extent. However, this did not prevent other global power from paying attention to its strategic value. Trump restored his interest in getting the territory, and his Republican allies worked hard to authorize to negotiate with Denmark in Congress.

But Greenland’s value far exceeds its mineral wealth. The island’s shortest route along Europe and North America makes it important to the US military interests, especially for the ballistic missile warning system. According to a agreement with Denmark in 1951, the United States has permanently existed in the Pituffik Air Force Base in Greenland, Northwest. It has been seeking to expand its military footprint to monitor the Russian Navy activities between Greenland, Iceland and Britain.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egende emphasized that “Greenland is not sold”, but a investigation in 2023 shows that Greenland has 25 European committees of 34 minerals considers “key raw materials.” This has led to competitive interests from multiple powers: China seeks offensive, the United States pursues strategic advantages, and the European Union seeks to ensure its supply chain.

Provide key minerals for Tomorrow’s technology

Although China controls nearly 70 % of rare earth production and about 90 % of processing capabilities, Greenland’s sediments represent the potential sources of these important materials. These mineral markets reached $ 320 billion in 2022 (the latest period of reliable data), and since 2017, the demand for certain elements has increased.

These minerals provide a variety of applications for various industries:

• Neon lights and deformities are essential for the powerful permanent magnets created and used Electric car Electric and wind turbine generators.
• Terbium improves the temperature resistance of these magnets and makes it more durable.
• Praseymium enhances the indispensable magnetic properties of high -performance motors.

However, the resources of developing Greenland have brought major challenges. The concentration of rare minerals in the region is relatively low (between 1 % and 6 %) and is more expensive and technically challenging. The harsh Arctic climate increases the complexity of another layer. Broken floating in the winter month to block transportation, and requires complex methods to store and mining.

Bottom line

Although Greenland’s rare earth metal sediments are huge-25 of the 34 key minerals identified by the European Union, it is not easy to see how they destroy China’s dominance in global production soon. The people of Greenland clearly stated that they will determine their future, including their underground deposits. Technical difficulties related to Arctic mining and concerns about the fragile ecosystem are also obstacles. Even if these concerns are thrown aside, the experts put the large -scale mining operations of these metals in about 10 to 15 years.