VOA新闻杂志2022--加企将在格陵兰岛开采稀土矿

Canada-based Company to Open Rare Earth Mine in Greenland

A Canada-based company recently announced its plans to develop a rare earth mineral mine in Greenland. Materials from the mine will be sent to Estonia, which has one of only two plants outside China that processes rare earths to a high degree.

Rare earths are a group of minerals used in making electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics, robots and other machinery¹. China currently processes about 85 percent of the world's rare earths. But increased demand is pushing companies to look for other sources.

Neo Performance Materials is based in Toronto, Canada. The rare earth processing company said recently that it plans to develop the Sarfartoq deposit in southwest Greenland. It will then send the materials to its plant in Estonia in Eastern Europe.

Neo aims to have the mine running in two to three years. It will be the company's first big mining project. Constantine Karayannopoulos, the company's chief said that by opening the mine, he hopes to protect the company from fast-moving rare earth prices, which have increased in recent years due to supply problems and strong demand.

"We're at the mercy of the market," he said. "At the mercy of" is an expression that means you are in a position or situation in which you can be harmed by something you cannot control.

Karayannopoulos called his company's decision "business, not geopolitics." But in recent years, rare earths have attracted the attention of officials around the world. The United States, Europe and Japan call their dependence² on China's rare earths a "national security risk" and have tried to find different suppliers.

But such efforts have faced difficulties, as mines in other countries have faced opposition³ or failed to start after changing prices scared investors⁴ away.

Concerns and supply issues

Meanwhile, supplies of rare earths have decreased. And some mines are raising moral and environmental concerns.

When done cheaply, rare earth mining can damage the environment. China, the world's largest miner, has closed many mines in recent years to reduce environmental damage.

Some of that mining has gone to Myanmar. Myanmar mines are linked to environmental damage, land theft, and financing of militias⁵, including at least one linked to Myanmar's military government. That information comes from an Associated Press investigation⁶ released earlier this month.

The AP traced rare earths from Myanmar to the supply chains of 78 companies, including major car makers⁷ and electronics companies.

Karayannopoulos said that in Greenland, the company plans to dig up rock, crush it and do basic processing that does not involve the use of damaging chemicals. The ore will then be shipped to Estonia, where it will be further processed into a form that can be used to make magnets.

Plans for another rare earths mine in Greenland failed after voters put in power a government that blocked development. The area has high amounts of uranium, raising concerns over how radioactive waste would be dealt with.

Karayannopoulos said the area his company plans to develop has much lower levels of uranium, meaning it can be mined under current Greenland and European Union rules. He said EU officials supported the project because it could help Europe become more self-sufficient in rare earths.

Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. A 1.7 million-square-kilometer ice sheet covers 80 percent of the Arctic territory. Greenland's 56,000 residents are mostly indigenous⁸ people.

Words in This Story

deposit – n. an amount of a substance (such as oil or coal) that exists naturally in the ground

dependence – n. the state of needing something or someone else for support, help, etc.

self-sufficient – adj . able to live or function without help or support from others

1 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。