The Polish Economic Institute said that the Greenland mines are a chance for the independence of the European Union from China. He added that this island contains about 30 percent of the world’s deposits of rare earth elements. On Monday, US President Donald Trump once again mentioned the issue of acquiring Greenland “for international security purposes”.
As reported in the economic week of the Polish Institute of Economics, there are 36.1 million tons of rare earth elements in Greenland, which is about 30%. world mines of these raw materials.
Meanwhile – according to Eurostat – in 2023, 18.3 thousand tons of rare earth elements were imported into the European Union, and the value of the import of these elements into the European Union amounted to 123.6 million euros. 39% of EU imports came from China, 33%. from Malaysia and 22 percent from Russia.
PIE estimates that Greenland’s deposits of rare earth elements are about 2,000 years old. times more than the EU’s current annual import needs.
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The possibility of becoming independent from China
According to PIE economists, Greenland deposits are a chance for the EU to become independent from China. “Greenland’s resources can play a key role in diversifying the supply of important raw materials to the European Union,” it is noted.
The report also mentions that China is responsible for 60 percent. extraction of rare earth metals and their share in processing reaches 90%.
However, it was noted that China has used the export of selected raw materials as a pressure tool, announcing export restrictions on exports of gallium, germanium and graphite in 2023.
At the same time, Donald Trump, as he noted, recognized that Greenland, with its “huge deposits of rare earth elements” comparable in size to China’s, is the key to increasing the security of the United States’ raw materials.
Especially since Greenland also has significant deposits of other important raw materials, including 12.1 thousand. tons of titanium, 11.5 thousand tons of phosphorus, as well as a “visible amount” of niobium, tantalum, vanadium, graphite and platinum group metals.
These elements are also included in the name of important and strategic raw materials of the European Union and Poland – he noted. Important raw materials are those of particular importance, including: for the renewable energy sector (battery cells for cars, motors for windmills), space, digital and defense.
Trump announcements
Greenland is an island with an area of more than 2 million square kilometers and a population of about 57,000. It was part of the Kingdom of Denmark for 600 years and has enjoyed autonomy (further extended in 2009) from the Copenhagen authorities since 1979.
In early January, Donald Trump stated that the United States “needs Greenland for national security.” He also added that he is not sure whether Denmark has the right to this island or not.
On Monday, the day he was sworn in as US president, Trump reiterated his claim to have acquired Greenland “for international security purposes”.
Greenland wants to cooperate more closely with the United States in the field of protection and exploration of mineral resources of the island, Prime Minister of Greenland Mute Egede said in mid-January. He emphasized at the press conference that his government is looking for ways to cooperate with America and is ready to start a dialogue with the new administration of Donald Trump.
– Greenland’s independence is Greenland’s issue, as well as the use of its land, so Greenland itself will decide what agreement we should reach, said Egede, when asked about the possible expansion of American military capabilities on the island. – It is the first time that Greenland is heard so intensively. We should be calm and take advantage of this situation, he added.
There is an American Thule Air Base in Greenland – converted to a Space Force base in 2023.
Greenland PAP
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