Greenland Miner Could Provide Solution to Rare Earth Metals Crisis

Rare earth metals are scarce, and demand is growing rapidly as global demand for consumer electronics booms. But with almost all of the supply of these metals purchased in Asia, Africa, and South America over the past 15 years coming from China, Greenland miner could be used to solve the rare earth metals crisis.

Eldur Olafsson, CEO of AEX Gold, says the company has the largest Greenland miner rights in Greenland, a Danish territory with half the land area of the Australian mainland. Eldur may have a solution to the impending supply shortage of rare earths and help get the West out of the woods.

Because of addiction to technology, there are minerals that are now critical and will become increasingly important as the world embraces technology to achieve its net zero goals. As always, China has taken a strategic step toward the West.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), it currently provides more than 85 percent of the world's rare earths and controls about two-thirds of the global supply of scarce metals and minerals. Lithium, nickel, cobalt, magnesium, and graphite are all critical to battery operation, performance and longevity, while copper and aluminum are essential to the operation of any electric network, meaning that the price and availability of these elements have a direct impact on the supply chain for electric vehicles.

With little exploration work to date, Greenland currently holds 1.5% of the world's rare earth reserves, which include a wealth of different metals and minerals, and there are still significant rare earths to be discovered. The most recently discovered rare earth deposits are copper, nickel, zinc and graphite. There are currently 12 active explorers covering 8 commodities.

There is no need for Western countries such as the UK, the US, and Europe to look solely to China for supplies of rare earth materials. Greenland, which was a member of the European Union until 1982, remains close from a trade perspective and has since been forming its own trade agreements with a number of Western countries. in June 2021, following the UK's decision to leave the EU, talks were held between the Greenland and UK governments in the hope of establishing closer trade relations.

The Government of Greenland is particularly supportive of the mining industry in order to diversify its economy, so much so that in the last budget announcement it doubled its spending on exploration. While many believe that the island is permanently covered in snow and ice, this is far from the truth. Where AEX Gold operates in South Greenland, conditions are warmer than in the north of the island, and the top of the island is actually at the same latitude as the far north of the UK.

The island has a population of only 50,000, clustered in fishing communities near the coast, with most areas unpopulated. The government has also introduced a responsible mining code to ensure that operators reduce emissions and use alternative fuels such as wind and hydro.

Greenland miner could provide solution to rare earth metals crisis, as the island has great potential to become a strategic mining center, supplying strategic metals for technologies used in everyday life in Europe and the United States.

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