In which miraculous thing is America poor…India-China rich, is this why Donald Trump is in tension?

New Delhi: America’s new President Donald Trump recently said that he/she wants to buy Denmark’s autonomous region Greenland. he/she had cited national security as the reason behind his/her intention. Greenland is in a strategic location for the United States, given both missile defense and maritime trade, which has become even more important due to melting Arctic sea ice as well as climate change.
However, behind Trump’s intention is the presence of important reserves of rare earth elements in Greenland, due to which companies from all over the world including America and China are being tempted. These elements are the backbone of green modern technology like electronics and batteries, hence there is a race all over the world including America, China, Russia and India for this treasure. Know-what are these elements and why are they needed today?

Why is America crazy about Greenland?

According to United States Geological Survey (USGS) data, Greenland has the eighth largest reserves of rare earths in the world, amounting to 1.5 million tonnes. This is almost equal to the known reserves of America (18 lakh tonnes). USGS data also shows that no mining for rare earth elements occurred in Greenland in 2023. Although Greenlandic companies initially turned to China for mining investments, these projects were stalled following the 2021 elections in Greenland.

Due to these reasons mining was stopped in Greenland

Greenlandic voters decided that mining by foreign companies in Greenland could lead to economic development and even a step toward independence from Denmark. However, people also feared that the mining of this rare earth, which is found near radioactive uranium, would cause radioactive dust to fall on nearby communities and agricultural lands. From that moment the projects were stopped.

What are rare earth elements, first know this

Rare earth elements (REE) are a group of 17 metallic elements of the periodic table. Of these, 15 elements are lanthanides and the remaining two elements are yttrium and scandium. These elements are very important for the green economy. These elements have unusual fluorescent, conductivity, and magnetic properties. These elements are used by mixing them with common metals like iron.

These elements are also found along with uranium-thorium

Rare earth elements are usually found in combination with each other or with radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium. Contrary to their name, rare earth elements are found in abundance on Earth, but their processing is very complex. They are bright, but it is very difficult to separate them from each other or identify them individually. These are naturally mixed with other minerals.

What is special about this magical thing?

Rare earth elements have properties such as high density, high boiling point, high conductivity and high temperature conductivity. This is the reason why they are used in manufacturing many high-tech modern consumer products. Such as it is needed in microchips, phones, television, electronic and hybrid vehicles, magnets, lasers, satellites, computer chips, medical devices and defense industries.

40 percent of the world’s rare earth reserves in China

According to USGS data, China has by far the largest rare earth reserves, estimated at 44 metric tons. This is approximately 40 percent of the world’s known global rare earth reserves. After this, these reserves are found in countries like Vietnam, Brazil, Russia and India. America is far behind in this matter. This is the reason why America wants to take over Greenland.

Where and in what form are rare earths found?

Rare earth elements are found in scattered forms in the upper surface of our earth’s crust. The global reserves of rare earth metals are believed to be around 120 million tonnes which are found in China, Vietnam, Australia, Russia, Brazil, India, Myanmar, America and Thailand. When the world knew very little about rare earths, America was at the forefront in terms of production. When the world learned about it, China became its leader.

Is this the beginning of a rare earth war between China and America?

Rare earths are called ‘rare’ elements because technically it was very difficult to extract them from their oxide form. Last year, before Trump became President, China had banned the sale of rare earths like gallium, germanium and antimony to America. Gallium and germanium are used in America for everything from electric vehicles to wind energy. In fact, the previous US President Joe Biden had banned supplying silicon chips and machinery to China. In a way, this is a war of rare earths between China and America.

Rare earth was revealed from a black rock

In 1787, Rare Earth was discovered by a Lieutenant Carl Axel Arrhenius in the village of Ytterby, Sweden. he/she had discovered an unusual black rock in a mine. It was called ‘rare’ because it had never been seen before. Rare earth elements are used in magnetic motors. In India, the work of exploration of rare earth elements is done by the Bureau of Mines and the Department of Atomic Energy. In India, mining and processing of rare earth elements is done by Indian Rare Earth Limited (IREL). There are large reserves of thorium in India.