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 machinery.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.
