China, the EU, and Greenland's Rare Earths

Greenland: A Hinge for EU and Chinese Rare Earths Strategies?

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What are Rare Earths?

What are they used for?

Why is China important?

Rare Earth Policy Strategies

2023 Critical Raw Materials Act

2016 National Mineral Resource Plan

• Sets out a plan to ensure strict control of RE exploitation to ensure a strategic mineral inventory for "national economic and military security"
• Underlines the strategic value of REs for the development of tech sectors
• Encourages international cooperation to further ensure national resource security.

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• Focus on supply chain strengthening and dependency reduction
• 2030 deadline to ensure a “secure and sustainable CRM supply”

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Rare Earths in Greenland

The EU Approach

The Chinese Approach

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Sought to play substantial roles in Greenlandic mining and infrastructure projects. Greenland initially welcomed these investments, but often rejected them in the end.

European Raw Materials Alliance

Key Area of Cooperation

In 2021, all mining stopped due to a nation-wide ban over environmental concerns.

Critical Raw Materials Act

EU Arctic Policy

Ending the Greenland Stalemate

Possible Future Scenarios

• A win for China?
• Ban lifting precedent

Mining ban remains in place

China gets access, the EU does not

mining ban is lifted

The EU gets access, China does not

Both China and the EU get access (and others)

Chinese RE policy before the 2016 plan:

China's History with Rare Earths

China entered the Rare Earths Market in the 1980s, and dominated RE production by the early 1990s. Its share of supply increased from 21% in 1985 to a record-breaking 97% between 2005 and 2011.

In September 2010, geopolitical tensions between China and Japan spiked. Shortly after, China placed what seemed to be an unofficial embargo on the export of RE to Japan. The resulting insecurity rippled through the market, with prices skyrocketing and companies unsure whether they would be able to sustain production. These events led many governments around the world to question China’s reliability as a supplier of REs, providing a heightened sense of urgency to reduce dependency on China-sourced rare earths.

Chinese investment in Greenland

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