4. Players and projects

4.1 Extraction and separation projects

Faced with today's challenges and growing demand for rare earths, new extraction and separation projects are appearing, and old mines are being or are about to be reopened.

Nevertheless, as with all mining activities, the exploitation of these resources presents a high risk of environmental degradation, so that opposition is sometimes strong.

Greenland, for example, holds one of the world's largest deposits of heavy rare earths (the Kvanefjeld deposit), and is also of interest to mining companies because of the presence of large quantities of uranium.

In 2021, the Greenland government decided to oppose the extraction project led by Australian mining group Greenland Mineral....