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A Canada-based company recently announced its plans to develop a rare earth mineral mine in Greenland.
一家总部设在加拿大的公司最近宣布了其在格陵兰岛开采一座稀土矿的计划。
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.
该矿的原料将被运往爱沙尼亚。爱沙尼亚是除中国之外拥有高纯度稀土加工厂的国家之一。
Rare earths are a group of minerals used in making electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics, robots and other machinery.
稀土是一种用于制造电动汽车、风力涡轮机、电子产品、机器人等机械的矿物。
China currently processes about 85 percent of the world’s rare earths.
中国目前加工的稀土约占世界总量的85%。
But increased demand is pushing companies to look for other sources.
但不断增长的需求正在推动企业寻找其他来源。
Neo Performance Materials is based in Toronto, Canada.
Neo高性能材料公司总部设在加拿大多伦多。
The rare earth processing company said recently that it plans to develop the Sarfartoq deposit in southwest Greenland.
这家稀土加工公司最近表示，其计划开采格陵兰岛西南部的萨尔法托克矿。
It will then send the materials to its plant in Estonia in Eastern Europe.
然后，该公司将把这些材料运到其位于东欧爱沙尼亚的工厂。
Neo aims to have the mine running in two to three years.
Neo高性能材料公司的目标是在两到三年内让该矿运转起来。
It will be the company’s first big mining project.
这将是该公司首个大型采矿项目。
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.
该公司首席执行官康斯坦丁·卡拉扬诺普洛斯表示，他希望通过开矿来保护该公司免受稀土价格快速上涨的影响。近年来，由于供应问题和强劲的需求，稀土价格一直在上涨。
“We’re at the mercy of the market,” he said.
他说：“我们受制于市场”。
“At the mercy of” is an expression that means you are in a position or situation in which you can be harmed by something you cannot control.
“At the mercy of”是一个短语，意思是你所处的位置或境况可能会遭受你无法控制的事情的伤害。
Karayannopoulos called his company’s decision “business, not geopolitics.”
卡拉扬诺普洛斯称他的公司的决定是“商业决定，而不是地缘政治决定”。
But in recent years, rare earths have attracted the attention of officials around the world.
但近年来，稀土引起了世界各地官员的关注。
The United States, Europe and Japan have tried to find different suppliers.
美国、欧洲和日本试图寻找不同的供应商。
But such efforts have faced difficulties, as mines in other countries have faced opposition or failed to start after changing prices scared investors away.
但此类努力面临困难，因为在价格变化吓跑了投资者之后，其他国家的矿场要么遭到反对，要么未能开工。
Meanwhile, supplies of rare earths have decreased.
与此同时，稀土供应也在减少。
And some mines are raising moral and environmental concerns.
一些矿场在道德和环境方面引起了人们的担忧。
When done cheaply, rare earth mining can damage the environment.
如果开采成本低，稀土开采可能会破坏环境。
China, the world’s largest miner, has closed many mines in recent years to reduce environmental damage.
作为世界上最大的稀土开采国，中国近年来关闭了许多矿场，以减少对环境的破坏。
Karayannopoulos said that in Greenland, the company plans to dig up rock, crush it and do basic processing that does not involve the use of damaging chemicals.
卡拉扬诺普洛斯表示，该公司计划在格陵兰岛挖掘岩石，粉碎它，并进行不涉及使用有害化学物质的基本加工。
The ore will then be shipped to Estonia, where it will be further processed into a form that can be used to make magnets.
然后，矿石将被运往爱沙尼亚，在那里矿石将被进一步加工成可用于制造磁铁的形式。
Plans for another rare earths mine in Greenland failed after voters put in power a government that blocked development.
由于选民选出的政府阻碍开采矿石，开采格陵兰岛的另一座稀土矿的计划失败了。
The area has high amounts of uranium, raising concerns over how radioactive waste would be dealt with.
该地区的铀含量很高，这引发了人们对放射性废物将如何处理的担忧。
Karayannopoulos said the area his company plans to develop has much lower levels of uranium, meaning it can be mined under current Greenland and European Union rules.
卡拉扬诺普洛斯表示，他的公司计划开采矿石的地区的铀含量要低得多，这意味着根据目前的格陵兰岛和欧盟的规定，它可以开采该地区的稀土矿。
He said EU officials supported the project because it could help Europe become more self-sufficient in rare earths.
他说，欧盟官员支持该项目，因为它可以帮助欧洲实现稀土自给自足。
Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
格陵兰岛位于大西洋和北冰洋之间。
A 1.7 million-square-kilometer ice sheet covers 80 percent of the Arctic territory.
170万平方公里的冰盖覆盖了北极80%的领土。
Greenland’s 56,000 residents are mostly indigenous people.
格陵兰岛的5.6万名居民大多是土著居民。
I’m John Russell.
约翰·拉塞尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
