Greenland has become a point of interest for several countries, including the United States and China. This interest comes at a time when Greenland’s government faces difficult decisions about the island’s future. Those decisions include whether to approve large mining projects. Greenland has large amounts of resources known as ‘rare earth’ metals. These metals are used to create equipment for electric vehicles, combat aircraft, weapons systems and many kinds of electronics. Greenland has what the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) calls the world’s biggest undeveloped deposits of rare earth metals. Deposit is a term that means an amount of a resource, like a mineral, that exists in the ground. Most of Greenland, the world’s largest island, is north of the Arctic Circle.

What is mining?
the storage of rare earth metals
the extraction of valuable minerals or other materials from the earth
the selling of equipment
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What country has the largest, undeveloped deposits of rare earth metals?
China
United States
Greenland
New Zealand
Greenland has large amounts of resources known as rare earth metals.
rare earth metals
limestone
rare gemstones
petroleum reserves