VOA慢速英语--格陵兰岛希望用月球岩石改变经济

Greenland Hopes to Change Economy with Moon Rock

The mineral-rich island of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, has a large amount of an ancient rock known as anorthosite. Anorthosite is similar to the rock that astronauts collected from the moon in the early years of American space exploration. Scientists believe anorthosite is nearly as old as Earth itself.

Anorthocite is found in southwestern Greenland. And it has mining companies excited about making money. The rock contains compounds that can be used to make fiberglass and aluminum¹.

People who support taking the minerals out of the ground note that the money earned may help Greenland reach its long-term goal of independence from Denmark.

But a conflict might be coming.

Naaja Nathanielsen is Greenland's mineral resources minister. She said, "Not all money is worth earning." She added that Greenland is willing to make fast decisions when it comes to protecting the environment.

The island's new government campaigned on a platform of environmental responsibility. It recently banned future oil and gas drilling. The government may begin a new ban on mining for uranium. A ban on uranium mining in Greenland was lifted eight years ago.

Effect of a ban

A new ban would halt development of one of the world's largest rare-earth deposits³. The metal deposit² area is called Kuannersuit in Greenlandic and Kvanefjeld in Danish. Its operator was in the process of securing a permit to mine there.

The metal deposit was an important issue in the elections held earlier this year. Greenlanders worry that uranium mining could cause environmental problems.

The head of the company that holds the mining rights in the area called the concerns "exaggerated," or greater than they need to be. John Mair of Greenland Minerals told the Reuters news agency that uranium "is a political issue which is being driven by exaggerated and misleading claims."

If the mine remains⁴ operational, the government estimates it could bring in $233 million each year for Greenland.

Currently⁵, the island's 57,000 people mostly depend on money from fishing and the financial support it gets from Denmark. But Denmark would reduce the amount of money it sends to Greenland based on future earnings⁶ from mining.

Some Greenlanders believe the mining should stop until the island is independent from Denmark.

Pele Broberg is Greenland's minister for business and trade. He told Reuters, "Under the current agreement, large-scale mineral extraction makes no sense." He added, "Why would we do that while we're subject to another country?"

Local support

But some people in Greenland support mining.

"We have to find other ways to make money. We can't just live off fishing," said Johannes Hansen. He is a local firefighter and carpenter. His town of nearly 160 people is about 50 minutes by boat from a planned anorthosite mine.

Greenland Anorthosite Mining is a company developing the mine. It has a plan to process 120 metric tons of anorthosite for possible buyers in the fiberglass industry.

Anorthosite is a more environmentally friendly choice than some other materials, including kaolin. A spokesperson for Greenland Anorthosite Mining said anorthosite melts at a lower temperature than kaolin. And it produces less waste and greenhouse gases. The company says it hopes to have an exploration permit by the end of 2022.

The bigger aim is for anorthosite to be used instead of bauxite⁷ to produce aluminum. Aluminum is one of the minerals important to reducing greenhouse gases. It can make vehicles lighter⁸ and is fully⁹ recyclable.

Anorthosite also fits in with European Union plans to use different mineral sources. Asuncion Aranda leads an EU-funded research project into anorthosite. She said more research is needed to cut costs and reduce harmful effects to the environment.

"We don't know yet if our process will be competitive¹⁰ from the start compared with the established production method," she said. Aranda added that "...if all goes well ..." we could see the first marketable production in eight to 10 years.

Unearthly goals

While the EU is looking at uses for anorthosite here on Earth, the American space agency NASA has other ideas.

NASA has been using anorthosite from a smaller Greenland mine already in production. That mine is operated by a Canadian-based company called Hudson Resources. The company is testing equipment that could be used for mining on the moon and even establishing communities there.

A scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center is John Gruener. He said the anorthosite deposits found in Greenland and other places on Earth are not exactly like what is found on the moon. But they are close.

Greuner said, "If we are really going to live off the land at the south pole of the moon...we will have to learn how to deal with anorthosite."

Words in This Story

semi-autonomous – adj. partly having the right to govern itself

fiberglass – n. a light and strong material that is made from thin threads of glass and that is used in making various products

platform – n. the official beliefs and goals of a political party or candidate

drill – v. to make a hole in something with a large tool, often used to describe the search for oil or gas

deposit – n. an amount of a substance (such as oil or coal) that exists naturally in the ground

exaggerate – v. to think of or describe something as larger or greater than it really is

extraction – n. the act or process of getting something by pulling it out, forcing it out, etc. : the act of extracting¹¹ something

recycle – v. to make something new from (something that has been used before)

1 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

2 deposit   

n.定金，存款，矿藏；vt.使沉淀，寄存，储蓄

参考例句：

• There is too much deposit in a bottle of wine.酒瓶里有太多的沉淀物。
• The hotel requires a deposit for all advance bookings.旅馆规定凡预订房间都要先付订金。

3 deposits   

存放( deposit的名词复数 )； 订金； 寄存处； 储蓄

参考例句：

• Only a small fraction of a bank's total deposits will be withdrawn at any one time. 任何时候，一家银行的总存款只有少量会被提取。
• There are rich deposits of gold in those hills. 那些丘陵里埋藏着丰富的金矿。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 bauxite   

n.铝土矿

参考例句：

• Aluminum is made from bauxite.铝是从铝土矿中提炼出的。
• The United States was vulnerable to shortages of chrome,bauxite,and platinum.美国的弱点是缺少铬、矾土和铂。

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

11 extracting   

n. 萃取, 提取, 提炼 动词extract的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• We must find economical methods for extracting oil from shale. 我们必须找到从页岩中采油的经济方法。
• She was extracting a crisp roll from her purse. 她正从钱袋里掏出一卷钞票。