Cryolite

First, protect the air bases that were keeping the ferry route open.

But second, and crucially, they had to guard the Cryolite mine at a place called Ivigtut.

Cryolite is a fascinating piece of this puzzle.

It is a very rare mineral that is absolutely essential for the industrial refining of aluminum.

Right.

But actually, I think this may have spurred one of the clearest examples of what people call the military industrial complex.

Back then, the chemical process to separate aluminum from aluminum ore required this very unique mineral called cryolite.

Cryolite w- became this hugely strategic mineral.

You know, nowadays we talk about critical minerals, and we talk about lithium and cobalt and all.

Cryolite was this most important mineral because there was only one mine in the world, and that was, guess where? In Greenland, of all places.

So you remember from an old episode of ours where we talked about the first ice core?

Mm-hmm.