From white gold to new oil – Why is Greenland's mineral wealth in the spotlight?!
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will visit Greenland on Wednesday, as diplomatic relations between Washington and Denmark deepen after the US signaled its desire to take control of the self-governing territory of Greenland. But while President Trump continues to insist it is a matter of national security, he has made no secret of his interest in the large Arctic island's natural resources.
It may not be, as it appears on the standard Mercator projection map of the world, as large as Africa, but Greenland is in its own way becoming the object of a scramble for resources by greedy world powers, as Africa did in the late nineteenth century.
The world's largest island is equal to half the land area of the entire EU. And at 2.17 million square kilometers, it's 25% larger than Alaska, which is itself the largest US state and currently the country's only base in the Arctic region.
And it is rich. Not in the developed way of regional oil superpower Norway, but in its potential reserves of raw materials called "critical" by Brussels, from staples like copper and cryolite to cobalt, lithium and a wealth of rare earth metals, increasingly sought after for green energy and digital technology. These have been called, not without reason, the 'new oil'.
Summary map showing deposit locations, significant occurrences, and areas with presumed potential for additional CRM resources in Greenland.
White gold
At a rather inconvenient time for the Danish government, a documentary film was released this year claiming that Danish mining companies have extracted the equivalent of tens of billions of euros of cryolite off the west coast of Greenland over 130 years, allegedly without returning much to the local economy.
The area around the mine in question at Ivigtût (now Ivittuut) on the southern tip of Greenland is being actively monitored by Australian company Eclipse Metals, which won exploration rights in 2021. The firm announced last week that it would soon have the results of drill core samples that it hopes will confirm significant rare earth metal deposits.
But the historic mine, which has become a vast, flooded, circular pit since it closed in 1987, is thought to be just the tip of the metaphorical iceberg of mineral resources in Greenland, access to which is increasing as the ice literally melts.
In an annual report published in late January, the US Geological Survey estimated the estimated size of Greenland's reserves of rare earth metals at just 1.5 million tonnes.
"Great potential"
The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has been considerably more forthcoming, announcing in 2023 that it had identified "great potential for critical raw materials in Greenland" while publishing a detailed report.
"Many critical raw materials from the EU list can potentially be found in Greenland, " said the independent advisory body to the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities, referring to the Critical Raw Materials Act that identifies 34 essential elements, half of which are considered to be of increased geostrategic importance to Europe.
The US may have real security concerns over an area of the world that, seen from above, is largely surrounded by Russia, Canada and Greenland. Norway has an Arctic base on the Svalbard Islands, across from America in Alaska.
While US Vice President JD Vance's visit to Greenland last week was ostensibly an inspection of a US military post, locals had made it clear that his company would not be welcome at any cultural events, his boss has made his intentions clear.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, a former minister for industry and mineral resources, was appointed Greenland's new prime minister shortly before Vance and his entourage arrived. He has already stated that his country is not for sale and will host Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen when she arrives for her three-day official visit.
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