Trump’s push for Greenland mineral rights might be about blocking China
President Donald Trump’s push for mining rights in Greenland could be the endgame in a long-running U.S. effort to block China’s access to rare earths on the world’s largest island.
Trump revealed few details about the Greenland framework agreement, which he announced after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday. But that includes mining rights for the United States and other partners (possibly NATO allies), but that’s unclear at this stage, he told CNBC.
“They’re going to be involved in the Gold Dome and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Trump administration declined a request for more information when asked by CNBC. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said “as details are finalized by all parties involved, they will be announced accordingly.”
Kelly said in a statement: “If this agreement comes true, and President Trump hopes it will, the United States will have achieved all its strategic goals regarding Greenland forever, at very little cost.” he said.
Rare earths are used to make magnets, which are important inputs for strategic industries such as defense and robotics. China has dominated the global supply chain and blocked exports last year due to trade disputes with the United States.
Beijing declared itself “State close to the North Pole” and regional stakeholder in 2018.
Trump has made improving the West’s rare earth supply chain a key goal of his industrial policy as he seeks to reduce U.S. dependence on China. Greenland has the world’s eighth largest rare earth reserve, with 1.5 million tons. 2024 data from the US Geological Survey.
Beijing has a financial interest in the Kvanefjeld mining project in southern Greenland. It is the third largest known rare earth deposit in the world. Center for Strategic and International Studies.
China’s Shenghe Resources is the second largest investor in Australia’s Energy Transition Minerals, which owns Kvanefjeld. Project came to a halt after Greenland was banned uranium mining It’s 2021 and he’s currently mired in litigation.
A framework giving the U.S. priority access to Greenland’s rare earths “could ensure that a Chinese partner or someone else doesn’t come back to the table to develop those resources,” said Ryan Castilloux, founder of rare earths market research firm Adamas Intelligence.
Greenland’s resources
The second project was named tanbreez under development in southern Greenland, based in New York City Critical Metals. The company has described Tanbreez as one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits.
Critical Metals received an award letter of interest A loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States earlier this month that could result in a $120 million loan for the development of Tanbreez. The company’s shares gained nearly 21% on Thursday and have nearly tripled in value this year.
The Biden administration was also concerned about China gaining access to Greenland’s rare earth elements. Developer Tanbreez Mining was lobbied not to sell the project to CEO Greg Barnes, a company with China ties. he told Reuters in January 2025. Tanbreez was eventually acquired by Critical Metals.
economic difficulties
Trump said in Davos that his push for Greenland is not about mining rare earths. He said U.S. interests in Greenland are about thwarting China and Russia’s ambitions in the Arctic.
“I want Greenland for security. I don’t want it for anything else,” Trump told reporters Wednesday before meeting with the NATO chief. “We have so much rare earth that we don’t know what to do with it. We don’t need it for anything else.”
Castilloux said the rare earth supply pipeline is full after the U.S. made significant progress last year in keeping the supply chain afloat. Pentagon signed deal with rare earth miner last year Multi-Purpose Materials This included an equity stake, floor price and purchase agreement.
Castilloux said supplies from Greenland are not needed in the near term, but this may change over a longer period of time.
The mining economics in Greenland are challenging, the analyst said. He said the island’s remote location and infrastructure gaps would mean higher development costs. Greenland’s small population means that at least some of its skilled labor must move in and out of the country. He said shipping costs would also be higher.
Trump was outspoken on Wednesday about the cost of rare earth mining in Greenland.
“From Greenland’s perspective, you have to go 25 feet down through the ice to get this,” Trump said. “It’s not something a lot of people would do or want to do.”
“No, this is security we’re talking about,” he said.
