‘Utterly bonkers.’ Trump’s Greenland mining desires in Greenland collide with actuality

[ad_1] New York —

Greenland’s untapped mineral wealth has helped land the island on the prime of President Donald Trump’s empire-building want listing.

Trump officials view Greenland’s underground riches as a strategy to loosen China’s stranglehold over the rare-earth metals which can be essential for every thing from fighter jets and lasers to electrical automobiles and MRI scanners.

“We want Greenland … It’s so strategic proper now. Trump told reporters aboard Air Drive One earlier this month.

“We're going to do one thing on Greenland, whether or not they prefer it or not. If we don’t do it the straightforward approach, we’ll do it the onerous approach,” Trump stated Friday at a press convention with oil executives.

Though Trump has lately downplayed Greenland’s pure sources, his former nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz instructed Fox Information in 2024 that the administration’s concentrate on Greenland was “about critical minerals” and “natural resources.”

However the actuality is that Denmark’s possession of Greenland isn't what’s stopping the USA from tapping the island’s treasure trove. It’s the punishing Arctic environment .

Researchers say it will be extraordinarily tough and costly to extract Greenland’s minerals as a result of most of the island’s mineral deposits are situated in distant areas above the Arctic Circle, the place there's a mile-thick polar ice sheet and darkness reigns a lot of the yr.

Not solely that, however Greenland, a self-ruling territory of Denmark, lacks the infrastructure and manpower required to make this mining dream a actuality.

“The thought of turning Greenland into America’s rare-earth manufacturing facility is science fiction. It’s simply fully bonkers,” stated Malte Humpert, founder and senior fellow at The Arctic Institute. “You would possibly as effectively mine on the moon. In some respects, it’s worse than the moon.”

Regardless of its identify, approximately 80% of Greenland is roofed with ice. And mineral extraction — or absolutely anything — within the Arctic will be 5 to 10 occasions costlier than doing it elsewhere on the planet.

Greenland, in contrast to Venezuela, is open for enterprise

Trump’s curiosity in Greenland isn't new — nor is he the first US president to covet the island.

But Trump’s startling intervention in Venezuela and determination to take management of the South American nation’s huge oil riches have refocused consideration on his curiosity in Greenland.

The prospect that the USA takes management of any a part of Greenland has surged to around 40% on prediction market Kalshi , up from about 20% in mid-2025.

After all, there are main variations between the conditions in Venezuela and Greenland.

Not solely is Greenland a territory of NATO ally Denmark, however in contrast to Venezuela it is extremely a lot open to enterprise that may function there, and it has a protracted historical past of political stability.

For years, if not a long time, officers in Greenland have courted international direct funding. Folks in Greenland say they already are open to enterprise alternatives with none belligerence.

“I don’t see a necessity for taking on Greenland. We’re open to funding and dealing with Individuals,” Christian Keldsen, managing director of the Greenland Enterprise Affiliation, instructed CNN in a telephone interview. “Why would you say one thing like ‘take over the nation’ when you will get what you need by simply behaving?”

Getting US companies to take an opportunity on Greenland could also be a fantasy, specialists say.

“If there was a ‘pot of gold’ ready on the finish of the rainbow in Greenland, non-public companies would have gone there already,” stated Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, nonresident senior fellow on the Peterson Institute for Worldwide Economics.

Nonetheless, Funk Kirkegaard, who beforehand labored with the Danish Ministry of Protection, stated it’s simply “very tough” to make a enterprise case for the very massive upfront funding that may be required.

It’s potential Trump tries to supply monetary incentives and ensures to entice US corporations to make these large investments, much like the ensures that Massive Oil is searching for to drill aggressively in Venezuela.

“If given sufficient taxpayer {dollars}, non-public enterprise could be prepared to do nearly something,” Funk Kirkegaard stated. “However is {that a} good basis on which to buy a territory? The reply is not any in Greenland, simply because it’s no in Venezuela.”

The local weather disaster has brought about melting ice and quickly rising temperatures within the Arctic, main some to hope for brand spanking new financial alternatives.

Nonetheless, it’s too early to say this can be sufficient of a game-changer to beat the environmental challenges of mining in Greenland. Whereas ice soften has opened up some delivery routes, it has additionally made the bottom much less steady to drill and raises the chance of landslides.

“Local weather change doesn’t imply it’s simple. This isn't the Mediterranean or your bathtub. There’s simply much less ice freeze,” stated Humpert of The Arctic Institute.

Relatedly, Greenland’s stringent environmental laws would add expense and problem to widespread mining.

After all, these laws mirror the native inhabitants’s want to maintain the atmosphere pristine. If the Trump administration in some way made these laws disappear, it would show deeply unpopular.

“You could possibly find yourself having a hostile native political state of affairs,” Funk Kirkegaard stated.

Promoting Greenland to the USA would possible require a referendum.

But a ballot revealed in January 2025 discovered that just 6% favor Greenland changing into a part of the USA. The overwhelming majority of Greenlanders, 85%, stated they don't need that to occur.

Adam Lajeunesse, chair in Canadian and Arctic coverage at St. Francis Xavier College, stated the “weird rhetoric” about taking on Greenland dangers undermining the financial and strategic targets US officers by harming the connection with Greenland and Denmark.

“You could possibly see the USA not seen as a buddy and associate however as a bully that needs to be resisted,” he stated.

To some extent, this will already be taking place.

Keldsen, the Greenland Enterprise Affiliation government, cautions US officers threat damaging the connection with the native inhabitants.

“In the meanwhile, every thing American is a purple flag,” he stated. “Everyone seems to be questioning, ‘Am I supporting somebody taking on my nation?’”