President Donald Trump reported on Wednesday that reached the framework of the agreement with NATO on the future of Greenland, which will cover the rights to uncommon earth minerals. "They will be active in the issue of mineral rights, as we are," Trump said about NATO and the United States in an interview with CNBC after the first announcement in Truth Social.
He didn't specify any preliminary terms. However, the untapped mineral wealth of Greenland made the island top of Trump's list of wishes to build an empire.
Trump's representatives believe that Greenland's underground wealth are a way to weaken Chinese control of uncommon earth metalswhich are essential for the production of everything, from fighters and lasers to electrical vehicles and MRI scanners.
Trump underestimated Greenland's natural resources, including in his speech at the planet economical Forum in Davos, Switzerland, held on Wednesday. He then stated that the extraction of uncommon earth metals is not the reason why America needs this territory.
“Everybody talks about minerals. There are so many," Trump said. "There is no specified thing as uncommon earth elements. There is processing of uncommon earth elements. But there are so many uncommon earth elements. And to get to them, you gotta break through hundreds of feet of ice. That's not why we request them. We request them for strategical national and global security."
However, a fewer hours later, Trump said that the Greenland Agreement included 2 parts: the concept of rocket defence " The Golden Dome ” and minerals. This is consistent with what his erstwhile national safety advisor, Mike Waltz, said in an interview with Fox News in 2024 erstwhile Waltz stated that the administration was focusing on Greenland “on key minerals” and “natural resources”. The fact is that it is not the Danish right to Greenland that stops the United States from reaching for the treasures of the island. This. Arctic natural environment .
‘Totally crazy’
Scientists say that mining minerals from Greenland would extremely hard and costly, due to the fact that many mineral deposits on the island are located in distant areas behind the Arctic Circle, where there is simply a mile thick ice cover and for most of the year there is darkness.
"The thought of turning Greenland into an American uncommon earth mill is discipline fiction. It's just complete madness," said Malte Humpert, founder and elder student at The Arctic Institute. “You could besides dig on the Moon. In any ways it is worse than on the Moon."
Despite the name, About 80% of Greenland Covers the ice. And mining minerals – or anything else – in the Arctic can be 5 to 10 times more costly than anywhere else in the world. Trump's interest in Greenland is nothing new. He is besides not the first U.S. president to desire This island. For years, if not decades, officials in Greenland have been seeking abroad direct investment. Greenland residents say they are already open to business opportunities without any wary intentions.
The story of the “gold pot”
Experts say that getting American companies to take risks in Greenland can be a dream. "If there was a pot of gold waiting at the end of the rainbow in Greenland, private businesses would have moved there already," said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, an older non-resident scientist at the Peterson Institute for global Economics.
Funk Kirkegaard, who had previously collaborated with the Danish Ministry of Defence, however, stated that it was ‘very difficult’ to supply a business justification for specified a large first investment as would be required.
It is possible that Trump is trying to supply financial incentives and guarantees to get American companies to make these immense investments, as in the case of guarantees that large oil companies want to drill intensively in Venezuela.
"If we had adequate taxation money, private companies would be ready to do almost anything," Funk Kirkegaard said. "But is this a good foundation for buying territory? The answer is: not in Greenland, as not in Venezuela."
Environmental factors
The climate crisis has caused ice to melt and temperatures to emergence rapidly in the Arctic, allowing any people to anticipate fresh economical opportunities. However, it is besides early to conclude that this will be a adequate breakthrough to overcome the environmental challenges of mining in Greenland. While the melting of ice opened any shipping routes, it besides reduced the stableness of the ground and increased the hazard of landslides.
"Climate change does not mean it is easy. It's not the Mediterranean or your bathtub. Just ice freezes less," said Humpert of The Arctic Institute. In addition, the strict environmental rules in force in Greenland will increase costs and make it more hard to extract widely.
Of course, these laws reflect the local community's desire to preserve a pristine environment. If Trump's administration someway led to their abolition, it could be very unpopular. "This could lead to a hostile political situation at local level," Funk Kirkegaard said.
Friend or tyrant?
Adam Lajeunesse, head of the Canadian and Arctic Political Chair at St. Francis Xavier University, said that Trump's "strange rhetoric" about taking over Greenland threatens to undermine the economical and strategical goals of U.S. officials by worsening relations with Greenland and Denmark.
"It was possible to see that the United States was no longer seen as a friend and partner, but as a tyrant to be opposed," he said. To any extent, this may already be happening.
Christian Keldsen, Managing manager of the Greenland Business Association, warns that U.S. officials hazard compromising relations with the local population.
"At the minute all American is simply a red flag," he said. “Everybody wonders: “Do I support individual who takes over my country?”