According to media reports, President-elect Trump’s allies in The House of Representatives have proposed a bill dubbed “‘Make Greenland Great Again.” The proposed bill aims to hurry up the negotiation process with Denmark (Greenland is abundant with rare earths), following Trump’s repeated remarks about “buying” the island. If passed, it will pave the way for U.S. negotiations with Denmark.
Sherri Goodman, from the International Military Council on Climate and Security, said in a PBS interview that Greenland’s strategic importance in protecting U.S. homeland access could not be over-emphasized. She noted that China was steadily increasing its investments in Greenland and other parts of the Arctic.
In turn, the U.S. must focus on securing minerals essential for batteries, advanced technologies and powering the clean energy economy.
Meanwhile, leaders in Denmark as well as Greenland’s prime minister continue to emphasize that the region is not up for sale. However, they are not averse to the idea of Greenland working with the U.S. That said, industry analysts caution that mining in Greenland faces significant challenges.
Oil and natural gas extraction is prohibited due to environmental concerns, and bureaucratic delays and opposition from indigenous communities have hindered the development of the mining sector.
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Rare Earths: U.S. & Denmark Team Up Against Chinese Bid
According to Reuters, just last year, U.S. and Danish officials urged privately-held Tanbreez Mining, the developer of Greenland’s largest rare earth deposit, to avoid selling the project to firms with Chinese ties.
The company eventually sold to New York-based Critical Metals. Current figures anticipate that Tanbreez will mine about 500,000 MT of the crimson rare earths containing eudialyte per year.
What’s Coming Next?
A senior aide to President-elect Donald Trump recently revealed that Trump is interested in acquiring Greenland to secure access to rare minerals. Incoming National Security Advisor Michael Walt told Fox News that this was about critical minerals and natural resources, calling the initiative “Monroe Doctrine 2.0,” part of Trump’s “America First” agenda.
A Reuters analysis quoting a survey from two years ago said that out of the 34 minerals deemed “critical raw materials” by the European Commission, 25 were in Greenland. Furthermore, three of the largest rare earth deposits are found in the southern Gardar province, while there are known deposits of titanium and vanadium in the east, south and southwest areas.
Titanium is widely used in commercial, medical and industrial applications, while vanadium’s primary use is to create specialty steel alloys. Meanwhile, the key industrial compound vanadium pentoxide serves as a catalyst in producing sulfuric acid.
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