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Soon-to-be US President Donald Trump has not hesitated to express an interest in “buying” Greenland, and rare earths could be a big reason why. However, Trump is not the first president to consider incorporating the northern landmass that is currently an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. It remains to be seen whether this attempt will be successful.
A long history of U.S. interest in Greenland
According to media coverageAccording to records, the earliest attempt by the United States to acquire Greenland was in 1868. More recently, President Harry Truman's administration has made an effort, and in 2009, Trump himself suggested doing so. But in the latter case nothing more happened, except that he had to. Cancel upcoming visit to Denmark.
U.S. efforts to date have been primarily driven by trade and, to some extent, based on strategic considerations. But President Trump's new push incorporates national security alongside these traditional motives. After all, Greenland sits on some of the world's largest rare earth deposits, including metals such as neodymium, dysprosium, and scandium, to name a few.
All of these are currently needed to manufacture critical components such as computers, mobile phones, electric car batteries, wind turbines, and technology related to the defense sector. Greenland is also home to one of the richest rare earth reserves in the world, the Kubaneveld deposit, which contains large uranium deposits essential for nuclear power applications. President Trump has already declared that Greenland is needed for “national security” purposes. This raises the possibility that his next term will see a tug-of-war in the Arctic.
Some facts about rare earths
- China currently handles most of the world's rare earth production and processing, according to statistics released by the U.S. Geological Survey and the International Energy Agency. In terms of production, Beijing controls about 70% of the total production and processes about 90% of the rare earths mined.
- China also handles 99% of the processing of heavy rare earths, which are part of primary rare earth elements. These are important for the production of things like EVs and fiber optic cables.
- China controls most of the world's rare earth exports and has used rare earths as a means to gain geopolitical advantage.
Reasons for China's advantage
The Chinese government not only declared rare earth elements national property, but also banned the export of the technology used to extract them in October 2024. Diversifying the rare earth supply chain beyond China is a constant challenge for many reasons. This is despite countries such as Australia, Brazil, Angola, and Canada having rich rare earth deposits, and mines being opened in other countries.
Map of the Arctic region, Northwest Passage, and Northern Passage. credit:
According to this analysisthe main challenges to countering China's dominance in the industry stem from the subsidies provided by the Chinese government to rare earth miners, the extensive mineral deposits the country already has, and economies of scale. The analysis quotes Neha Mukherjee, senior critical minerals analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, as saying that all these reasons are helping Chinese companies beat out competitors with lower prices. I am quoting.
Additionally, many rare earths are by-products of mining other minerals such as iron ore, so they cannot be produced stably. This further complicates efforts to establish alternative supply chains.
Why the US continues to pay attention to Greenland
China tightly controls the supply of rare earths to the global market, so the United States needs to look outside its borders to break China's stranglehold. Greenland offers that opportunity. Gaining access to Greenland's resources could strengthen the security of Washington's supply chains and reduce potential Chinese influence.
At the same time, the United States remains keenly aware of Russia's focus on the Arctic, which revolves around both rare earth minerals and maritime shipping. For example, the Northern Sea Route is a historic Northern Sea Route officially recognized by Russian law, stretching from the Barents Sea north of Finland to the Bering Strait.
Written by Saurabh Darabshaw
