Greenland’s harsh environment and lack of infrastructure have prevented rare earth mining

Greenland’s rare earth elements remain tantalizing but elusive despite Trump’s renewed interest in the territory, as harsh Arctic conditions and complex geology continue to prevent viable mining operations from taking root.

The strategic island has caught President Donald Trump’s attention once again, with his recent declaration that “We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not.” His administration has prioritized breaking China’s dominance over the global rare earth supply chain since Beijing restricted exports following U.S. tariffs last spring.

“The fixation on Greenland has always been more about geopolitical posturing — a military-strategic interest and stock-promotion narrative — than a realistic supply solution for the tech sector,” explained Tracy Hughes, founder and executive director of the Critical Minerals Institute.

Trump himself confirmed these strategic concerns: “We don’t want Russia or China going to Greenland, which if we don’t take Greenland, you can have Russia or China as your next door neighbor. That’s not going to happen.”

While Greenland does harbor an estimated 1.5 million tons of rare earth elements, the practical challenges of extraction remain formidable. These elements are essential components in manufacturing high-powered magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, robots, fighter jets, and numerous other advanced technologies.

“Of course, the remoteness. Even in the south where it’s populated, there are few roads and no railways, so any mining venture would have to create these accessibilities,” said Diogo Rosa, an economic geology researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. Any mining operation would also need to generate its own power and import specialized labor.

Environmental concerns present another significant hurdle. Patrick Schröder, a senior fellow at the Chatham House think-tank in London, noted that rare earth processing requires “toxic chemicals needed to separate the minerals out from the rock, so that can be highly polluting.” Many deposits are also found alongside radioactive uranium, raising additional environmental risks in an Arctic ecosystem that Greenland hopes to preserve as it develops its tourism industry.

The geological complexity of Greenland’s rare earth deposits compounds these challenges. The elements are typically encased in eudialyte, a complex rock formation for which no profitable extraction process has been developed. This differs significantly from the carbonatite formations found elsewhere, which can be processed using established methods.

“If we’re in a race for resources — for critical minerals — then we should be focusing on the resources that are most easily able to get to market,” advised David Abraham, a rare earths expert and author of “The Elements of Power.”

Despite these obstacles, some companies continue to express interest. Critical Metals saw its stock price more than double this week after announcing plans to build a pilot plant in Greenland this year. However, industry analysts note that this and similar ventures remain far from commercial production and would require hundreds of millions in investment capital.

The rare earth market itself presents additional business challenges. China has historically resorted to flooding the market with extra materials to depress prices and eliminate competition. Moreover, most critical minerals currently must be processed in China regardless of where they are mined.

The Trump administration has invested directly in MP Materials, which operates the only rare earths mine in the United States, along with supporting a lithium miner and a company that recycles products containing rare earths. These investments aim to reduce China’s leverage during what Trump described as a one-year reprieve from tougher export restrictions that Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly agreed to in October.

Many industry experts suggest focusing on more immediately viable projects rather than attempting to develop new mines in challenging locations like Greenland. Scott Dunn, CEO of Noveon Magnetics, which already produces over 2,000 metric tons of magnets annually at its Texas plant using non-Chinese materials, emphasized that government support should prioritize companies with proven track records.

“There are very few folks that can rely on a track record for delivering anything in each of these instances, and that obviously should be where we start, especially if you’re the U.S. government,” Dunn said.

The reality remains that changing the global rare earth supply chain is a long-term challenge, with China currently controlling more than 90% of worldwide production—a dynamic that won’t shift quickly regardless of political aspirations in Greenland.