US EditionGreenland Rare Earth Mining Face Billions in Costs, Years of Delays
Greenland holds the world’s largest rare earth reserves but projects face over a decade of delays and require billions in investment amid harsh conditions and limited infrastructure.
- This year, plans to develop Greenland's rare earths face delays as many projects remain exploratory, may not produce for years, and require at least hundreds of millions from investors and governments financing operations.
- Only three to four months of viable exploration each year limit progress, requiring helicopters and bespoke infrastructure that raise costs and demand local power generation and imported experts, said Majken Djurhuus Poulsen, geologist, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
- Lumina Sustainable Materials operates Greenland's only active mine producing anorthosite, took over a decade to reach production, and has recently secured a rare earth exploration license, while Critical Metals plans a pilot plant this year.
- The U.S. government has invested hundreds of millions and taken stakes in mining firms to reduce reliance on China, while Washington pushes to expand non‑Chinese supplies during a one-year reprieve.
- More than 90% of global rare earths come from China, while MP Materials and allies offer quicker supply; Patrick Schröder warns of uranium and toxic chemical risks in Greenland's fragile Arctic.
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Washington has expressed the will to seize Greenland for national security reasons related to the supply of minerals. At this stage, only one deposit is mined in the vast autonomous territory.
The U.S. President Donald Trump's obsession with Greenland was not born out of nothing and was not an isolated eccentricity.According to John Bolton, former White House National Security Advisor, the Republican's idea of taking over the world's largest island came from an old personal friend: Ronald Lauder, heir to the cosmetic empire Estée Lauder and President of the World Jewish Congress.Trump first mentioned the possibility of acquiring the i…
TechXplore
Greenland's harsh environment and lack of infrastructure have prevented rare earth mining
Greenland's harsh environment, lack of key infrastructure and difficult geology have so far prevented anyone from building a mine to extract the sought-after rare earth elements that many high-tech products require. Even if President Donald Trump prevails in his effort to take control of the Arctic island, those challenges won't go away.
The U.S. president puts forward the imperatives of "national security", but economic interests and above all a desire to mark history by expanding the U.S. are not absent.
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