Trump Administration Plans to Finance $120 Million Rare Earths Mining Project in Greenland
Meanwhile, Ford struggles with supply of rare earth magnets as geologists question if there are truly significant mineral deposits under the Arctic island.
The last time I wrote about Greenland, the nation had elected independent-minded leaders to the top spots in its political system.
This was then followed by Vice President Vance’s trip with his wife to the Pituffik Space Base on the Arctic island to support the trips.
During an address during the visit, Vance unleashed some hard-hitting statements directed at our ally Denmark. Essentially, Vance took a diplomatic sledgehammer to Denmark’s treatment of Greenland, suggesting that Copenhagen has treated the island more like a neglected outpost than a strategic priority.
Vance did not sugar-coat his opinion of the obliviousness Denmark has had to the threats Russia and China pose in this region.
Given the recent spate of international conflicts (India vs Pakistan, Israel pummeling Iran), Greenland seems to have dropped out of the news. However, it has not been completely forgotten about by President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration is considering financing a $120 million rare earths mining project in the Arctic island nation through a loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to Critical Metals Corp, in what would be the administration’s first overseas investment in a mining venture. The project, known as the Tanbreez rare earths mine, is aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on China, which currently dominates the global rare earths market.
Critical Metals Corp (CRML.O) has received a letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for a loan worth up to $120 million to fund the company’s Tanbreez rare earths mine in Greenland, in what would be the Trump administration’s first overseas investment in a mining project.
The loan, if approved, would boost U.S. access to minerals increasingly at the center of global economic trade and help offset the country’s reliance on market leader China….
…In a letter dated June 12 and reviewed by Reuters, New York-based Critical Metals has met initial requirements to apply for the $120 million EXIM loan and, if approved, would have a 15-year repayment term, longer than the company likely would have with private financing.
The project would have to be “well-capitalized with sufficient equity from strategic investors” to receive the loan, the letter said.EXIM, which acts as the U.S. government’s export credit agency, said in the letter that Critical Metals qualifies for a loan program designed to support companies that compete with China.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump’s administration considers financing a $120 million rare earths mine in GREENLAND to reduce reliance on China – Reuters
This would be Trump’s first overseas investment mining project.
MAKE IT HAPPEN! 👀 pic.twitter.com/cnup7GZZGv
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 15, 2025
Diversifying from China is becoming an urgent matter. For example, Ford Motor Co. reports that it is struggling with supplies of rare earth magnet because of China tightening the level of exports.
Automakers, especially those focused on EVs, are among the largest industrial consumers of rare earth materials.
China granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three U.S. automakers, including Ford, earlier this month, according to a Reuters report.
But Farley told Bloomberg News the company continues to struggle.
“It’s day to day,” Farley said. “We have had to shut down factories. It’s hand-to-mouth right now.”
Will Greenland be the answer? Maybe…and maybe not.
Several prominent geologists are skeptical about the widely touted prospects of Greenland’s rare earth reserves, arguing that the narrative of a “mineral bonanza” is exaggerated and that significant challenges remain before these resources can be meaningfully developed.
Minik Rosing, a Greenlandic geologist and professor at the University of Copenhagen, is among the most vocal critics of claims that Greenland holds vast, easily accessible rare earth riches. Rosing emphasizes that while rare earth elements are present in Greenland, they are not uniquely abundant or concentrated compared to other parts of the world. He points out that rare earths are neither rare nor earths in the traditional sense—they are a group of metals found in many rock types globally, and large known deposits exist elsewhere.
Rosing, a native Greenlander and professor at the University of Copenhagen, is credited with making life on Earth no less than 300 million years older by discovering a carbon signature in Greenlandic rock formations. He has spent years studying the territory’s terrain. He argues that the assumptions about getting rich quickly from untapped resources in Greenland are akin to planning to get wealthy by playing the lottery. The widespread lack of detailed knowledge about geology, mining, and minerals has resulted in, he says, an almost “mythological misunderstanding” of what rare earth elements truly are.
“In geology, we say what characterizes rare earths is that they are neither rare nor earth. They are a group of metals that are commonly occurring in many rock types, and there are large known deposits of them throughout the world,” Rosing explained to 60 Minutes.
According to Rosing, nothing points to a special concentration of minerals and rare earths in Greenland, and there are many places in the world where minerals are easier and cheaper to obtain, such as the USA.
In the U.S. Geological Survey’s overview of known rare earth reserves from 2024, Greenland sits eighth in the table, ranked just behind the US but far behind countries such as China, Vietnam, and Brazil.
Whether or not there are large deposits, this move could be an important phase in showing the Greenlanders that the U.S. is serious about in investing in the region for our security and theirs.
Your regular reminder why Greenland is important to U.S. interests. pic.twitter.com/QGwxvlUI5G
— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) June 15, 2025
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Comments
I trust we are mining our own here is the US as well as negotiating with Brazil and to be sure, Greenland as well.
our biggest miner of the rare earths in america STILL must send the material to china for processing
THE USA USE TO BE ( AND WE CAN SAY THAT FOR MANY THINGS) the leader in rare earth mining etc but ……
regulations sent everything overseas
Again,,,GIVING IN TO THE COMMUNISTNAZI agenda in America never serves maga agenda
That means that any Chinese inventions related to this should be appropriated,
Not for much longer. Processing capacity was kept low under the previous administration due to regulatory burdens imposed by the EPA for one. They are now expanding production and refining capacity.
I suspect that a professor as distinguished and qualified as Minik Rosing appears to be is probably correct in his assessment. However, one has to think in geopolitical terms as well as scientific ones. Thus, the following ideas come to mind.
1. China has officially been served notice that they are losing the rare earth negotiating chip. The venture may not succeed but ya gotta ask yourself one question in Chinese: do ya feel lucky Xi? Well do ya? $120 M is chump change to play this card.
2. We now essentially control Greenland. We have far more leverage than Denmark or the EU.
This might be about other things? Greenland necessary to close the window for iron/gold dome missile defense shield?
I think so given the USA’s radius from the NP as displayed on the map above.
$120M is chickenfeed. Why does the government have to be involved when private investors should be champing at the bit at the prospect of developing rare earth mining in Greenland (or anywhere, for that matter)? Great if it works out, but this has the earmarks of a boondoggle. It would be greater if this were done privately.
why the government involvement?
b/c they do such a great job
the gop talks a big game about private ownership etc
but they, as we know, are fos and have sold us out
Rare earth minerals can be sourced globally. In the future they will become more like oil and copper.
Have you priced copper lately?
Plumbing and wiring repairs are now like student loans.
The Danish propaganda about rare earth being oversold sounds so much like the Seward’s folly Alaska propaganda prior to the US purchase.
Here’s the plan.
The US invests in Greenland rare earth mining.
The US invests in Greenland rare earth processing.
The US sends 100k people to participate.
The 100K people become citizens of Greenland.
The 100K people vote for Greenland to become part of US (employing
Russian and Chinese strategy for land acquisition).
“Whether or not there are large deposits, this move could be an important phase in showing the Greenlanders that the U.S. is serious about in investing in the region for our security and theirs.”
That’s the key. We could mine rare earths in the U.S.; those deposits are known and if the progressives, academics and EPA (BIRM) would just get out of the way it would happen.
Mining in Greenland means no EPA and the side benefit of showing native Greenlanders that we can deliver.
Waaaait, Orange Havre isn’t going to invade them? Pussy.
War in Ukraine still raging. He golfs. Pussy
Iran and Israel bombing the shit out of one another. He plays toy soldier. No wonder nobody respects him. Pussy
His foreign policy . Speak loudly and carry a small stick .And well all know from Stormy what a little shrimpdick he has. LAFFFFriot
Better Greenland than Ukraine.
No political pantomime about possibly having to defend “ourselves” (read: the midget mercenary) against a future enemy incursion from the east.
Being a geologist specializing in identifying carbon signatures for signs of life is not a mining expert or have the expertise to estimate rare earth reserves. I doubt he had the equipment to do it.
Economic mineral geology brings risk. Indirect evaluation can go only so far to limit that risk, be it drilling or mining to determine if a venture will be an economic success. Many geologists in the past have scoffed and been proven wrong. Greenland’s mineral potential needs to be tested before writing it off.