The furthest developed mine near the southern tip of the country, Kuannersuit or Kvaneflejd, was effectively blocked from exploitation because its deposits of rare earths are mixed with uranium. The company holding the exploitation license has sued Greenland’s government for $11 billion.
Other deposits are much smaller and harder to access, meaning their exploitation would require vast sums of investment and a lot of time to develop.
Greenland’s voters will head to the polls at the latest in April, with Egede hinting during his New Year’s address that he might also propose a referendum on independence from Denmark. He’s in a tricky position though: Mining might pay Greenland’s way to independence, replacing Denmark’s annual grant. But his voters are worried too about the potential environmental impact.
Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, has conveniently pushed the question over to Nuuk, cleverly hoping to annoy neither Trump nor the Greenlanders themselves. When Trump previously suggested buying the island, she called it “absurd.” But by not panning his comments outright, Frederiksen might well create an avenue for deeper U.S.-Danish-Greelandic Arctic cooperation.
“When the storm has passed, it may well be that the U.S. and Greenland can negotiate a new form of cooperation,” concluded Ellekrog.
Graphic by Giovanna Coi. This article has been corrected to clarify that the EU appointed its special envoy to Greenland last fall.