Greenland's mining mania

For a place mostly covered in ice, Greenland is having a surprisingly green day.

Greenland Energy surged 141.26%, Greenland Mines soared 230.53%, and Critical Metals climbed 38.63% after President Trump announced a new security arrangement with Denmark and Greenland on Friday. The agreement would expand the US military presence on the island while keeping Greenland under Danish sovereignty.

Investors are betting the closer relationship could eventually mean more American money and support for Greenland’s mining projects, especially regarding its deposits of rare earths and other critical minerals.

“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many. We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Building beyond China

Rare earths are a group of metals used in everything from AI infrastructure and EVs to fighter jets and smartphones. China dominates the supply chain, accounting for about 70% of rare-earth mining and roughly 90% of rare-earth alloy and magnet production.

That gives Beijing considerable leverage. China severely curtailed flows of rare-earth magnets and critical minerals to the US last year as trade tensions escalated, and improving those flows is already part of the agenda ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

By deepening ties with Greenland and building out an alternative supply chain there, Washington could reduce its reliance on China and strengthen its hand in future negotiations.

Betting on the buildout

It also helps explain why investors are piling into Greenland-linked resource stocks.

Greenland Energy is a broad resource bet with plans to spend about $60 million drilling for oil in eastern Greenland. Critical Metals is the clearest rare-earth play through its Tanbreez project, one of the world’s largest rare-earth hard-rock deposits, in the southern region of the territory. And Greenland Mines is another potential winner through Sarfartoq, its rare-earth project in the southwest.

Still, investors shouldn’t get ahead of themselves: Critical Metals isn’t expected to begin mining in Tanbreez until late 2028 or early 2029, while Greenland Mines is still working toward a pre-feasibility study at Sarfartoq.

But if Washington follows through, today’s rally could just be the tip of the iceberg for Greenland’s role in the global minerals race.—SY