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0:01In 1799, Danish chemist Peter Abildgaard
formally identified cryolite – a white,
0:07rare mineral from Greenland, dubbed as
“the ice that never melts”. Later used
0:11in the production of aluminium,
a cryolite mine was set up on the
0:14territory in the 1850s. That’s when a
lot started to change for the island.
0:20Fast forward to 2026, and interest in
Greenland’s minerals has intensified.
0:27We need Greenland for national protection.
0:29We need Greenland for national security.
0:31Now what I’m asking for is a piece of ice.
0:35Greenland is currently a self-governed
territory within the Kingdom of Denmark,
0:39and it’s landed in the midst
of a geopolitical battle.
0:42We’re open for business but we are not for sale.
0:44We have to work together respectfully.
0:47No doubt, in Greenland if you want to exploit,
you, of course, have to respect our legislation.
0:53This is an Arctic island that's strategically
positioned. It's situated in an area that is
0:59close to emerging shipping routes, and of course,
it's revered for its untapped mineral potential.
1:05There are a couple of very large
rare-earth projects that Donald
1:08Trump is almost certainly interested
in. And I think the US is going to
1:11be in charge of mineral rights or
highly influential in this area.
1:16The rare earth market, mineral market,
is a very small market. It's about
1:19$10 billion dollars. It is, however,
servicing probably a $7 trillion market.
1:24So, why won't critical minerals
make Greenland rich? And what can?
1:38Greenland’s economy has long been
reliant on two major sectors: fishing,
1:42which accounts for almost all of the island’s
exports - and public administration and services,
1:47which cover health and education. You’ll notice
that mining is the smallest segment on the chart.
1:53However, Greenland’s biggest sector is
incredibly reliant on subsidies from Denmark.
1:58In 2024, Greenland received about
€553 million from Copenhagen,
2:03representing about half of the territory's
expenditures – and around 20% of its GDP.
2:08But that’s not enough to support the entire
economy. In 2026, the National Bank of
2:13Denmark expects a slowdown in Greenland’s growth,
citing major challenges in its public finances.
2:19When you look at Greenland's economy today, the
first thing to say is that it's very small. Its
2:23nominal gross domestic product is somewhere
in the region of 3.3 billion US dollars.
2:28It's also been growing at about 1% in recent
years, which is after some years of progress,
2:33and it's slowing to that level.
When you come to Greenland,
2:36the kitchen table discussions is how to
combat inflation, the cost of living,
2:41our health care system, all of the issues that
I think other countries also have top of mind.
2:47Greenland has been exploring ways
to become financially independent
2:50from Denmark for a while – and
one industry could enable that.
2:53This is an island with the world's eighth
largest reserves of rare earth elements.
2:57There are also significant deposits of
things like gold and cobalt and lithium,
3:02and the list goes on from there. Some of the
mining companies described it as a mineral
3:06Gold Rush, although analysts I've spoken
to are a bit more sceptical than that.
3:10A study by the American Action
Forum estimates that the value of
3:13Greenland’s known and realistically extractable
mineral resources could reach $186 billion.
3:19In an optimistic scenario, mines could bring
wealth to Greenland, like oil did for Norway,
3:24through the creation of a sovereign
wealth fund. This could also ripple
3:28through the local economy, by increasing
consumer demand and, in turn, more jobs.
3:32Every time there's some activity in the mineral
sector, they will charter the local boat,
3:37the local shop, and so on. So right now,
the local communities are really feeling
3:41the positive effect of that. It will take some
time before we fill it on a more national level.
3:45We've got more exploration than exploitation,
and in the exploration phase, there's a lot of
3:51money to be made for local companies, because
the exploration companies are very small,
3:56very few people, very few resources,
but they're usually well-funded,
3:59and they buy all the services they need
locally. We don't mind if you find anything,
4:04as long as you keep looking, because
that's where the money is for us right now.
4:08Since 1998, the Greenlandic government has
been delivering licenses to mining firms for
4:13the prospecting, exploration and exploitation
of mineral resources - and it’s been busy.
4:19Greenland’s trove of minerals extends
well beyond cryolite, and includes gold,
4:24gemstones and industrial rocks. And with
36.1 million tonnes of rare earth elements,
4:30the territory boasts some of the world’s
biggest reserves. It’s also home to two
4:35of the world’s largest deposits, a natural
accumulation of minerals in the Earth’s crust.
4:41Between 2003 and 2026, the Greenlandic
government granted 138 licenses, mainly
4:47to British, Canadian and Australian firms,
but only two mines are actively operating:
4:53Nalunaq gold mine and White
Mountain anorthosite mine.
4:57The largest licence holder, Amaroq, has
been present on the island since 2017,
5:02and is exploring and exploiting gold, copper,
germanium and gallium, amongst others.
5:08It was all the way back to 2012, I noticed
how much interest it was in Greenland,
5:13especially from China. The question was
like, how are you going to do it? Is it
5:17feasible to do it? And I thought, with the kind
of Icelandic know-how, an Icelandic background,
5:22if you could marry up assets, operation
and capital, then it could be done.
5:26We started with a gold mine, one of the
highest-grade gold mines in the world,
5:29which means it should yield high
and good free cash flow. And it is,
5:33in our view, easiest to start with
gold, because gold is easily movable.
5:38The intention was to utilize the
cash flow from those operations
5:41to find large deposits that are
sitting on the surface there.
5:45New critical mineral discoveries
and growing geopolitical demand
5:48have sparked renewed interest for
investments in mining companies.
5:52The investment picture for Greenland's
mining is still one that is developing.
5:56It's still very early stages. The E.U. is
looking to form a strategic partnership
6:00with Greenland to look at improving
its raw material supply chains. And
6:04one notable investment that stands
out is for a company called Critical
6:08Metals. They have a project called
Tanbreez, which is a rare earths mine.
6:12In October 2025, Critical Metals
received a letter of interest from the
6:16U.S. Export-Import bank for a loan worth
up to $120 million to develop Tanbreez.
6:22And while no rare earths are
being mined in Greenland yet,
6:25large investments in the sector
are being eyed by the wealthiest.
6:29Since 2019, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Michael
Bloomberg all invested in Kobold Metals,
6:34a mineral exploration company that uses
AI and machine learning. Altman joined
6:39them as an investor in 2022. However,
in 2025, KoBold ceased its exploration
6:45work on the island and returned its stake
in the project to its partner, 80 Mile.
6:50The company, formerly known as BlueJay Mining, is
being advised by broker and analyst firm SP Angel.
6:56The recent dramatic rise in gold
prices, silver prices, copper,
7:01tin, a whole range of other commodities is
definitely bringing new investors back into
7:06the mining sector. And Greenland is a very
interesting place to look for new minerals.
7:13If you want to invest in Greenlandic minerals or
energy potentials, it is very capital intensive.
7:19And in order for that to succeed, investors need
stability. You need to engage in the first part
7:25of the value chain. We only got the minerals.
We don't have the down-the-line production.
7:31There are no roads going across Greenland.
You either have to get somewhere by plane,
7:36by helicopter, by boat. You have to
build everything from scratch. You've
7:40got to do your own water. You've
got to create your own power.
7:43You need your own communications. So
your project has to be really worth it.
7:46You need to do everything on your own.
We started with a project that has costed
7:50us in total about $200 million from the start to
finish. Now I want to say two thirds of that cost
7:57was the processing plant to build the house, put
the plant in, and about 50 to 60% of that cost was
8:04people. 1/3 was to set up the roads, the bridges,
the harbor, and get the mining going and so on.
8:10It is a chicken and egg situation. The mines
can't get going until the processing is there,
8:15and the processors won't put
the money in until the mines
8:18are going. So this is where government
needs to step in and help the chain.
8:23If investment and infrastructure already
make Greenland a risky bet for mining,
8:27then additional constraints—such as
insurance challenges and the impacts
8:31of climate change could really slow things down.
8:34Our society is struck by climate changes,
by changes in the infrastructure. We have
8:40power outings. We have the distribution and
the supplies being cut off once in a while,
8:45and the companies need to deal with that.
8:47Scientists are deeply alarmed with the scale and
pace of the thawing of Greenland ice sheet. These
8:54environmental considerations are critically
important to Greenland's economy. You only
8:58have to look at fishing, which is just undeniably
essential to Greenland's economic success. But it
9:04is also true that climate change, inadvertently,
is creating conditions in which it might actually
9:09be easier to access some of these raw materials.
But building kind of floating docks rather than
9:15investing in infrastructure for a port, for
example, is something that is happening more.
9:20It's not that easy to find rare earths. And
then finding those rare earths where there's
9:23a reasonable grade and where the metallurgy
means you can easily extract the rare earths
9:28is even more difficult. So what you really
want to do is produce a concentrate of some
9:32sort and ship that probably to a place where
they can more easily extract the rare earths
9:38but it’s all about economics. The Chinese are
processing rare earths very cost effectively,
9:43really quite cheaply. And the Chinese
haven't been that bothered about putting
9:46acid into their environment and they’ll
have to clean that up one of these days.
9:50Greenland can't afford that. They
need to get it right first time.
9:54There has been local opposition to these
projects in Greenland in the past. And we
9:58can see that by example of the banning of
high-level uranium mining on the territory.
10:03In 2021, the Kvanefjeld site – which holds both
critical minerals and uranium – was shut down
10:09following the arrival of a new government, which
banned the extraction of the chemical element.
10:13The mining company Energy Transition
Minerals, which had planned to extract
10:17the highly toxic and radioactive metal,
is now suing Greenland’s government for
10:22compensation of up to $11.5bn on the grounds of
expropriation, the government seizure of property.
10:29It's a huge deposit. It's got great rare earth
grades, quite a lot of uranium and thorium in it,
10:35and the Greenlanders really don't
want any radionuclides. They really
10:39don't want any risk of poisoning the
fish docks or the land in that area.
10:45Another issue faced by investors and
mining companies is finding skilled
10:49workers. As investment increases, so does
the necessity for a trained labor force.
10:53Currently, we have about 40 or 50% of our
employees are Greenlandic. When you will have
10:58a lot of mines in Greenland, that will get smaller
and smaller, because there's only 50,000 people,
11:04and only a portion of that can work. You then
need to find people that are willing to work
11:08on maybe four weeks on shift or four weeks
off. And we have developed a plan to do that,
11:13mostly through people from places
like Poland, Serbia, Kazakhstan.
11:18We are still very much dependent on a
foreign workforce, and about 12 to 13%
11:23of the workforce here are foreigners.
It's a sign of an economy in growth.
11:27When you are a small economy and a small
workforce, you have to import a lot of
11:32workforce from the outside to develop these
sectors. So we are not interested in opening 10
11:37mines. It would mean that we would be outnumbered
in our own country and we cannot accommodate that.
11:42While it's still quite a nascent industry,
there are other projects in development,
11:47and yet there does seem to be
a cap on that ambition as well.
11:50The shortage of skilled workers directly
stems from a declining and ageing population.
11:56In early 2026, Greenland’s population stood at
just over 55,500 inhabitants. But government data
12:03projections show a steep decline over the next 20
years, with the territory expected to lose around
12:0920% of its people by 2050. High mortality
and emigration are contributing factors.
12:15And like in many parts of the world,
12:17Greenland is experiencing falling birth
rates. And the territory is also known
12:21for having the highest levels of abortion in
the world – due to socio-economic conditions.
12:26It's a vast Arctic Island. That trend of bringing
12:28in foreign workers is only
likely to continue from here.
12:32While the Greenlandic government operates a
corporate tax of 25% on foreign companies,
12:37and mining licenses include a 5% royalty
on uranium and rare earth elements,
12:43profits are still split between Denmark
and Greenland. And if mining profits exceed
12:47DKK75 million per year, Denmark will
reduce its grant by 50% of the excess.
12:54So, what could help Greenland
make its population rich?
12:57While waiting for the ice to melt – and future
mining projects to take shape – Greenland has
13:02turned to other sources of income such as tourism
and the potential of exporting its freshwater,
13:07which could be used as drinking water, for
food production or in industrial settings.
13:11Tourism is a big focus for Greenland
for diversifying its economy,
13:15it harbors ambitions of 40% of its export
value coming from the tourism sector by 2035.
13:21We're trying to sell, first of all,
surplus energy produced in Greenland,
13:25either for exports or for arms projects
like data centers, because, you know, a
13:30data center basically just requires a good
connectivity, lots of land, a building,
13:35and a cooling mechanism. And definitely here
the cooling mechanism is: we open the door.
13:40Greenland's mineral potential is enormous,
but so are the barriers to turning these
13:45projects into a success. Overcoming those
barriers is going to take a lot of private
13:49and probably state capital. The question
for Greenlanders, I'm sure, is whether it
13:53becoming a success story and it developing these
riches will actually get seen by its population.
