President Donald Trump has said he thinks the US will gain control of Greenland, underlining a claim on the Arctic island that he has repeated several times recently, on one occasion pointing to “economic security” as the reason. While the autonomous Danish territory has been quick to say it isn’t for sale, its vast and mostly untapped mineral resources are in great demand.
Jagged grey peaks suddenly appear before us, as the motorboat navigates choppy coastal waters and dramatic fjords at Greenland’s southern tip.
“Those very high pointy mountains, it’s basically a gold belt,” gestures Eldur Olafsson, the chief executive of mining company Amaroq Minerals.
After sailing for two hours we stepped ashore at a remote valley beneath Nalunaq mountain, where the firm is drilling for gold.
It’s also scouring the surrounding mountain range and valleys, hunting for other valuable minerals, having snapped up exploration licences spanning over 10,000 sq km (3,861 sq miles).
“We’re looking for copper, nickel, and rare earths,” says the Icelandic boss. “This is uncharted, and still has the potential to have multiple big deposits.”
The base camp is a cluster of mobile buildings and bright orange accommodation tents housing more than 100 staff, including Greenlanders, Australians, and British former coal miners. From there a road climbs up the valley, and we drive by car into the gold mine, following a dark tunnel upwards inside the mountain.
“See here!” says Mr Olafsson pointing to a seam of white quartz and a thin dark line. “Gold, gold, gold. All the way over. Isn’t that extraordinary?”
Greenland is a self-governing territory that is part of Denmark, but controls its own natural resources.
It’s endowed with the eighth largest reserves of so-called rare earth elements, which are vital for making everything from mobile phones to batteries and electric motors. It also has large amounts of other key metals, such as lithium and cobalt.
There is oil and gas too, but new drilling is banned, while deep-sea mining has also been ruled out.
Christian Kjeldsen, director of Greenland’s Business Association, says that the global “geopolitical situation right now is driving interest in the world’s biggest island”.
He points to China having the world’s largest reserves of rare earth metals, while the West wants to secure alternative supplies.
“You have a very strong China sitting very heavily on the critical raw materials,” he says.