Trump Administration Plans to Finance $120 Million Rare Earths Mining Project in Greenland – Watts Up With That?

From Legal Insurrection

Meanwhile, Ford struggles with supply of rare earth magnets as geologists question if there are truly significant mineral deposits under the Arctic island.

Posted by Leslie Eastman 

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.

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.