Greenland's Resources in Trump's Security Push

Rising energy prices are causing serious and sustained financial hardship for America’s working class as President Trump says oil, gas and mineral exploration is about to begin in Greenland, where no extraction effort has moved beyond exploration. Trump made the claim early Wednesday about what he called “our new and beautiful Greenland,” but it wasn't clear which developments he meant.

The announcement comes before next month’s midterm elections. The article describes the energy price increases as a direct result of Trump’s war in Iran and says his comments were likely aimed at voters’ concerns. Trump posted after campaigning Tuesday in Wasilla, Alaska, for Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking a third term against Democratic former U.S. congresswoman Mary Peltola.

Resources and extraction

Greenland has large deposits of rare earth minerals used in computers, smartphones, batteries, and solar and wind technologies intended to support a transition away from fossil fuels. China dominates the global supply of these minerals, and the Trump administration wants to break Beijing’s “chokehold” on them. The U.S. Geological Survey has identified major potential offshore deposits of oil and natural gas.

Those resources haven't made extraction straightforward. Greenland’s harsh climate, Arctic ice and lack of infrastructure have thwarted efforts for decades. Rare earth minerals sit encased in rock, while offshore oil and gas deposits lie beneath Arctic ice; extracting the minerals could prove prohibitively difficult. No effort has progressed beyond the exploratory stage.

Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, not part of the United States. Trump has expressed a desire to acquire it since 2019, and during his second term issued threats to seize the territory from Denmark, a NATO ally. Representatives from Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greenland’s prime minister and the island’s mining ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Agreement and military presence

Last month, Trump signed an agreement with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic, after months of tensions with NATO allies over his repeated demands to take control of the territory. The agreement gives the United States no special exploration rights. It limits some investments by non-NATO countries in strategic sectors, permits more U.S. bases in Greenland and eased tensions over Trump’s calls for the island to become part of the United States. The agreement would stay in effect if Greenland eventually chooses independence.

The U.S. military presence in Greenland has fallen since 1945, from thousands of soldiers on 17 bases and installations to roughly 200 soldiers at the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest. That base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the United States and NATO.

Trump said last month that the United States would “immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations,” including “building two very major military bases.” On Wednesday, he called Greenland “second to none” for U.S. and European defense, writing that an attack on the United States “will have to come across Greenland,” where defenses could knock down drones and missiles.

Naaja H. Nathanielsen, who represents Greenland at the Danish parliament, told Danish broadcaster TV2 she believed Trump used his post to get attention. She said she didn't attach significance to his calling the island “our Greenland.”