The Greenland Resource Rush
The Greenland Resource Rush
Donald Trump’s push to bring Greenland under U.S. control is often portrayed simply as a geopolitical obsession. But beneath the rhetoric is a very real combination of military strategy, critical minerals, oil, and private financial interests.
Greenland occupies an extraordinarily strategic position between North America, Europe and the Arctic. The U.S. already operates Pituffik Space Base there, and control or greater access to Greenland would strengthen American surveillance of Russia, missile warning and Arctic military operations. As the Arctic becomes more accessible, its strategic importance is increasing.
Trump & US Elites want those minerals!
But Greenland also contains potentially enormous deposits of rare-earth elements and other critical minerals. These are essential for advanced electronics, electric motors, weapons systems and other technologies, while China dominates much of the world’s rare-earth supply chain.
That has attracted major private investors. Critical Metals Corp. is developing the Tanbreez rare-earth project in Greenland. The company has received significant attention from Washington, with the U.S. government pursuing a major financing/investment arrangement for critical minerals more broadly. Critical Metals also has a relationship with Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm formerly run by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and now controlled by his sons. Members of Congress have raised conflict-of-interest questions about Cantor’s role in a separate $1.6 billion U.S. government investment in USA Rare Earth. The administration and Cantor deny improper involvement. (Global Witness)
Then there is oil.
Greenland Energy, a small Texas company chaired by financier Larry Swets Jr., is pursuing oil exploration in eastern Greenland. Billionaire Kenneth Griffin, founder of Citadel and a major Trump donor, acquired a significant stake in the company through Citadel. The venture claims the Jameson Land region could contain oil worth as much as $1 trillion, although that figure is speculative and does not represent proven reserves. (Financial Times)
The company has not actually begun drilling. It brought equipment ashore in July 2026, prompting Greenland’s government to issue a strong warning because the necessary approvals had not been obtained. Greenland subsequently blocked the planned 2026 drilling campaign; the company now says drilling may be delayed until winter 2027. (The Guardian)
Trump wants all the minerals & their oil
So there is a genuine convergence of interests: Washington wants greater strategic security in the Arctic and access to critical minerals; private investors see potentially enormous mineral and petroleum wealth; and China is already involved in Greenland’s mineral sector.
Trump’s Greenland policy is hidden under national-security objectives as the true private commercial interests are increasingly exposed in Greenland, with several prominent Trump-connected people and institutions positioned to benefit if American companies succeed there.
And that may ultimately be the most important story—not whether Greenland has a trillion dollars of oil, which remains unproven, but who gets control of its critical minerals and the infrastructure needed to extract them. (Financial Times)