Trump’s Greenland framework may block China from accessing rare earths in the Arctic

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump’s push for restrictions over mineral drilling rights as part of the Greenland "framework" is likely to obstruct China’s access to the island’s massive rare earth reserves.

The concept for the Greenland deal announced in Davos reportedly aims to secure, among other things, a long-term US and NATO influence over critical resources to ensure China and Russia are out of the Arctic.

Trump's strategic framework for Arctic control

In an interview with CNBC, Trump said that mineral rights are part of the Greenland framework that he announced this at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, Switzerland. 

The president indicated that the arrangement includes the involvement of US and its partners in the proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense system and future resource extraction. 

“They’re going to be involved in the Golden Dome, and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we,” Trump said. 

Notably, Greenland has the eighth-largest rare earth reserves in the world.

While specific details remain unclear, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly noted that the deal aims to achieve all US strategic goals “at very little cost, forever.”

Framework likely to block China, Russia in the Arctic

Trump has emphasized that his primary interest in the territory is rooted in national defense rather than immediate commercial mining.

“I want Greenland for security. I don’t want it for anything else,” Trump told reporters before his meeting with Mark Rutte, the Secretary-General of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 

He further dismissed the immediate need for the island’s resources, stating, “We have so much rare earth, we don’t know what to do with it.” 

Trump also acknowledged the physical difficulty of such ventures, noting, “In terms of Greenland, you know, you have to go 25 feet down through ice to get it. It’s not something that a lot of people are going to do or want to do.”

Blocking China's mining interests in Greenland

Despite Trump's assurances, the administration’s policy is clear that no rival power can claim a mining spot on the island.

He has said he wants to block China’s and Russia’s ambitions in the Arctic, 

This is expected to include Beijing’s interest in Greenland’s rare earth resources, minerals that are crucial for defense and other strategic industries. 

Notably, a Chinese company has an interest in the Kvanefjeld mining project in Greenland’s south, which is currently stalled due to local environmental laws.

If the framework gives US priority access to Greenland’s rare earths, it “might ensure that a Chinese partner or somebody else doesn’t come back to the table to develop those resources,” Ryan Castilloux, founder of Adamas Intelligence, a rare earth market research firm, told CNBC.