Minerals and hydrocarbons, strategic but limited in territory coveted by Trump

GreenlandVast Autonomous Territory of Denmark coveted by US President Donald Trumphosts in its key entrails key minerals for energy and hydrocarbons transition, but its reserves remain modest worldwide.

Rare earth

With rare earth resources evaluated at 36.1 million tons by the National Geology Service of Denmark and Greenland (Geus), the island has a significant stock of these 17 metals coveted by the future industry, whose demand should continue to increase in the coming years.

However, the reserves – which correspond to the economically and technically recoverable resources – are about 1.5 million tons, according to the latest report of the United States Geological Institute (USGS).

A modest figure compared to China’s reserves (44 million tons) or Brazil (21), but enough to interest industrialists who seek to diversify their supply sources against Chinese domination.

You can find these rare earths both in a drone, a wind turbine, a hard drive, an electric car engine, a telescope lens or a hunting plane.

Lithium, graphite, copper

According to Geus, Greenland’s floors also contain graphite, lithium and copper, three minerals defined by the International Energy Agency (IE) as “critics”For energy transition.

The National Geology Service evaluated graphite resources in 6 million tons, that is, 0.75% of the world total calculated by USGS.

According to a report on May 2024 China “The entire production chain dominates”Of this mineral, used both in batteries and in the nuclear industry.

As for the lithium, which plays a crucial role in batteries and whose demand could be multiplied by eight by 2040 according to the IEA, Greenland’s resources are estimated at 235,000 tons, which represents 0.20% of the global figure.

The presence of copper in Greenland, although little significant worldwide, seems less strategic than uranium, a coveted nuclear fuel but whose exploitation on the island was prohibited by law in 2021.

An active mine, one that restarts

There is only one active mine in Greenland: an anortosite deposit on the west coast exploited by substantable material since 2019. Production increases from the beginning of the project, said the group, which foresees a production of 200,000 tons in 2025.

The Nalunaq gold mine, owned by the Canadian company Amaroq Minerals in southern Greenland, is in the restart phase.

“Several other projects are in development, some of which reached the viability phase and obtained exploitation licenses, but still require important investments and final authorizations to enter into production”, Explained Jakob Kløve Keunding, Senior consultant of Geus.

The European Union, which identified in Greenland 25 of the 34 minerals of its official list of essential raw materials -according to a statement of 2023 -signed the same year with the Greenlandic government a protocol of agreement supporting the “Development of mineral resources“Of the island.

A strategic partner while the Arctic is heated up to four times faster than the rest of the world, which opens new perspectives for maritime transport and exploration of resources, such as oil and gas.

Hydrocarbons

It is estimated that on the island there are hydrocarbons due to the energy equivalent of 28,430 million barrels of oil, according to an estimate of the GEUS, the National Petroleum Company of Greenland (Nunaoil) and the Greenland Mineral Resources Authority (MRA), based on industry data.

Although abundant, this deposit would continue to be a limited contribution for world demand, since only the United States consumed more than 7,000 million barrels in 2023, according to the US Energy Information Agency (EIA).

So far an industrial oil or gas perforation in Greenland has never been exploited, although there are three active oil exploration licenses in the east of the territory.