Critical minerals have become the new oil—a global power game where China is already many steps ahead. While Beijing has shaped its supply chains for years, the US and Europe are urgently looking for ways to reduce their dependence. And the new "promised land" for the West seems to be in the Arctic North, with Greenland at the center.
Europe rushes to cover lost ground
The EU decided only in November to start stockpiling critical minerals, fearing supply disruptions if China restricts exports. For many, the decision came late. Nevertheless, it brought to the forefront Europe's deep dependence on imported minerals—a dependence that could prove catastrophic. The recent Chinese restrictions on metal exports, amidst trade tensions sparked by Donald Trump, were the wake-up call. Europe now wants a central mechanism: to buy, coordinate, create reserves, and oblige companies to fortify their supply chains.
The American counterattack: The gigantic Tanbreez mine
The US, seeing the same threat, is moving aggressively towards self-sufficiency—and not only within American borders. The Tanbreez mine in Greenland, one of the largest rare earth deposits in the world, is preparing to begin mining under an American company. With 45 million tons of rare earths, Tanbreez is considered a treasure of strategic importance.
"Tanbreez is the most important mining asset of our time," Thomas McNamara of Critical Metals told Oilprice.com. According to him, the project can supply the West with almost all its needs for generations. Without it, restructuring global supply chains is almost impossible.
Greenland: The new El Dorado of the West
The island, until recently considered "too frozen to yield," is now at the center of global extractive geopolitics. The United Kingdom is planning a cooperation agreement, the EU has already sent high-ranking officials, while Greenland possesses a wealth that would make any industrial power envious: rare earths, uranium, graphite, gold, titanium.
As Marc Lanteigne of the Arctic University of Norway explains, climate change and increased navigation in the Arctic Ocean now make mining viable and geopolitically necessary. "Greenland is being considered again as the only realistic alternative to China," he notes.
The critical minerals game and the harsh reality
Critical minerals are not just essential for the green transition or batteries. They are cornerstones for defense, electronics, computers, networks—for the entire modern economy. And Greenland, according to a 2023 survey, possesses 38 raw materials of strategic importance.
Russia and Canada have also boosted their mining efforts in the Arctic North, while Sweden extracted a new rare earth deposit in 2023. Despite the optimism, the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies warns: even if the Arctic hides treasures, their exploitation will take years. Today, the region offers only 10% of global production in three minerals (platinum, palladium, nickel). After 2034, production may increase, but the Arctic is unlikely to compete with the already established producers in Africa.
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