Greenland Signs Lucrative Minerals Deal with Europe in Blow to Trump

Apparently, in response to Donald Trump’s aim to get the Arctic, the government of Greenland permitted the French-Denmark consortium, Greenland Anorthosite Mining (GAM), for 30 years to extract anorthosite, a white rock made of aluminum, calcium, and micro silica, in west Greenland at Piiaaffik Itersarmiut Allit.

According to the Minister of Mineral Resources, Naaja Nathanielsen, The license was part of the project whose motive is to make an environmental-friendly alternative to bauxite to produce aluminum for defense systems, aircraft and vehicles.

Owned by Jean Boulle Group (a French company), real estate firms from Denmark and Greenland, GAM’s chairman, Wayne Malouf, expressed contentment over sharing mutual vision with the Ministry of Mineral Resources. He was glad for the current natural resource developmental project as it became a reality after 20 years of constant and dedicated effort. He is hopeful the project will benefit the community economically and socially by providing a responsible supply of minerals and raw materials globally.

When asked about the influence of the US on this deal, Nathanielsen, disagreed and said the recent development was not the outcome of the remarks and recent speech of the American president but it is proof that the government has been progressing business deals with Europe quickly.

He further said that the US business delegation visited Greenland but they did not have a formal dialogue with the new administration nor US show interest in direct investment.

The associate professor at Aalborg University, Jesper Willaing Zeuthen, supported the Minister’s words during his conversation with Newsweek, saying that Trump aims to get access to mineral resources in Greenland in the long term which seems impossible due to current legislation.

Explaining the licensing process, he expressed that the government offers temporary mining licenses and secondly, the investor has to go through pricey activities to get into it.

According to Zeuthen, if Greenland territory belonged to the US, investors would easily purchase the land and own the rights to sub-territory, but fortunately, Greenland’s government owns its land so the US has no control over it.

What is the mineral project standing now?

Zeuthen said that the project still needs investors for various metallurgical studies and mineral resources to plan the direction and steps of the projects after verifying the resources.

Currently, the core investors are SISA, SIFI Bank, and investment funds from Denmark and Greenland.

To initiate the project, research, and logistics planning are core parts of it as it would allow leaders to conduct assessments and economic studies and understand the study impact of social and climate factors on the project.

SRK, a mining consultancy, and ALS, an analytics company, confirmed that GAM’s extracted mineral is of high quality with fewer alkali components, making it suitable for making E-glass.

Anorthosite is known for its simple nature and ability to consume low energy which means less waste. It goes with climate-friendly processes to produce aluminum and fiberglass, requiring no bauxite and kaolin.

Moreover, the use of anorthosite to make aluminum results in the formation of crushed rock that is used in building roads, and metallic by-products that are used for recycling purposes.

Why does the US have an interest in acquiring Greenland territory?

Greenland is abundant in natural gas, minerals, and oil, making it a high-end resource frontier. After sharing his interest in acquiring Greenland publicly by saying “We need Greenland very badly” on May 4, 2025, Denmark’s piece of land has gained global attention.

Conclusion

Greenland recently permitted GAM to extract anorthosite from west Greenland, making diplomats consider it an action-based response to Trump’s publicly expressed political desire to acquire the territory. Although the government of Greenland brushed off such opinions, the project has effectively sidelined the participation of the US in Greenland.