US and Danish officials have lobbied Tanbreez Mining, the developer of Greenland's largest rare earths deposit, to refrain from selling its project to companies linked to China.
The Tanbreez deposit comprises 30% heavy rare earths, extensively used in defence applications, as reported by Reuters.
The site also contains gallium, on which China imposed export restrictions in 2024.
Tanbreez plans to mine 500,000mt of the rare earths-containing mineral eudialyte annually by 2026.
Tanbreez CEO Greg Barnes stated that the company has been in regular discussions with Washington as it evaluates funding options for developing the island's critical minerals.
Barnes noted that US officials visited the project in southern Greenland twice in 2024, consistently advising the financially constrained company not to sell the large deposit to a buyer linked to Beijing.
Ultimately, Barnes sold Tanbreez to New York-based Critical Metals as part of a complex deal expected to conclude later in 2025.
Critical Metals CEO Tony Sage said: “There was a lot of pressure not to sell to China.”
Barnes reportedly received $5m in cash and $211m in Critical Metals stock for Tanbreez, significantly less than offers from Chinese firms, according to Critical Metals CEO Tony Sage.
Barnes clarified that offers from Chinese and other parties were not relevant as they lacked clear payment structures.
The sale of Tanbreez to Critical Metals indicates that US officials have achieved more success in Greenland than in Africa, where efforts to counter China's influence have faced challenges.
A competing rare earths project from Energy Transition Minerals, which includes China's Shenghe as its largest shareholder, has stalled due to ongoing legal disputes.
Incoming US President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr, visited Nuuk privately on Tuesday 7 January 2025, shortly after Trump senior reiterated his interest in acquiring the island.
Denmark has consistently stated that Greenland, a self-governing part of its kingdom, is not for sale.
The visit followed a four-day trip by a State Department official to Greenland's capital, aimed at encouraging Western mining investment.
Critical Metals applied for funding to develop a rare earths processing facility from the US Department of Defense in 2024, but the review process has stalled ahead of Trump's inauguration on 20 January 2024.
Sage anticipates that discussions will resume post-inauguration, noting that Trump's transition team has already reached out to him.
“We're already in discussions with the US to sell rare earths to the US and build the processing plant in the US,” he stated.
Critical Metals has engaged in supply discussions with defence contractor Lockheed Martin and has upcoming talks with RTX and Boeing.
Lockheed Martin confirmed that it continuously assesses the rare earth supply chain to ensure access to critical materials. RTX and Boeing did not respond to requests for comment.
GreenRoc has applied for an exploitation licence to develop a Greenland graphite project and has held funding discussions with US officials in the twelve months to January 2025, according to CEO Stefan Bernstein.
Neo Performance Materials and Anglo American are also exploring opportunities on the island.
