The US is making inroads in Greenland as it seeks to break away from China’s stronghold on the critical minerals supply chain.
The latest progress can be found at the Tanbreez project, located at the southern tip of Greenland. The mine contains one of the world's largest rare earth deposits that are used to help produce advanced technology, defence systems, electric vehicles and other technologies in the clean energy transition.
US company Critical Metals Corporation this week secured approval from the Greenland government to acquire 70 per cent of 60° North Greenland APS, accelerating development of the Tanbreez project.
The latest developments now bring Greenland, which emerged as a flashpoint in tensions between the US and Europe over Mr Trump's efforts to control it for the sake of national security, back into the spotlight.
Saudi Arabia rare-earth ties
The New York-based company earlier this year signed a non-binding agreement with Saudi company Tariq Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al-Qahtani & Brothers Company for a joint venture that would include refining 25 per cent of Tanbreez's rare-earth projects in the kingdom.
“If that agreement ultimately materialises and Tanbreez material is processed in Saudi Arabia, it would give the kingdom a role in one of the most strategically important stages of the critical minerals supply chain,” said Said Bakr, a research associate at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
That non-binding term sheet comes on top of a binding agreement made by Saudi mining company Maaden last year, where it entered a joint venture with the US Defense Department and MP Materials to develop a rare earth refinery in the kingdom.
Mr Bakr said that, should the non-binding agreement with Critical Metals materialises, it would boost Saudi Arabia's efforts to become an important non-Chinese source of heavy rare-earths refining as the US and broader West seek to reduce dependence on Chinese imports.
US President Donald Trump has framed critical minerals through a national security lens, bringing in the private sector to help develop domestic supply chains and seeking plurilateral agreements to bolster supply chain resilience and downstream industries to break China's stronghold.
“It's undeniable that the US government and many other governments around the world, including in the Gulf, have woken up to the importance of developing critical mineral supply chains,” said Rachel Ziemba, founder of geopolitical risk firm Ziemba Insights.
For Saudi Arabia, critical minerals are a key pillar of the kingdom's Vision 2030 programme.
With an estimated mineral wealth of $2.5 trillion and because of the kingdom's abundance of low-cost, critical minerals are considered as the third pillar of Saudi Arabia's economy under Vision 2030.
“It also reflects a broader recognition in Riyadh that future economic diversification will likely depend not only on large-scale infrastructure and tourism projects, but also on developing industries linked to the global tech race and manufacturing,” Mr Bakr said.
As Saudi Arabia recalibrates its spending due to the economic toll of the Iran war, Ms Ziemba said further investment in the rare-earths sector will help integrate other sectors including defence and electric vehicles.
However, challenges remain including water scarcity and attracting foreign capital. Meanwhile, higher shipping costs and insurance premiums because of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz are putting new focus on the supply chain's fragility.
And while Saudi Arabia is growing its minerals sector, it still does not yet have a mature rare earths ecosystem.
“I think the ambition is there. The question mark is going to be the time and the price tag,” Ms Ziemba said.
