Rare earth elements (REEs) power everything from fighter jets to smartphones to missile guidance systems and, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Greenland ranks eighth globally in proven rare earths, with the potential to move even higher as exploration advances. Lithium for batteries of all sizes is particularly in demand.

Go here to learn about rare earth metals: production, and reserves.

Why Does President Trump Want Greenland So Badly?

1. Trump insists it’s for national security, but, as I mentioned earlier, the U.S. military already has broad access to the island, as spelled out in the 1951 agreement signed by the U.S. and Denmark and, in addition, Greenland is under the protection of NATO, of which the U.S. is a member. If Russia or China tried to attack it, Article 5 of the treaty would be triggered, activating NATO forces.
2. Some of Trump’s wealthiest backers see Greenland not as a military outpost or mining play, but as a blank slate. According to Reuters, influential tech investors—including Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen—have pitched the idea of turning parts of Greenland into a so-called “freedom city,” offering a low-regulation, quasi-autonomous hub for next-gen technologies.
3. Another explanation is Trump’s reaffirmation of the Monroe Doctrine as stated in the president’s December 2 proclamation, the “American people—not foreign nations nor globalist institutions—will always control their own destiny” in the Western Hemisphere. Interestingly, the last time we bought islands from Denmark (the US Virgin Islands in 1916, see below), the Monroe doctrine was also cited, in that case because we were worried that if the Nazis conquered Denmark they would claim the islands and we needed to keep them from claiming any legitimate reason for intruding on the Caribbean.)
4. Also read Greenland Is Of Major Importance To the U.S. – Here’s Why

What Is The Estimated Value Of Greenland' s Critical Minerals?

 A study published in January 2025, citing data from geological surveys in the U.S., Denmark and Greenland, determined that the value of Greenland's known critical mineral resources, which include rare earth metals (go here for a discussion of how rare earth metals and critical minerals differ from each other) is more than $2.7 trillion, suggesting that, even if Denmark reversed its opposition to selling Greenland, that land likely wouldn’t come cheap. The island could have a price tag of  $700 billion dollars - or higher. That’s the conservative estimate being floated as the potential price tag for acquiring Greenland, according to recent reporting.

Previous Land Purchases By The U.S.

For those who are interested in our history of expansion by purchase,

1. the Louisiana Purchase was purchased in April 1803 from France for $15,000,000US or $18.12/sq. mi. at the time [$525/sq.mi in today's dollars].
   • The purchase consisted of 828,000 sq. mi. of the area from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to British North America (now western Canada) which accounts for approximately 23% of the United States’s present land mass.
2. the Alaska Purchase was purchased on March 30, 1867 from Russia – some say the purchase was back-dated from April 1, 1867 so that "Seward's Folly" would not be thought of as a cruel joke on the American people – for $7,200,000US or $12.28/sq. mi. (about $280/sq.mi in 2025 dollars) at the time.
   • The purchase consisted of 586,412 square miles.
3. the Danish West Indies Transfer (sale) to the U.S. by Denmark of Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix to the U.S. was completed on March 31st, 1917 for $25,000,000US in gold after the U.S. threatened a military invasion and to seize them if Denmark didn’t sell the U.S. the islands as a means of preventing Germany from getting them. It was a bullying tactic, and it worked. Sound familiar? That price is the equivalent of $633 million in today's money. To sweeten the pot for Danish undecideds, the U.S. formally acknowledged Danish sovereignty over all of Greenland.

Were the U.S. to actually purchase the 836,330 square mile island of Greenland for $700 billion US that would equate to $837 per square mile. It would be a million times more than we paid the Danes for the USVI.

What Canadian/American Exchange-traded Companies Currently Operate In Greenland?

Below are the 5 companies trading on either Canadian or American stock exchanges with direct Greenland mining exposure, their market capitalizations and stock returns over the past 6 month:

1. Critical Metals Corp. (CRML): UP 133% YoY
   • Company Description: CRML, a subsidiary of European Lithium Limited, is based in the British Virgin Islands, trades on the Nasdaq, and operates in Austria and Southern Greenland exploring for lithium and rare earth deposits. And just this past Thursday, Jan. 15, it signed an agreement to form a joint venture in Greenland with Saudi Arabia. Its stock is up 154% since Jan. 1, 2026; over the past six months it is up 330%.
   • Market Cap: US$1.85B 
2. Amaroq Ltd. (AMRQ.V): UP 16% YoY 
   • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Company Description: Amaroq Ltd., formerly known as Amaroq Minerals Ltd.,  is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and operates in Greenland exploring for gold, copper, molybdenum, graphite, platinum group elements, nickel, rare earth elements, and others. In the US it trades on the pink sheets as AMRQF and is up 67% in the last six months.
   • Market Cap: US$807M
3. Greenland Resources (CA:MOLY): UP 100% YoY
   • Company Description: headquartered in Toronto, Canada, OTC:GRLRF operates a molybdenum and magnesium project in eastern Greenland. Up 35% in the last month. 
   • Market Cap: US$193M
4. Brunswick Exploration Inc. (BRW.V): UP 82.5% YTD
   • ​​​​​​​Company Description: BRW, based in Montreal, Canada, is a junior miner that primarily explores for lithium deposits in Canada and to a much lesser extent, and more recently, in Greenland. It trades here on the OTC Venture Market as BRWXF and is up 162% in the last month.
   • Market Cap: C$95M
5. 80 Mile PLC (Lon:80M): UP 60% YTD
   • Company Description: 80 Mile, which trades on the pink sheets as BLLFY, formerly known as Bluejay Mining plc, is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom, explores for ilmenite, copper, cobalt, titanium, zinc, lead, nickel, platinum group element, and silver deposits.in  the United Kingdom, Greenland, Finland, and Italy. It is literally a penny stock on the pink sheets but trades for close to a pound sterling on the LSE.
   • Market Cap: US$62M

Summary:

In total, all 5 stocks are up an average of  135.6% YTD. However, numbers 3, 4, and 5 are micro- or nano-caps and/or penny stocks, where changes in percentage sound more significant than they are (e.g, from 60 cents to $1.20 a share is a 100% increase). [Ed. note: Penny stocks and microcaps are high risk and easily manipulated, and junior miners in general fall into the high-risk category.]

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