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The fight for control over the world’s most important minerals is now reaching Greenland. The U.S. government, tech giants, and mining companies are circling the island for one reason: it’s full of rare earths, lithium, and graphite, all critical for things like AI, defense systems, and consumer electronics. Donald Trump, who is now the 47th U.S. president, has made it clear that Greenland is back on his radar. “We need Greenland for national security, not for minerals,” he said in December. But House Speaker Mike Johnson said this week that it’s about both: “national security and critical minerals and many other reasons.” There’s no argument over whether Greenland has what everyone wants. What’s up in the air is how much of it can be used, and how soon. Lawmakers act as China controls mineral refining The U.S. Geological Survey lists 60 minerals as critical. That includes neodymium and dysprosium, which power magnets and motors in tech hardware, and others like germanium and gallium, which are used in fiber optics, semiconductors, and power devices. The catch? The U.S. doesn’t control most of it. China does. Right now, China supplies 98% of gallium and about 60% of germanium worldwide. And it doesn’t just mine the stuff, it also runs the refining process too. That’s what gives it leverage. “There are lots of rare earths around the world, but the issue is refining them,” said Jack Lifton, who co-chairs the Critical Minerals Institute. “The American rare earth industry could fit inside of a large bus.” To change that, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill last week to set up a $2.5 billion reserve of rare earths. The Pentagon is already involved. In July, the Department of Defense signed a 10-year deal with MP Materials, which runs a rare earth mine in Colorado,…

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Filed under: News - @ January 17, 2026 2:32 pm