Brussels has unveiled a €200 million investment package that will also support sustainable mining projects. However, developing Greenland’s extensive mineral resources remains challenging.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced closer cooperation with the Arctic island during a visit to Greenland. Together with Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, she signed a Joint Declaration on Monday.
Through Global Gateway, the EU’s worldwide investment programme, Brussels will also provide €200 million for joint projects with Greenland this year and next. In addition to digital connectivity, energy supply, tourism and housing, the package will support critical raw materials. Specifically, the EU plans to assist sustainable mining projects linked to European industry through measures such as technical assessments and investor matchmaking.
Existing Partnership to Be Expanded
The new agreement builds on a raw materials partnership concluded in late 2023. While the EU aims to diversify its raw materials supply, Greenland wants to broaden an economy that remains heavily dependent on fishing and financial support from Denmark. The largely self-governing island is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but not the European Union.
This was followed in March 2024 by the opening of the first EU office in Nuuk and the announcement of investments worth millions of euros, including in critical raw materials.
Greenland’s Mineral Resources: Major Potential, Major Challenges
Greenland hosts numerous mineral deposits containing raw materials needed by European industry. These include rare earths, graphite, niobium and tantalum, platinum group metals, molybdenum, zinc, lead and germanium.
So far, however, the Amitsoq graphite project is the only Greenlandic project to have been recognised as a Strategic Project under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act. According to a recent study by Germany’s Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), other deposits could also become important for the bloc’s raw materials supply, including the Malmbjerg molybdenum project. However, the agency cautioned that Greenland cannot make a meaningful contribution to raw materials supply security in Germany or the wider EU in the short term, as most deposits remain at the exploration or permitting stage.
Lack of Infrastructure and Arctic Climate Hamper Mining
According to BGR, the main obstacles include the widespread lack of infrastructure, high investment costs, Arctic climatic conditions and often limited public acceptance. Two prominent examples illustrate how strongly these factors can affect project development. Construction of a pilot plant for the Tanbreez rare earth project began in early 2026, but the deposit’s complex mineralogy makes extraction technically challenging and costly.
Kvanefjeld, another rare earth project, has been stalled for years because of the deposit’s uranium content. Legislation adopted in 2021 prohibits the exploration and mining of deposits above a specified uranium threshold. Its adoption followed debate over potential environmental risks and strong opposition among local residents.
Photo: YuriArcurs via Canva
