Geologist warns prospect of a mineral bonanza in Greenland is a mirage
Source: CBS News
Updated on: April 13, 2025 / 7:46 PM EDT
Greenland has likely received more international news attention in the past 90 days than in the previous 90 years. President Trump has been explicit: he wants America to control Greenland, predicting untold riches for the local population. On March 4, the president directly addressed the people of Greenland during a joint session of Congress. "We will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before," Mr. Trump declared.
Although the 57.000 people living in Greenland would no doubt welcome more American investment, their appetite for America taking control of the island, which is currently part of the Kingdom of Denmark, seems limited. A poll from January 2025 shows that only 6% of the predominantly Indigenous Inuit population wants to become American—and this poll was conducted before Mr. Trump refused to rule out using force to acquire Greenland "one way or the other." This statement did not sit well in the capital of Nuuk.
Mr. Trump's claim that the U.S. needs Greenland "for national security and even international security" is being tested. Danish political scientist Ole Wæver tells 60 Minutes that it doesn't add up. "You can only get to that conclusion by kind of messing up everything," he said.
"Throwing in five, six different military security dynamics and then treating them as one mysterious whole. If you break them up and take them one by one, then you will, for each of them, say, 'That would not change by possessing Greenland.' You either have access already, or it's not a real issue, or someone else is doing it. There are none of those questions where it's really about possessing Greenland."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/geologist-warns-prospect-mineral-bonanza-greenland-mirage-60-minutes/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Polar bears approach Cape Tobin, near Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland.
© Charlotte M. Moshøj / WWF
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One polar bear stuck its head through a window and bit the hand of a documentary maker in Greenland (Pictures: Getty Images/Shutterstock)
I will just note that they are mainly just a row on the periodic table! 
Heavy and light rare earth elements: The rare earth elements are often subdivided into "Heavy Rare Earths" and "Light Rare Earths." Lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, and samarium are the "light rare earths." Yttrium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium are the "heavy rare earths." Although yttrium is lighter than the light rare earth elements, it is included in the heavy rare earth group because of its chemical and physical associations with heavy rare earths in natural deposits.
REE Production Chart: This chart shows China's dominance in the production of rare earth elements between 1994 and 2022. The United States was a significant producer through the 1990s, but low-priced materials sold by China forced mines in the United States and other countries out of operation. As China limited exports, and prices increased rapidly in 2009 and 2010, mines in Australia and the United States became active again. In 2018, data from Burma / Myanmar became available, causing an increase in production that may have been present but unreported prior to 2018. Graph by Geology.com using data from the United States Geological Survey.
https://geology.com/articles/rare-earth-elements/
