Greenland is at the center of a global challenge between the United States, Europe, China and Russia: rare earths, energy resources, military bases and new Arctic routes reshape geopolitical and strategic balances.
The coasts of Greenland, the largest island in the world, are black rocks covered by snow and ice that sink into the Arctic sea. Seeing them from the little boat sailing north is impressive. And they hide the real treasure of the country, a super autonomous region of Denmark: rare earths (40 million tons), precious minerals such as gold, gas and oil 13 and 30 percent of the world’s reserves respectively. And uranium, a taboo for the native Inuit, just 56 thousand inhabitants, ancestrally linked to the extreme nature of the ice island, who feel besieged by their former American friends, but also by Russians and Chinese.
Sovereignty, United States and Europe
«The red line is territorial integrity, our sovereignty. For the rest we are available to negotiate”, explains Naaja Nathanielsen, minister of mineral resources and four other ministries of the government of Nuuk, the country’s capital. Young and determined, she thanks «Italy for the strong support of Giorgia Meloni. I think it helped de-escalate the crisis, yet another, between the American president, Donald Trump, and Europe. But we are only at the beginning and not at the end of the tug of war with the USA. The White House’s aims also concern the Greenland’s energy and mining chest which is worth, according to estimates, 4,400 billion dollars, even if oil and gas extraction has been under a moratorium since 2021 in the name of environmentalism.
Mines, China and strategic interests
«At the moment we have only one productive mine in the East and we are opening another gold mine in the South. The obstacles are long-term investments and extreme conditions. We consider it a success if between three and five mines will be operational in five to ten years”, underlines the minister. The first in operation is the “White Mountain” on the east coast in the hands of Lumina, a multinational with American participation. The Chinese have three licenses, but they are not active at the moment. The Russians are barred from the games after invading Ukraine.
On the meeting table of the Geology department of Nuuk there is a map of Greenland dotted with different colors along the coasts, which correspond to the various “treasures”. «Almost all critical raw materials listed by the EU, NATO and the USA are located in Greenland. The deposits are the second in the world after the Chinese ones” confirms Romain Meyer, director of the department. The geologist shows a strange stone with yellowish spots, which is actually a rare mineral: “We are truly rich in critical raw materials, which are needed for all advanced electronic technology”, including the microchips that guide missiles.
Ice, military bases and NATO tensions
In the fjord two hours away from Nuuk you can clearly see “the piece of ice I want to buy”, as Trump said in Davos. Thousand-year-old blocks, white sentinels of a desolate, extreme, but fascinating landscape. The island is 80 percent covered by polar cap. Below sea level lurk the invisible threats of Russian, and perhaps Chinese, nuclear submarines, pursued by the Stars and Stripes.
The Americans have a base in the Thule Fjord called Pituffik with just 250 men from the 821st Space Force unit, which has the task of providing early warning of possible ballistic missiles. Trump wants to build a giant shield, the Golden domewith costs that risk exceeding $800 billion. According to NATO sources, “the idea is gaining ground in the American armed forces that invading Greenland would be justifiable for national security and economic interests.”
Inuit population, fear and identity
In Nuuk, 20 thousand inhabitants, where the sun rises at half past 10 in the morning and temperatures drop to -20°C, people stock up. For the first time the government has published a survival manual. «Trump is like a child», blurts out Oline Petersen, «he wants jam or our land at any cost». A cloud of national flags, white and red, waves shouting “Greenland is ours”.
Chiara Scivoli, Inuit mother and Sardinian father, admits: «We are afraid. Some friends would flee to Denmark, but others, like me, say that if war breaks out we will have it.”
Europe, Italy and the new Arctic game
Greenland is supported by Denmark’s billion euros in annual subsidies. The European Union has paid 225 million euros and will increase aid by also opening a consulate. Italy is more cautious, but the new one Arctic politics of the government denounces the Chinese and partly American threat to resources through «opaque acquisitions, control of licenses, technological dependence and economic-financial pressure», aiming to guarantee the safety of critical raw materials.
Arctic routes and the future of global trade
The incredible blue iceberg crossed in the Kapisillit Fjord is not only the symbol of the Arctic. The real global battle will be about the control of new trade routes which will open between 2030 and 2040 due to the melting of the ice: a 40 percent reduction in costs and navigation days for a container port from Shanghai to Rotterdam, with the risk of cutting off the Italian ports of the Mediterranean.
