Greenland did not sign a mineral rights deal with Trump.
Greenland signed a 30-year deal with a Danish-French group to extract a moon-like rock that could offer a climate-friendly alternative in aluminium production.
On Wednesday, Greenland handed a mining rights permit to Greenland Anorthosite Mining (GAM), which is developing a site in western Greenland. The company is backed by a French investment firm as well as state investment funds in both Greenland and Denmark.
Anorthosite is a white rock composed mainly of aluminium, micro silica, and calcium, and is similar to the material brought back by NASA’s Apollo missions.
GAM intends to use the crushed mineral in the fiberglass industry, while the broader mission is to replace a less climate-friendly substance in the production of aluminum, to be used in aircraft, vehicles and defense.
Greenland’s Mineral Resources Minister Naaja Nathanielsen said she hopes the mine will be operational in five years.
“We have welcomed a number of investors, but we have not yet seen any concrete example of American funds being injected into Greenland’s business community,” she said.
