Since Donald Trump once again said he was interested in Greenland, speculation has resurfaced about why the world’s largest island suddenly commands so much attention. One of many answers lies less in surface and military strategies, but beneath the ground. Literally.
“Rare earths and strategic metals are a hot topic right now because they are essential to technologies we already depend on,” explains Dr. Patrick Conway, PhD in physical metallurgy in metals and rocks. These materials are used in everything from smartphones and electric cars to wind turbines and semiconductors and “you really can’t use other elements for this”. Once a technology is built around them, replacing them is not simple. In simpler words: the raw materials that power modern life.
But what in the world are rare earths and why do they matter so much?
Often referred to as REEs, rare earth elements are small ingredients with an outsized impact. They are used in powerful magnets, batteries, electronics, semiconductors and defence systems. Most modern technologies depend on them in some way, and new uses are constantly being developed.
They are called “rare” not only because they are hard to find, but as Dr. Conway explained, they are really difficult to extract, hard to process and hard to replace — and incredibly expensive. If supply tightens or prices rise, entire industries feel the consequences.
An example of one strategic element that recently proved extremely valuable for new technology is Hafnium (Hf) — a mixture of metals used to make strong materials for electronics, machinery, and other applications. Until recently, it was affordable enough to use in these alloys. However, “in the last couple of years, Hf was found to be extremely good in semiconductors so the demand skyrocketed and so did the cost because of the limited amount. It meant alloys we designed and produced before 2018 with Hf are basically unsellable because of the cost of Hf in it”, as described by Conway.
A rare discovery in Northern Sweden
“But this tension with REEs isn’t new”, he says as he recalls a major discovery in 2023 in Northern Sweden when the state-owned mining company LKAB announced what could be the largest known deposit of rare earth metals in Europe, located near Kiruna, far north of the Arctic Circle. The discovery contains more than one million tonnes of rare earth oxides. This deposit was seen as a huge win for Europe to become less dependent on China for these elements.
Even Swedish leaders celebrated this news as a strategic breakthrough. At the time, Energy and Business Minister Ebba Busch said that electrification and Europe’s push for greater independence from Russia and China would begin “in the mine,” stressing hard that the green transition depended on access to minerals and that Sweden’s mining sector had an important role to play.
Europe’s dependency problem
Europe does not currently mine rare earths at scale. Despite Sweden’s discovery, the continent still imports nearly all of the rare earth elements and other critical minerals it uses, with China by far the dominant producer and processor worldwide.
This dependency has long worried European policymakers. Green technologies, from electric vehicles to wind power, require a steady supply of materials that Europe does not control. Even large discoveries like Kiruna take years to turn into actual production. Permits must be approved, infrastructure built and environmental reviews completed — a process that can take a decade or more.
For Sweden, the Kiruna deposit is a major opportunity, but also a reminder of how long and complex the path from rock finding to finished product can be.
Why pay attention to Greenland until now?
Europe’s interest in Greenland did not appear overnight. As demand for green technologies has surged, particularly in the Nordic countries with the green transition, so has the need for reliable access to raw materials.
Greenland is believed to hold large quantities of critical minerals, including rare earths and graphite, which is essential for electric vehicle batteries. According to geological assessments, 25 of the 34 raw materials classified as critical by the EU are found in Greenland. These resources remain largely untapped due to harsh weather conditions, limited infrastructure and high costs.
Greenland has already taken cautious steps. It recently approved a 30-year mining licence for an EU-backed graphite project at Amitsoq, a move seen as strategically important for Europe’s supply chains.
Trump and geopolitics makes the vulnerability visible… and kind of urgent
Europe’s reliance on China for critical minerals has become harder to ignore amid rising geopolitical tensions. That vulnerability moved even more into the spotlight when US President Donald Trump publicly suggested that the United States should take control of Greenland — comments that sparked alarm around the Globe, and especially among European countries.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson made his position clear:
“We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed. Only Denmark and Greenland decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland. I will always stand up for my country, and for our allied neighbors. This is an EU issue that concerns many more countries than those now being singled out. Sweden is now having intensive discussions with other EU countries, Norway and the UK for a joint response”, he wrote on X on January 17, 2026.
Kristersson described the rhetoric as unacceptable and made clear that only Denmark and Greenland have the right to decide Greenland’s future, warning against intimidation and economic pressure.
More than a mining story
Kiruna’s discovery showed Europe that the continent can uncover the resources it needs to power electric cars, wind turbines, and green technologies. Greenland, by contrast, illustrates how uncertain and complex this path remains.
For Europe, and for Sweden, the challenge is bigger than mining alone. It is about building a sustainable green transition that doesn’t compromise values, alliances, or the planet itself. In the end, the fate of Europe’s green ambitions may pivot not just on what lies underground, but on how wisely the continent navigates the road above it.
Accessing these materials involves politics, international cooperation, and environmental responsibility — but perhaps most critically of all, geopolitical stability. Which, it turns out, is also rare to find, to cultivate, and to maintain.
