General Discussion

Bottom line on the “vast exploitable resources” claim
- There *is* solid geological evidence for numerous large mineral deposits and very promising basins, so saying Greenland is **resource‑rich** geologically is defensible.[7][1][2][8]
- The leap to “vast exploitable resources” glosses over that:
- only a handful of mines operate;
- flagship projects (e.g. Kvanefjeld REEs) are blocked or contested;
- oil and gas potential is mostly undiscovered and subject to a political freeze; and
- cost, infrastructure, and environmental constraints are severe.[9][10][1][4][5]

So the factual core is “large geological potential and several sizeable known deposits”; the rest of the “Greenland bonanza” narrative is, at this stage, aspirational and strongly conditional rather than grounded in 100% known, readily accessible reserves.[1][2][4][6]

Greenland demonstrably hosts several large, well‑characterised mineral deposits, plus high‑probability but still *undiscovered* oil and gas, but the idea of “vast exploitable resources” overstates how much is actually proven, permitted, and economically accessible today. What is solid are a handful of sizeable mines and deposits with published resource estimates; what is speculative are the large hydrocarbon and critical‑mineral “potentials” that depend on exploration success, prices, politics, and infrastructure that mostly do not exist yet.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

What is firmly known
These are the best‑documented, geologically **known** resources (not just “potential”) in Greenland:[8][9][10][7][1]

- Multiple large rare‑earth element (REE) and associated deposits in south and southwest Greenland (e.g., Kvanefjeld, Kringlerne, Sarfartoq, Motzfeldt Sø), with JORC‑compliant or similar resource estimates measured in hundreds of millions of tonnes of ore.[9][10][8]
- Significant deposits or prospects for molybdenum, zinc, lead, iron ore, titanium (ilmenite placers), graphite, tungsten, and other critical minerals identified in national and EU surveys.[11][2][6][7][8]
- Documented coal, gold and other metals in several belts that have seen historic or small‑scale mining.[2][12][13][7]

For hydrocarbons the distinction is sharper: the U.S. Geological Survey and other assessments estimate sizable *undiscovered* technically recoverable oil and gas in basins around Greenland (tens of billions of barrels of oil equivalent), but these are probabilistic, not proven reserves. No major commercial oil or gas fields comparable to the North Sea or Prudhoe Bay have been discovered and developed there.[3][14][5][15]

How much is “exploitable” today?
Very little of the known geology is currently exploited at industrial scale, for both mining and hydrocarbons. Key constraints:[4][1][11]

**Few producing mines: ** Greenland has only a small number of active or recently active mines, plus some re‑developments of historic sites; many identified deposits are still in exploration or feasibility stages.[10][1][8]
**Permitting and politics: ** A 2021 ban on uranium mining effectively froze one of the largest REE projects (Kvanefjeld), despite its large, well‑defined resource, and has led to arbitration by its developer.[16][9][10]
**Oil and gas moratorium: ** Greenland’s government has suspended new oil exploration on climate grounds, even though USGS estimates suggest 17–31 billion barrels of undiscovered oil‑equivalent offshore.[14][5][3]
**Economics and infrastructure: ** Remote locations, lack of deep‑water ports and roads, extreme weather, and ice raise capital and operating costs; several companies and analysts describe mining there as high‑risk and note that many projects may not be profitable at current prices.[1][2][4]

So even for deposits that are well‑mapped, “exploitable” is conditional on future policy, financing, infrastructure and commodity prices, not just geology.[2][4][1]

Critical minerals and rare earths
This is where much of the hype comes from: Greenland clearly hosts many of the EU‑defined critical raw materials, but that is not the same as having a bankable, built‑out supply base.[6][7][11][8]

- A 2023 survey cited by the European Commission found 25 of 34 critical raw materials present in Greenland, and an official Danish/Greenlandic review classed the resource potential as “high or moderate” for several key CRMs (REEs, graphite, cobalt, niobium, tungsten, etc.).[7][11][8][6]
- Individual deposits like Kringlerne and other Gardar province REE systems are described in technical literature as ranking among the larger undeveloped REE resources globally, in terms of size and grade.[8][9]
- However, the same technical and policy papers stress that only a tiny fraction of Greenland’s area has been systematically explored, and that exploration success rates are low; many promising showings never become mines.[6][1][2]

In other words, the *geological* evidence for large critical‑mineral endowment is strong, but **commercially exploitable** tonnage is still mostly hypothetical.[4][1][8]

Oil and gas: estimates vs reality
Hydrocarbon claims are even more speculative than the mining headlines.

- USGS appraisals for offshore Greenland basins suggest roughly 17.5 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and around 148 trillion cubic feet of gas around the island, with some assessments for parts of East Greenland alone giving ~31 billion barrels of oil equivalent.[5][15][3][14]
- These are probabilistic, “yet‑to‑find” resource estimates under certain geologic assumptions, not proven reserves; exploration drilling since the 1970s has been sparse and largely unsuccessful, and no large commercial field is producing.[15][3][5][1]
- Greenland has now effectively halted new oil exploration for climate reasons, which means even if the geology is favorable, the “exploitable” part is politically blocked.[3][14][5]

So statements about “vast oil and gas resources” in Greenland are really statements about modeled potential, not about discovered, appraised, and sanctioned projects.[5][15][3]

[1](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250121-the-enormous-challenge-of-mining-greenland)
[2](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-greenland-gold-rush-promise-and-pitfalls-of-greenlands-energy-and-mineral-resources/)
[3](https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/dimensions-oil-gas-development-greenland/)
[4](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/geologist-warns-prospect-mineral-bonanza-greenland-mirage-60-minutes/)
[5](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/greenland-suspends-oil-exploration-because-of-climate-change)
[6](https://data.geus.dk/pure-pdf/MiMa-R_2023_1_web.pdf)
[7](https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20251104-the-story-behind-the-scramble-for-greenlands-rare-earths)
[8](https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/exploring-greenlands-critical-mineral-potential/18566/)
[9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvanefjeld)
[10](https://investornews.com/critical-minerals-rare-earths/the-greenland-critical-minerals-and-rare-earths-myth-dispelled/)
[11](https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/greenlands-rich-largely-untapped-mineral-resources-2025-01-13/)
[12](https://www.npr.org/2019/11/24/781598549/greenland-is-not-for-sale-but-it-has-the-rare-earth-minerals-america-wants)
[13](https://globaledge.msu.edu/blog/post/59485/inside-the-race-for-greenland's-vast-mineral-wealth)
[14](https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/greenland-new-frontier-oil-gas/)
[15](https://www.geoexpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Oil-and-Gas-Resources-of-Northeast-Greenland.pdf)
[16](https://grist.org/energy/greenland-rare-earths-mining-geopolitics-china-us/)
[17](https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/international-issues/greenland-land-of-enormous-mineral-wealth/)
[18](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/world/europe/greenland-minerals-trump.html)
[19](https://natur.gl/guidance/miljoe/?lang=en)
[20](https://govmin.gl)