The US blocks a project to sell Greenland's rare earth minerals to China.

According to RIA Novosti on January 10, Reuters reported that US officials urged Greenland's largest rare earth metal mine developer not to sell its project to companies linked to China.

Greg Barnes, CEO of the privately held Tanbreez Mining company, said that U.S. government officials visited the project in southern Greenland twice in 2024. He said they were sending a message to the cash-strapped company that selling a large mine to a buyer with ties to Beijing was ill-advised. The businessman did not disclose which officials he met or name the Chinese companies that made the proposal.

Ultimately, Barnes sold Tanbreez to New York-based Critical Metals in a deal set to finalize by the end of 2025. Tony Sage, CEO of Critical Metals, confirmed to Reuters that, “There was a lot of pressure to prevent the sale to China.”

The buyer said Greenlandic agreed to receive $5 million in cash and $211 million in shares of Critical Metals, significantly less than what the Chinese companies had offered.

The company said that lobbying efforts by U.S. officials highlight their long-standing economic interest in Danish territory, predating U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's recent consideration of purchasing the territory.

Earlier, on January 7, Mr. Trump declared that Greenland should become part of the United States, emphasizing its strategic importance to national security and protecting the "free world" from adversaries such as China and Russia. In response, Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede stated that the island is not for sale and will never be sold.