Trump’s Idea to Buy Greenland Was Right
Other than their mega-billionaire status in America what do Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk have in common?
Maybe it would be hard to guess since there are actually many things America’s oligarchs share like the uncommon ability to issue proclamations whether factually correct or not on everything from the environment to population control to space travel to futuristic ideas about food.
It is none of the above. They are all seeking nickel, what Musk calls the new gold, and other precious metals and rare earth elements (REEs) needed to power EV lithium-ion batteries as well as a host of electrical components found in smart phones, solar panels, TV and PC flat screens, and hard drives, to name a few applications. Defense manufacturers need for lasers and radar systems and an array of other critical components as well.
Shortages and surpluses in the nickel, precious metals, and REEs markets are now closely watched by investors. The nickel market is seeing wild swings from shortfalls to projected surpluses. Goldman Sachs forecasts nickel usage in the EV battery sector to increase by 62% to 285,000 tonnes this year and by another 26% to 358,000 tonnes in 2023. Last year there was a shortfall of 168,000 tonnes.
Musk has said he might buy a nickel mine to ensure he can supply Tesla with enough nickel for EV lithium-ion batteries. Nickel and graphite are needed in greater amounts than lithium even though its name suggests otherwise.
Gates, Bezos, Bloomberg, and Ray Dalio (Bridgewater hedge fund manager) invested $15 million in London-based engineering firm Bluejay in 2021. The venture will mine nickel, copper, platinum, and cobalt in the Disko-Nuussuaq region in Central West Greenland. Shown below is the Dundas Ilmenite region, another critical rare earth mining project underway in Greenland.
Source: Bluejay Mining, Dundas Ilemite Project
Makes sense, right? Especially since legislation in the U.S. and elsewhere is mandating we “end dependence on fossil fuels” by phasing out gas vehicles and replace with electric vehicles (EVs) in the next 10-15 years. California under Governor Gavin Newsom just passed legislation that makes EVs mandatory by 2035. It just so happens it takes 7-12 years for a new nickel mine to get up and running.
Trump Said It First
All well and good (and not going to present arguments for or against EVs here) except when Donald Trump was president, he was openly scorned first by Mette Frederiksen, Denmark Prime Minister, and then the media (particularly The New York Times, in this article) for daring to propose that the U.S. might purchase Greenland, a Danish territory, ostensibly for its strategic geographic importance (situated on the Arctic Circle across from Russia) and for its rare earth minerals.
How absurd! declared Frederiksen when she got wind of the idea. The New York Times, slammed Donald Trump, with this:
“Never mind that much of the rest of the world thought it [buying Greenland] sounded absurd as well. Amid a global laughing fit. Mr. Trump got his back up and lashed out, as he is wont to do.”
“Trump is Said to Ask: Can We Buy Greenland?”-The New York Times, August 15, 2019
The proposal was teed up to coincide with a visit between Frederiksen and President Trump at the White House. After some highly public repartee on Twitter, Trump canceled the WH sit down.
His last word to Frederiksen was to post a photo of his Las Vegas gold clad Trump hotel photoshopped into Greenland’s barren coastal landscape, hilariously captioned, “I promise not to do this to Greenland.” (See photo above.)
Two years later the media has changed its tune. No hat tip to Trump. No one, it seems, save myself (it is featured in my book) remembers Trump making this novel and now propitious proposal to possibly purchase Greenland in much the same way then Secretary of State, William Seward, had when he negotiated with Russia to buy Alaska in 1867 for $7.2 million.
Greenland, Afghanistan, and China all have rich REE deposits. With EV production demand increasing year-over-year, investors like Gates, Bezos, Dalia, and others are scrambling to compete with REE-rich China. Now it looks like China can align with Afghanistan to boot.
Greenland’s REEs (Rare Earth Elements) include neodynium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium and nickel. Trump was aware of China’s keen interest in REEs back in 2019 and of course wanted the United States to have a strategic toe-hold in Greenland. America has had a military base in Thule, Greenland since 1941. Trump wanted to leverage our military presence by potentially owning all of Greenland. (There are 17 REEs – for a full list click here.)
China is interested in mining Greenland’s REEs even though they already own 60% of the market. Metals market observers know that China has been a leader in this sector for decades and that the West has lacked the strategic vision to be a player. This chart illustrates China’s REE dominance.
China’s hegemony in rare earths production worldwide
Production as share of global output by country, 2021
| Country | Production share (%) |
|---|---|
| China | 60.6% |
| US | 15.5% |
| Myanmar | 9.4% |
| Australia | 7.9% |
| Thailand | 2.9% |
| Madagascar | 1.2% |
| India | 1.1% |
| Russia | 1% |
| Brazil | 0.2% |
| Vietnam | 0.1% |
| Burundi | 0% |
| Rest of world | 0.1% |
The U.S. ceded our military presence in Afghanistan, rich in strategic mineral deposits, when it withdrew from that country in 2020. The loss was understandably overshadowed by the loss of 13 U.S. soldiers during the botched evacuation and the inexplicable decision by the U.S. Defense Department to leave behind $85 billion in military material. It is now in the hands of the Taliban. Donald Trump never misses an opportunity to bash the current administration for its failures in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has an estimated 1.4 million tonnes of rare earth minerals including lithium, uranium and many others. One of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals can be found at Khanneshin in Helmand province.
The West in general may have lacked the vision to move into Greenland’s REE market, but give credit to our 45th president – a mere mini-billionaire – who was very much aware of China’s dominance and knew of Greenland’s strategic importance in REEs.
Links to More Information
Reuters: Nickel Demand Boomed in 2021
Business Standard: Gates and Bezos-backed firm to Pay $15 million to Hunt Metals for EVS
Gateway Pundit: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Other Billionaires are Funding a Quest for Rare Minerals Buried Beneath Greenland’s Ice Capable to Build Electric Cars and Renewable Batteries
Mining Technology: China’s stranglehold of the rare earths supply chain will last another decade
https://www.mining-technology.com/analysis/china-rare-earths-dominance-mining/
