What it's like to be a sheep farmer in Greenland
Ellen upholds a hardy tradition that's both ancient and unexpectedly modern, fending off wild predators, climate change and rising costs while honouring local knowledge and natural rhythms. Her farm, which features an onsite B&B, is in Kujataa: a UNESCO World Heritage Site noted as the first known place of agriculture in the Arctic. We spoke to Ellen about life in this remote part of the world.
I moved from the capital Nuuk, to be a schoolteacher, when I was 24. That was in the early 1980s. But I married a farmer, Carl. There's a lot of work being a farmer's wife: helping with lambing and other jobs, on top of being a teacher. But when you're in love, anything is possible.
Yes, a good life — but also a hard life. Even though I'm now retired from teaching, we still work all the time. We don't have vacations like other people. We take care of the animals from November until the middle of June. Then we work on the fields and grow grass in summer so the sheep have something to eat.
Autumn is exciting, seeing how many lambs have managed to grow. Spring, specifically May, is hectic: we work 24 hours a day at the stable when all the lambs are born. It's always a privilege to finish lambing season, and to know we have a good average of lamb per mother. We can give ourselves a pat on the back.
But summer is best, when the fields are green and warm. On our farm we don't have mosquitos, unlike other places. Some say it is because of our sheep.
Erik the Red – who was in exile after doing very bad things in Iceland – brought sheep and other livestock when he came here in the year 985. He gave Greenland its name, partly as a way of attracting other people to settle. His descendants stayed for about five centuries, until the Norse disappeared suddenly, around the year 1500.
There are many theories. Perhaps it was disease. I think the most likely answer is the climate changed. Whatever happened, that was the end of sheep farming.
My own ancestors, who came centuries ago from either modern-day Mongolia or Siberia, made a living through hunting and fishing whatever they could get from nature — a lot of seals.
About a hundred years ago, seals became rare, so the government had to think of other ways to make a living. There was a pilot project: importing about a dozen sheep from the Faroe Islands, to see if they could live in the climate. They survived. My husband's grandfather, Otto Frederiksen, was a carpenter on that project, and was inspired to start his own farm in 1924, which we still run today.
There was not much machinery, even when I arrived. Ewes would lamb up in the hills. Since the 1990s, we must do it in the barn: a regulation introduced after a very hard winter when many sheep died.
Today we follow a strict programme to control which sheep mate. [This is] to avoid interbreeding and to maintain good quality meat. It's a lot of work — more data than you might think!
Yes, it is beautiful. And we are lucky, farming on the edge of the ice. We have eagles in the area. But between the eagles, the ravens and the foxes, we lose maybe 2 to 3% of our lambs every year. The eagles are not our friends.
Once, we sold our wool overseas, but that became uneconomical. For about ten years, we simply burned it. Local ladies made yarn and learned to felt and spin, but not on a commercial scale.
Then I decided — because we also run a bed and breakfast — to create an opportunity for tourists to do wool work. With the help of equipment supplied by National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, I set up workshops for visitors to spin and felt. We dye wool using local herbs and plants. Starting this summer, we'll make nice sweaters, socks, mittens and bags.
Climate change makes the weather unpredictable: high winds, intense snowfall, periods of drought. The war in Ukraine makes the price of fertiliser, and equipment, very high.
But we have to be optimistic. My son will take over the farm when my husband retires, and he will be the fourth generation. Greenland people are used to living with whatever our landscape can provide. Self-sufficiency, creativity and resource management — these are all in our nature.
For wool: Iiju Yarn & Craft Shop, QaqortoqVisitors to this shop in Qaqortoq can peruse yarns and handcrafted items made from local sheep's wool, and purchase authentic Greenlandic textiles.
For lunch: Cafe Thorhildur, QassiarsukLocated on the town harbour, this cosy, farmer-owned cafe is a community hub that serves local lamb and beers. Ideal for experiencing authentic Greenlandic flavours.
For the farm experience: Sheep farm stays in IgalikuKnown for ravishing scenery and Norse ruins, Igaliku offers opportunities to learn about sheep farming, join in daily activities and relish the tranquillity.
This paid content article was created for Visit South Greenland. It does not necessarily reflect the views of National Geographic, National Geographic Traveller (UK) or their editorial staffs.To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
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Travel + Leisure
12 hours ago
- Travel + Leisure
August Has 7 Major Astronomical Events Including Meteor Showers and a Mercury Sighting
It's hard to beat a summer night beneath the stars, especially in August, when the shimmery Milky Way core is at its brightest. Late August also brings the return of the year's stronger-than-average northern lights season to high-latitude destinations like Iceland and Greenland, not to mention meteor shower peaks and striking planet-moon sightings. Here are the top sights to watch for in August's night sky, and don't forget to head to a dark-sky park or stargazing hotel for the best view. The Eta Eridanid meteor shower will peak overnight from Aug. 7 to Aug. 8. While this isn't the most prolific meteor shower, it's worth watching for in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 8, especially since it coincides with the active Perseids. The spectacle produces about three meteors per hour; look for its shooting stars near the Eridanus constellation, which hangs low in the southeast sky August's full sturgeon moon will glow in the southeast skies on Aug. 9, with Saturn nearby to the east. Native American fishing tribes gave this moon its name, according to Royal Museums Greenwich. While you can see it throughout the night, it's best to watch during moonrise — roughly an hour after sunset — when the lunar orb appears larger than normal thanks to the moon illusion. Around 11 p.m. local time, the waning gibbous moon and Saturn will inch above the eastern horizon, then tango together through the sky until dawn. Neptune, which hovers just above Saturn, is joining the fun, but you'll need a telescope to see it. Early the mornings of Aug. 11 to Aug. 13, Venus and Jupiter—two of the night sky's brightest planets—will appear within roughly one degree, or about a pinky-finger distance, of each other. The planets will pair up in the eastern sky around 3 a.m. local time; they'll continue to climb heavenward until sunrise. The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most celebrated astronomical events, and this year, it will reach its peak overnight from Aug. 12 to Aug. 13, according to stargazing app SkySafari. The luminous waning gibbous moon will make viewing tricky, but it's still worth heading out. The Perseids is known to produce bright meteors and even fireballs that will shine through the bright lunar light. For optimal viewing, watch above the eastern sky after midnight into the early morning hours. Mercury orbits close to the sun, so it's typically tough to view the swift planet, but that changes come Aug. 19. This morning, Mercury will reach its farthest distance from the sun, giving stargazers around an hour of spectacular planet-gazing before sunrise. Watch for Mercury, as well as Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent moon, above the eastern horizon. You can catch the trio aligned in the morning sky for about a week after Aug. 19, too. See the sliver of a crescent moon and orange-tinged Mars couple up near the western horizon in the evening hours of Aug. 26. You won't have much time to admire the duo—they set around an hour after sunset—but if you do stay out for all-night stargazing, you'll be treated with more planet alignments just before dawn.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Opinion - Sled dogs and rare earths: Our journey through Greenland's growing pains
ILULISSAT, GREENLAND — Just after midday, we gripped the worn rope handles of a dogsled as 11 dogs surged across the frozen tundra of Western Greenland, inside the Arctic Circle. The wind lashed our faces, while the musher's sharp cries — quick bursts of 'Yip! Yip!' and a trilled 'Drrrrr!' — rose above the steady crunch of paws on snow. Our musher, Mamarut Nielsen, moved with grace, leaping off the sled to guide it over bare patches and exposed rock, then slipping back on without breaking stride. He snapped his whip gently for direction, but the dogs hardly needed it. They knew the way. After two hours, we stopped for a mountain view overlooking a field of icebergs. As the dogs rested, Mamarut handed us hot chocolate and described each dog — this one was the alpha, that one was rising in rank. The dogs, all male, swarmed us affectionately. Mamarut spoke with pride. His father and grandfather had hunted seals, narwhals, even polar bears. But at age 14, Mamarut told his father he wanted a different life. Today, Mamarut works for Diskobay Tours in Ilulissat, offering tourists (and visiting journalists) a glimpse of an Inuit tradition that's increasingly difficult to maintain. He speaks Greenlandic and fluent English — learned not from school nor from Danish instruction, but from video games and podcasts. He now translates for visiting film crews and tourists. This is no longer about survival. It's about preserving a culture, handed down but steadily fading. Our excursion connected us to the ancient traditions of Greenland. We landed in Greenland as President Trump's audacious suggestion to buy or annex the island was still reverberating across the Arctic. In May, U.S. officials reportedly began exploring a Compact of Free Association with Greenland — an agreement that could give Washington greater strategic access in exchange for services like defense and visa-free travel, similar to U.S. arrangements with certain Pacific Island nations. And in June, Trump ordered U.S. forces in Greenland to be transferred from the U.S. European Command to the U.S. Northern Command. The move tightens America's grip on Arctic defense at a time of escalating global conflict. But beneath the geopolitics lies a more complex story of a society at a crossroads, balancing centuries-old traditions with the pressures of modern life. The tension between self-rule and colonial legacy, environmental preservation and resource extraction, is reshaping not only Greenland's economy and environment but also its sense of identity. In Nuuk, Greenland's capital, modernity rises beside the remnants of a colonial past. Austere concrete apartment blocks from the mid-20th century stand beside new housing built for members of the Inatsisartut, Greenland's parliament. There's a sleek new international airport and a modern university specializing in Arctic research. Even the cemeteries are labeled 'old' and 'new.' Greenland's economy has long relied on fishing, propped up by an annual block grant of about $600 million from Denmark, Greenland's former colonial ruler. Although Greenland governs its own domestic affairs, Denmark retains control over its courts, foreign policy and defense. Polls indicate that 84 percent of Greenlanders support independence from Denmark. And parties favoring independence made gains in Greenland's national elections in March. Because Greenland's path to independence runs through economic self-sufficiency, many Greenlanders would welcome increased trade, including closer ties with the U.S. A new economy is emerging, driven by tourism and mineral wealth, but shadowed by fears of cultural loss and environmental cost. Greenland's challenge is to bridge the old and the new — to preserve traditional livelihoods not as relics, but as living parts of a modern, sovereign economy. Sofie Amondsen at Kittat, a museum of Greenlandic clothing in Nuuk (Bethany Williams) In Nuuk, a young woman named Sofie showed us some of the traditional Inuit sealskin clothing she sews and teaches others to make. She sometimes hunts and skins the seals herself. After studying further north, she began working at Kittat, a museum in Nuuk that showcases traditional Greenlandic clothes. As it has for Mamarut, language fluency has expanded Sofie's options. 'For me, because I can speak Danish and a bit English, I've been invited to Nunavut, Alaska and Norway to do sewing workshops,' she told us. For Sofie's mother's generation, wearing traditional sealskin clothing was a sign of poverty. But that stigma is fading. Young people are becoming more curious about the traditional clothes designed for the Arctic climate. With outside interest in Inuit traditions on the rise, Sofie believes the government may finally feel pressure to invest in cultural preservation. 'I'm so excited about this airport,' she said, hoping it will draw more travelers eager to learn about Greenlandic customs and help ensure those traditions endure. We heard the same cautious optimism from Nuuna Papis Chemnitz, who runs Vlaajuk Pottery-Ceramics in Nuuk. Her elegant pottery incorporates salt collected from along Greenland's rugged coastline. The wood building that houses her workshop is nearly 100 years old, built by her husband's grandfather in an era when no outsiders came to Greenland. (Before 1950, Denmark's trade monopoly barred foreign visitors.) Nuuna started pottery as a hobby while working for Greenland Air. As demand grew, she quit the airline job. The morning we visited, a line of customers had greeted her outside the shop. She too credited the airport, and the attention sparked by Trump's comments, with boosting business. Most visitors still arrive from Denmark, but that's changing. In June, United Airlines launched a direct route from Newark — just four hours away. With only 56,000 people spread across a landmass the size of Western Europe, Greenland is the world's largest and emptiest island. To grow its economy, Greenland needs more people — not just tourists but also immigrants. In Ilulissat, famous for its massive icebergs, Rosé Busaco Andersen runs Ilulissat Services, an international staffing agency. Originally from the Philippines, she had never heard of Greenland when first offered a job there. Twelve years later, she is still here, recruiting workers from across the globe to staff local businesses, including at her own restaurants and rentals. Some are helping to build the new international airport in Ilulissat, set to open next April. She now travels abroad to recruit employees, interviewing candidates as far away as Argentina. Most who come, stay — especially Filipinos, Greenland's second-largest immigrant group after Danes. 'Twelve years ago, we were maybe 11 or 12 Filipinos here,' she said. 'Now in Nuuk, I think we are 1,800.' Rosé drove us to the new airport under construction outside Ilulissat where Rasmus, the foreman, explained how critical foreign workers, many recruited by Rosé, who have come to help with the airport's construction. 'I'm a foreign worker too,' he smiled, making air quotes around 'foreign.' 'I'm from Denmark,' he added. 'Our relationship, it's complicated.' Indeed, many Danes still hold top government and business posts in Greenland — a lingering reminder of colonial hierarchy. Some Greenlanders feel Denmark pushed them to modernize too quickly, disrupting traditional life and leaving deep scars. Greenland now has the world's highest suicide rate, especially among youth, which experts link to cultural dislocation. Climate change is another concern. Everyone in Greenland seems to have a story — of warmer winters, of thinning ice, of hunting routes that are no longer safe. The Arctic is reportedly warming almost four times faster than the global average. 'If you want to experience climate change, come here in Ilulissat,' Rosé said. 'You will see. The ice is melting. I never believed climate change before I came in Greenland and witnessed it with my two own eyes. It is real.' On our second day in Ilulissat we encountered a fisherman and hunter named Karl loading his sled and pack of dogs onto his boat for a seal hunt. Later over text message, we asked him whether he had seen any indications of climate change. 'Yes extreme yes,' he responded. He shared that, after 30 years of fishing, what he is seeing now in the melting ice is new. 'We should still [be] out and hunting in [safe] sea ice and a lot of snow, but not today. Too early that ice and snow [is] melting.' Olennguaq Kristensen, a polar bear hunter from the far north of Greenland, with his daughter in Ilulussat. (Bethany Williams) Mamarut's father, Ole Kristensen, echoed the concern. Sea ice arrives later and breaks up earlier, he told us, disrupting rhythms passed down through generations. The worst year was 2023, when his settlement nearly ran out of food. Ole is featured in 'The Color of the Ice,' a documentary film that follows his life as a hunter navigating the shrinking sea ice around Qaanaaq, one of the northernmost towns on Earth. When we met, Ole had just returned from a screening in Taiwan — his first trip abroad — and said some audience members wept as they watched his story. As Greenland's ice retreats, long-inaccessible parts of the island are opening up, exposing new shipping lanes and untapped reserves of oil, gas, and critical minerals. Climate change has turned this once-frozen frontier into a geopolitical prize, drawing interest not just from the U.S. but also from China and other global powers eager to stake claims in the resource-rich Arctic. For Greenland, the melting presents both opportunity and risk — a chance to bolster economic independence, but also a test of how much it's willing to trade for prosperity. When Mamarut told Ole he wanted to go to university instead of becoming a hunter, Ole didn't object. 'It's okay,' he remembered thinking. The sea ice was disappearing. Climate change was already reshaping their lives. Ole's family's path mirrors the broader trajectory of Greenland—a society navigating the dual pressures of political self-determination and climate upheaval. As calls for independence grow louder and warming temperatures upend traditional life, it may be that Greenland keeps its heritage alive precisely by opening itself up to the world. Daniel Allott is former opinion editor at The Hill and author of 'On the Road in Trump's America: A Journey into the Heart of a Divided Country.' Bethany Williams is a communications specialist at international nonprofit and humanitarian organizations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Washington Post
Trump covets rare earth riches, but Greenland plans to mine its own business
July 27, 2025 at 7:00 a.m. EDT Just now Trump covets rare earth riches, but Greenland plans to mine its own business Warning: This graphic requires JavaScript. for the best experience. QAQORTOQ, Greenland — It is hard to miss, the looming mass of dark rock at the top of the fjord. There are circling ravens and towering waterfalls, but not a green thing growing on the outcrop. A Mordor vibe. The fisherman cuts the engine. This magic mountain at the southern tip of Greenland contains one of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals on the planet, according to the company that owns the license to mine it. These are the exotic metals that make the 21st century what it is — the raw materials for war and peace, for electric vehicles and wind turbines, for laser-guided missiles and F-35 stealth fighters. Interest in the island's untapped geological riches is soaring, driven in part by President Donald Trump, who has vowed that 'one way or another' the United States must 'get' Greenland, a semiautonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Map 1: Map of Greenland depicting the inland ice sheet and general dimensions North Pole Svalbard I. (NOR.) CANADA GREENLAND (DENMARK) Baffin Bay Atlantic Ocean North Pole Svalbard I. (NOR.) CANADA GREENLAND (DENMARK) Baffin Bay Atlantic Ocean North Pole Svalbard I. (NOR.) CANADA GREENLAND (DENMARK) Baffin Bay Reykjavík Atlantic Ocean North Pole 18th largest island GREENLAND DENMARK Reykjavík ATLANTIC OCEAN CANADA Svalbard I. (NOR.) North Pole 18th largest island GREENLAND DENMARK Reykjavík ATLANTIC OCEAN CANADA Svalbard I. (NOR.) North Pole 18th largest island GREENLAND DENMARK Reykjavík ATLANTIC OCEAN CANADA Map 2: Summer sea surface temperatures and population distribution along the island. North Pole Svalbard I. (NOR.) CANADA Average summer sea surface temperature 30° 60°F Baffin Bay Places scaled by population size Sisimiut 5,502 Tasiilaq Total population: 56,735 2,026 Nuuk 17,592 Paamiut 1,436 Atlantic Ocean Qaqortoq 3,111 North Pole Svalbard I. (NOR.) CANADA Average summer sea surface temperature 30° 60°F Baffin Bay Places scaled by population size Sisimiut 5,502 Tasiilaq Total population: 56,735 2,026 Nuuk 17,592 Paamiut 1,436 Atlantic Ocean Qaqortoq 3,111 North Pole Svalbard I. (NOR.) CANADA Average summer sea surface temperature 30° 60°F Baffin Bay Places scaled by population size Sisimiut Reykjavík 5,502 Tasiilaq Total population: 56,735 2,026 Nuuk 17,592 Paamiut 1,436 Atlantic Ocean Qaqortoq 3,111 North Pole Ittoqqortoormiit 385 Total population: 383,726 Average summer sea surface temperature Reykjavík 30° 60°F Qaanaaq 643 ATLANTIC OCEAN Total population: 56,735 Places scaled by population size Tasiilaq Upernavik 2,026 1,076 Ilulissat 4,613 Aasiaat 3,079 Sisimiut 5,502 Maniitsoq 2,602 Paamiut Qaqortoq CANADA Nuuk 1,436 3,111 17,592 Svalbard I. (NOR.) North Pole Ittoqqortoormiit 385 Total population: 383,726 Average summer sea surface temperature Reykjavík 30° 60°F Qaanaaq 643 Total population: 56,735 Places scaled by population size Tasiilaq Upernavik 2,026 ATLANTIC OCEAN 1,076 Ilulissat 4,613 Aasiaat 3,079 Sisimiut 5,502 Maniitsoq 2,602 Paamiut Qaqortoq Nuuk 1,436 3,111 CANADA 17,592 Svalbard I. (NOR.) North Pole Ittoqqortoormiit 385 Total population: 383,726 Average summer sea surface temperature Reykjavík 30° 60°F Qaanaaq 643 Total population: 56,735 Places scaled by population size Tasiilaq Upernavik 2,026 ATLANTIC OCEAN 1,076 Ilulissat 4,613 Aasiaat 3,079 Sisimiut 5,502 Maniitsoq 2,602 Qaqortoq Paamiut Nuuk 3,111 1,436 CANADA 17,592 Greenland, the world's largest island, lies mostly inside the Arctic Circle; 80 percent of the island is covered in an ice sheet that on average is 1.4 miles deep. Because of warmer Atlantic currents flowing into Baffin Bay, most people live on the island's west side. There are only 75 miles of roads. Most transport is by boat or aircraft. Greenland's inland ice sheet holds 7 percent of the world's fresh water but has faced increased surface melting. Milder conditions could alter the coastal margin where ice, land and sea interact, exposing more bedrock to miners. Greenland's mineral riches have long been known, but new interest in its largely untapped and hard-to-reach critical raw materials has highlighted its potential, especially at its southern tip. Greenland wants to be a mining nation. But it's not much of one — not yet. There are deposits of diamonds, graphite, lithium, copper, nickel, gallium, plus those rare earths with the sci-fi names — like dysprosium, neodymium and terbium. A government-backed ruby mine here went bust. A long-running gold operation was open, then closed, and is now trying to reopen to capture a near-historic peak in the market. Greenland banned uranium mining in 2021; it is enmeshed in a billion-dollar lawsuit over the moratorium. Companies have spent years prospecting, but the projects are seldom launched, because the markets are too soft or the costs too steep, to break ground in a frozen, roadless wilderness with pitiless winters and a tiny workforce. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement 'If you want to build a mine in Greenland, you have to build everything yourself,' said Bent Olsvig Jensen, a managing director at Lumina Sustainable Materials, the only mine now operating in Greenland, which employs fewer than 50 people to extract anorthosite, a silicate mineral — also found on the moon — used for making fiberglass and paints. 'In Greenland, only 1 in a 100 will succeed and they never talk about the 99,' Jensen said. 'No modern mine in Greenland has ever reached profitability.' His goal? 'To break even next year.' The Port of Qaqortoq, on the island's south. The ship Arpaarti Arctica of the Royal Arctic Line delivers supplies to the village of Qassiarsuk. Most transport for towns in Greenland is by boat or aircraft. Whatever the obstacles, Trump has gone full-tilt carrot-and-stick, alternatively threatening Denmark with punishing tariffs while promising to make Greenlanders 'rich.' He has not ruled out the use of military force. Trump is not alone in his covetous gaze. Greenland sits in the middle of the North Atlantic, between Europe and America, whose industries hunger for the rare earth minerals now mostly controlled by China. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Like Trump, Greenlanders say they are looking for deals. If they are ever going to be able to afford their independence from Denmark, they know they need more than a prawn fishery to run a modern economy. They also want tourism and mining. The newly elected prime minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, proclaims the island is 'open for business.' His mining minister told The Washington Post that Greenland is keen for European and American investment — and wary of the Chinese. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland's prime minister. The slightly less hostile southern tip of the island has some of the greatest potential, but a visit makes clear why exploiting the area's riches will be difficult, with or without Trump's intervention. An hour's boat ride up the fjords from Qaqortoq lies the site of the proposed Tanbreez mine, the name an acronym based on major materials contained in the intrusion — tantalum (Ta), niobium (Nb), rare earth elements (REE) and zirconium (Zr). A satellite image of southern Greenland, showing the location of the Tanbreez deposit just north of Qorqotoq Qaqortoq region The average winter temperature is 23°F, while the average summer temperature ranges from 39°F to 50F. Narsarsuaq Detail Qassiarsuk Tanbreez deposit Igaliku Narsaq Qaqortoq Saarloq Access routes The 100-meter-deep natural fjord at Tanbreez, which can contain icebergs, allows ships carrying up to 60,000 metric tons to reach the site. 15 MILES Julianehåb Bay Qaqortoq region The average winter temperature is 23°F, while the average summer temperature ranges from 39°F to 50F. Narsarsuaq Detail Qassiarsuk Tanbreez deposit Igaliku Narsaq Qaqortoq Saarloq Access routes The 100-meter-deep natural fjord at Tanbreez, which can contain icebergs, allows ships carrying up to 60,000 metric tons to reach the site. 15 MILES Julianehåb Bay Qaqortoq region The average winter temperature is 23°F, while the average summer temperature ranges from 39°F to 50F. Narsarsuaq Qassiarsuk Tanbreez deposit Detail Igaliku Narsaq Qorlortorsuaq Hydroelectric Dam Power line Qaqortoq Eqalugaarsuit Ammassivik Saarloq Ship access routes Alluitsup Paa The 100-meter-deep natural fjord at Tanbreez, which can contain icebergs, allows ships carrying up to 60,000 metric tons to reach the site. Julianehåb Bay Nanortalik 10 MILES The purity and emptiness of the site would have looked familiar to the Viking explorer Erik the Red when he arrived here a millennium ago. There is nothing much altered by humans, except for a curious matrix of 440 small circular holes in the outcropping, left by diamond bits that drilled core samples in summers past. The site of the proposed Tanbreez mine is largely unaltered, except for hundreds of small circular holes in the outcropping. Cable used to detonate explosives at the Tanbreez mining site. If the mine opens in the next year or two, as its Australian owners wager, all this could change — and so, too, might Greenland, a former colony sustained by the export of Atlantic cod and the import of Danish welfare services, home to just 57,000 people, most of them Arctic Inuit. But the past indicates the odds of success might be long. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement At last count, Greenland's mining ministry lists 67 active exploration licenses, held by both 'junior' outfits and major mining interests, which give an entity the right to poke holes in the ground and collect samples. Just eight companies hold permits for commercial mining. By comparison, there are 561 active mines in South Africa. The White House says control of Greenland is imperative for U.S. national security. It has become clear the administration is especially focused on the establishment of a new secure supply chain for the critical materials the West needs to make advanced magnets and chips, used in MRI scanners, nuclear submarines and AI computers. 'Greenland is a wonderful place for geology, and it does have plenty of rare earths, which really aren't so rare, but they've been hard to exploit,' said Thomas Kokfelt, senior researcher at GEUS, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland in Copenhagen, whose institute produces the most detailed maps of the ice-covered territory. Rare earth core samples from the Tanbreez site. Kokfelt said that Greenland has deposits of 25 of the 34 minerals considered critical by the European Union and more than two-thirds of the 50 metals deemed crucial by the United States. Geologists estimate that Greenland holds the eighth largest reserves of rare earth elements on the planet, tantalizingly close to U.S. shores. Rare earths became the geopolitical 'it' minerals because today China holds a near-monopoly on them. China extracts an estimated 70 percent of those metals from its own mines and controls more than 90 percent of processing. China sent shock waves through global supply chains when in April — in response to Trump tariffs — it temporarily restricted exports of seven rare earths. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement By comparison, the U.S. — which is a top 10 mining nation alongside China, Russia, Australia and Canada — has just one rare earth mine, on the California-Nevada border. Even there, nearly all the ore extracted from the Mountain Pass mine is shipped to China for processing. There are no rare earth mines in the European Union. Greg Barnes is a 76-year-old geologist from Western Australia who first visited Tanbreez in 1992. 'I was hungover, that's the honest truth,' he told The Post, when he asked his buddy the helicopter pilot to land so he could relieve himself. He still remembers how the earth changed colors when he urinated, as the acidic stream struck the alkaline rock. Barnes called it 'one of the top 10 places a geologist must see before he dies.' Tanbreez just might make him rich. Barnes spent $50 million and more than two decades exploring the site and seeking permission to mine it. He was finally awarded an exploitation license in 2020. He owes the government a plan for how the new mine will pay for its closure and cleanup when its shuts down. Barnes finds this funny because he believes the mine has enough minerals to operate for 1,000 years. During the first Trump administration, his phone rang in the middle of the night in Perth. He was being invited to the White House. He hung up, thinking it a friend was pulling a prank. As it turned out, Barnes briefed officials at the White House in 2019 about Greenland's mineral deposits. He never met Trump — but soon after his visit the president started talking about 'buying' Greenland. A mountain next to the Tanbreez site. This year, Barnes's outfit merged with a company called Critical Metals Corp., run by another high-flying Australian mineral investor named Tony Sage, former owner of the professional soccer team in Perth. Sage called his Tanbreez project 'a game-changing rare earth mine for the West.' The deposit is immense: 15 square kilometers and 300 meters deep. The mine could be worth $3 billion in the initial phase, according to a preliminary economic assessment done by an independent contractor, who estimated it would cost $200 million to ready the site and begin to exploit it. There is no guarantee Sage can raise that much money. To extract the minerals, Critical Metals will have to start from nothing. It must build an open pit quarry, roads, a processing plant, housing for 60 workers, alongside a floating deepwater port to handle the dozen cargo ships a year to ferry the minerals to Europe, North America or wherever. A perspective map of the Tanbreez mining site The potential open mining site is characterized by relatively high and steep mountains and the long, narrow Kangerluarsuk Fjord. The port and most infrastructure would be located near the head of the fjord. 3,448 feet 2,929 feet Planned roads Upper pit Plant site Port Lower pit The lower pit would be mined first. The upper pit would not start until more than five years into operations. The potential open mining site is characterized by relatively high and steep mountains and the long, narrow Kangerluarsuk Fjord. The port and most infrastructure would be located near the head of the fjord. 3,448 feet 2,929 feet Planned roads Upper pit Plant site Lower Port pit 2,509 feet The lower pit would be mined first because of its proximity to the coast and facilities. Mining the upper pit would not start until more than five years into operations. The landscape at the potential open mining site is characterized by relatively high and steep mountains and the long, narrow Kangerluarsuk Fjord. The port and most processing infrastructure would be located near the head of the fjord. 3,448 feet Planned roads 2,929 feet Power line The lower pit would be mined first because of its proximity to the coast and facilities. Mining the upper pit would not start until more than five years into operations. Upper pit Plant site Lower pit Port 2,509 feet Kakortokite is a layered igneous rock that has high concentrations of rare metals and rare earth elements. Unlike other similar deposits, Tanbreez has low levels of radioactive elements. The landscape at the potential open mining site is characterized by relatively high and steep mountains and the long, narrow Kangerluarsuk Fjord. The port and most processing infrastructure would be located near the head of the fjord. 3,448 feet The mining site lies 1.2 miles from existing hydroelectric infrastructure. Planned roads 2,929 feet Power line The lower pit would be mined first because of its proximity to the coast and facilities. Upper pit Mining the upper pit would not start until more than five years into operations. Plant site Lower pit Port 2,509 feet Waste rock (tailings) would be hauled to Fostersø Lake, which is devoid of fish. Kakortokite is a rare, layered igneous rock that has high concentrations of rare metals and rare earth elements. Unlike other similar deposits, Tanbreez has low levels of radioactive elements. The landscape at the potential open mining site is characterized by relatively high and steep mountains and the long, narrow Kangerluarsuk Fjord. The port and most processing infrastructure would be located near the head of the fjord. 3,448 feet The mining site lies 1.2 miles from existing hydroelectric infrastructure. Planned roads Kakortokite is a layered igneous rock that has high concentrations of rare metals and rare earth elements. Unlike other similar deposits, Tanbreez has low levels of radioactive elements. 2,929 feet The lower pit would be mined first because of its proximity to the coast and facilities. Mining the upper pit would not start until more than five years into operations. Power line Upper pit Plant site Lower pit Port 2,509 feet Waste rock (tailings) would be hauled to Fostersø Lake, which is devoid of fish. The landscape at the potential open mining site is characterized by relatively high and steep mountains and the long, narrow Kangerluarsuk Fjord. The port and most processing infrastructure would be located near the head of the fjord. 3,448 feet The mining site lies 1.2 miles from existing hydroelectric infrastructure. Planned roads 2,929 feet Kakortokite is a layered igneous rock that has high concentrations of rare metals and rare earth elements. Unlike other similar deposits, Tanbreez has low levels of radioactive elements. Power line The lower pit would be mined first because of its proximity to the coast and facilities. Mining the upper pit would not start until more than five years into operations. Upper pit Plant site Port Lower pit 2,509 feet Waste rock (tailings) would be hauled to Fosterso Lake, which is devoid of fish. Drew Horn, who served as chief of staff for the Office of International Affairs at the Energy Department during the first Trump administration, has visited the site. Horn is now CEO of a company called GreenMet, which calls itself 'the new American conduit between private capital, government, and critical mineral innovation.' Sage and Barnes confirmed that U.S. officials — whom they declined to name — told Barnes he should not bring in Chinese partners. Sage said he believes that Trump ultimately will get what he wants, which is not ownership of Greenland but favored access to mining deals that benefit U.S. manufacturers and defense contractors. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement To that end, Sage's company in June received a 'letter of interest' from the U.S. Export-Import Bank for a loan of up to $120 million to fund the opening of Tanbreez. This would mark the Trump administration's first overseas investment in a mining project under the bank's new Supply Chain Resiliency Initiative, designed to compete with China by building markets for rare earth elements with 'trusted partner countries.' Asked whether Critical Metals was an American company, Sage replied, 'That's a good question.' The company is traded on the Nasdaq and run by Australians, with additional funding from Wall Street investment banks, including Cantor Fitzgerald, he said. Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, is a former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald; upon joining the administration he agreed to divest his business interests in his old company. Fishermen in the Tunulliarfik Fjord. Southwestern Greenland, where the mine would be, supports a robust fishing industry as well as scattered sheep farms. Cod in the fjord near the Tanbreez site. The mine is in southwestern Greenland, which supports a robust fishing industry as well as scattered sheep farms. Even in such an isolated place, there is some opposition. Asked whether he wanted to see mining on the Kangerluarsuk Fjord, the fisherman who ferried Post journalists to the site, Nuka Mark Nielsen, said simply: 'No.' On a good day, working his baited longline, Nielsen can fill his boat with fat cod coming to spawn. The fjord supports 10 families, he said. He is worried the noise and the shipping will scare away the fish. Two hours north by boat, outside the small settlement of Qassiarsuk, Sori Paviasen was working alongside her father-in-law, building a small house for her sister on a family farm with 440 sheep. 'Mining is good for the government, because they want the money,' Sori Paviasen said. 'But is it good for Greenland farmers?' Paviasen said she is wary of the pollution that mining might bring. 'Mining is good for the government, because they want the money,' Paviasen said. 'But is it good for Greenland farmers?' There were 31 sheep farms in southern Greenland a few years ago, she said. There are 25 now. The farmers are challenged by rising costs for imported feed and fertilizer, low lamb prices and extreme weather — more rain, early snow — brought on by climate change. Greenland's mining minister, Naaja Nathanielsen, said in an interview that Greenland is 'a pro-mining country' and 'we are a pro-mining people,' that her government understands that the West needs a secure supply chain of rare earth metals, and that Greenland needs to develop its economy. The village of Qassiarsuk, near the Tanbreeze mine. There were 31 sheep farms in southern Greenland a few years ago, Paviasen said. There are 25 now. The minister offered a pragmatic vision of Greenland. 'I do think in 20 years we will have six or seven active mines at any one time, a mix of smaller and bigger mines,' Nathanielsen said. 'We don't need to be the greatest mining country in the world. To run a small country and a small economy like ours, we need a good stable income over time that benefits the people and protects the environment.' Karklis reported from Washington. About this story Map sources: March 2025 technical assessment report from Critical Metals Corp., Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Danish Climate Data Agency, Danish Mineral Resources Authority, National Snow and Ice Data Center, ArcticDEM-Polar Geospatial Center and ESA.
