Greenland is About Climate Change and Rare Earth MineralsStrong local resistance to foreign mining
Stephen Bryen
Jan 15, 2026
Reports say that the US is planning to offer up to $700 billion to buy Greenland. Greenland is a large landmass, 836,000 square miles, but only a fraction of the territory is inhabited by 56,000 Greenlanders. When the US bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, it paid $7.2 million, equivalent to $157 million today, far below the reported price for Greenland. That was before the Alaska Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899) which added around 100,000 to Alaska’s population which, at the time, was between 50,000 and 80,000. The acquisition was described as Seward’s Folly (Secretary of State William H.). The US was said to benefit from fishing, fur trade and timber. Looking past the subsequent Gold Rush, oil did not become a significant asset until 1957. The Russians did the deal in part because they were broke, and in part to keep Alaska out of Britain’s hands.
Greenland is About Climate Change and Rare Earth Minerals
Money talks. The tech giants dominating the donor list for the WH ballroom are also at the top of the list for Greenland. $ 700 billion is a huge payback for their portion of the $ 200 million initially donated for the ballroom.
Why tech titans like Sam Altman, Bill Gates, Peter Thiel, & Jeff Bezos are betting big on AI-driven rare earth drilling in Greenland |
