Trump's plan to bully Greenland for 'game-changing' minerals backfired: report
President Donald Trump's plan to bully another country into giving up its rare earth minerals appears to have backfired, according to a new report.
The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Trump's previous statements about controlling Greenland for national security seem to have been part of a larger plot to get favored access to the country's rare earth minerals. Greenland has two-thirds of the minerals most crucial to the United States, which are used by technology companies to build their products, according to the report.
One mine is said to have enough minerals to operate for 1,000 years, according to the report.
Tony Sage, who owns the professional soccer team in Perth, Australia, told The Post that the mine is a "game-changing rare earth mine for the West.”
To that end, the Trump administration sent a "letter of interest" to another local mining company offering a $120 million loan to help expand their operations.
However, that plan appears to have backfired as Greenland officials say the country's mining industry doesn't need to grow that quickly.
"We don’t need to be the greatest mining country in the world," Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland's mining minister, told The Post. "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.”
Instead, Nathanielsen seems to want a much smaller industry to develop across the country.
"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.