Greenland

What’s All the Fuss About Greenland?

My grandfather was a world traveler. I often think about going to all the places he told me about and maybe writing a book on it. They were exotic locales like Panama, Eniwetok, Hawaii, and Greenland. That’s why I’m such a map-lover (cartophile).

His travels led me to geek out on lots of remote places…one of which is the center of interest for the world today – Greenland.

I used to sit and look at globes in the library. The ones with actual relief were my favorites. I’d always look for those lost islands and out of the way locations. But, like many of you, I often found myself exploring our “giant” island neighbor to the east.

My grandfather was stationed at the Thule airbase, now the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. He didn’t have much to say about that period of his life, except that it was cold.
The giant island captured my attention on every map, because of its huge size. But as we know, those Mercator projection maps distort the size of land areas near the poles. And while Greenland is the largest island in the world, it ain’t this big:

Google maps make it look the same size as Africa. However, its actual size is about 30% of the U.S. mainland:

That’s a common misconception because we usually look at the world through those kinds of maps. However, even though it’s not as large as it seems, it’s also empty. With a total population of 56,000 people, it’s the least populated country on earth. It has one of the most unique flags I’ve ever seen:

The reason Greenland is in the spotlight now is its mineral wealth. The island has an abundance of the so called “critical minerals.” Most of those minerals in use today come from China. And the Chinese mining industry already has a foothold in Greenland exploration.

According to the Economist, there are 170 exploration project there today, up from twelve a decade ago. And they have some high-profile backers:

KoBold Metals, financed by Bill Gates, Microsoft’s founder, and Mr. Bezos, is using artificial intelligence to find sites to drill, and has spent $15m developing Disko Nuussuaq, a deposit of cobalt and copper. 

Many other companies are actively exploring and developing discoveries there, including Bluejay Mining and major Anglo American.

As the warming climate melts Greenland’s ice cover, more area will be exposed. It’s ideal for exploration because it has the right rocks and no vegetation. Companies can fly over it and see alteration on the ground. This is a unique situation because areas like this were explored for hundreds of years. But Greenland was both inhospitable and ice bound…so it was not.

That’s why many governments, billionaires, and companies all covet ground in Greenland. It has the potential to be a massive metals bonanza. And because its so unpopulated, there won’t be the same scrutiny on the work as there is everywhere else in the world.

For the Good,

The Mangrove Investor Team

Numbers You Need to Know

80%

Greenland is the world’s biggest island. Almost 80% of it is covered by the ice cap and glaciers. The ice-free area is almost as large as Sweden, but only a very small part of it is arable. (Nordic Co-operation)

2.5 million years

Although Greenland is mostly covered by ice it was actually quite green more than 2.5 million years ago. It got its name from Erik The Red, who was exiled to the island. He called it “Greenland” in hopes that the name would attract settlers. (Visit Greenland)

100 Million Dollars

In 1946, the United States offered Denmark $100 million ($1 billion today) in gold bullion for Greenland. (Wikipedia)

What’s New in Sustainable Investing

Tough times ahead for US sustainable investors

With Donald Trump’s return to the White House, anti-sustainability sentiment is set to intensify at the federal level, forcing investors to navigate an increasingly polarized landscape. (Sustainable Views)

Denmark boosts Greenland defense spending after Trump’s call for ownership of the key Arctic territory

The Danish defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, told a local media outlet that Denmark would invest “a double-digit billion amount” in kroner to buy two new inspection ships, two new long-range drones, and extra sled patrols in Greenland. (Business Insider)

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