This went largely unnoticed when it’s reported in January.

US and Danish officials lobbied Tanbreez Mining, the developer of Greenland's largest rare earths deposit, last year not to sell its project to 🇨🇳-linked firms.

US officials who visited the project in southern Greenland twice last year had repeatedly shared a message with the cash-strapped company: do not sell the large deposit to a Beijing-linked buyer.

Tanbreez was ultimately sold to New York-based Critical Metals for $5 million in cash and $211 million in Critical Metals stock (far less than what 🇨🇳 firms offered) as part of a complex deal that will be completed later this year. Tanbreez aims to mine 500,000 metric tons annually of the crimson rare earths-containing mineral eudialyte as soon as 2026.

A rival Greenland rare earths project from Energy Transition Minerals — which counts 🇨🇳 Shenghe as its largest shareholder — has stalled amid protracted legal disputes.

Critical Metals' third-largest investor is brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald, led by Howard Lutnick.

The Tanbreez deposit is about 30% heavy rare earths, which are used widely in defense applications. The site also contains gallium, on which China imposed export restrictions last year.

Critical Metals has held supply talks with defense contractor Lockheed Martin and has upcoming talks with RTX and Boeing.

GreenRoc has applied for an exploitation license to develop a Greenland graphite project and has held funding talks with US officials in the past year.

Neo Performance Materials and Anglo American are also exploring on the island.

https://t.co/iq76UwIN4E

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