Editing Economy of Greenland (section)

===Mining===
[[Ivigtut]] used to be the world's premier source of natural [[cryolite]], an important mineral in [[aluminum extraction]], but the commercially viable reserves were depleted in the 1980s. Similarly, deposits of coal, diamonds, and many metals{{spaced ndash}} including silver, nickel, platinum, copper, molybdenum, iron, niobium, tantalum, uranium, and [[rare earths]]{{spaced ndash}} are known to exist, but as of 2011 not yet in commercially viable deposits, while Greenland's Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum was working to promote Greenland as an attractive destination for prospectors.<ref name=ggg>{{cite web
 |title        = Prospectivity of Greenland
 |url          = http://www.ggg.gl/Greenland/Greenland.htm
 |publisher    = Greenland Minerals and Energy, ltd
 |access-date   = 21 February 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110219070402/http://www.ggg.gl/Greenland/Greenland.htm
 |archive-date = 2011-02-19
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref> In 2010, improvements in technology and increases in mineral prices led to some mines being reopened, such as the lead and zinc mine at [[Maamorilik]] and the gold mine at [[Nalunaq]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Greenland – the Last Frontier|url=http://www.angelmining.com/greenland|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224123031/http://www.angelmining.com/greenland|archive-date=24 February 2010|access-date=21 February 2011|publisher=Angel Mining}}</ref>

As of 2012, partly due to the retreating ice sheet due to [[climate change]], Greenland was starting to emerge as a territory rich with untapped resources. Substantial volumes of minerals were within reach of geological land mapping technologies, according to research conducted by [[GlobalData]]<ref>{{Citation
| url = http://www.mining.com/web/greenland-the-next-mining-destination/
| title= Greenland – The next mining destination
| year =	 2012
| publisher = mining.com
| location = International
| access-date = 3 October 2012
}}</ref>

A difficulty is the island's lack of infrastructure. The CEO of Nunaminerals, which went bankrupt in 2015 after 17 years, said that unlike similar mineral deposits elsewhere, Greenland projects were [[greenfield land]] and needed new roads and power plants as well as the mine.<ref name="tvtwo20250110">{{Cite news |last1=Seidelin |first1=Lisa Munck |last2=Mortensen |first2=Mikkei Walentin |last3=Jensen |first3=Emil Vincent Sarrouw |date=2025-01-10 |title=Grønland rummer nøglen til USA's overlevelse, mener Trump - TV 2 |url=https://nyheder.tv2.dk/business/2025-01-09-groenland-rummer-noeglen-til-usas-overlevelse-mener-trump |access-date=2025-01-18 |publisher=TV2 |language=da-DK}}</ref> Even in 2025, Greenland had  less than 100 miles of paved roads.<ref name="nyt">{{Cite news |last1=Gettleman |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Prickett |first2=Ivor |date=2025-02-20 |title=Greenland's Big Moment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/world/europe/greenland-trump-denmark.html |access-date=2025-02-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

As of 2025, Lumina was digging for [[anorthosite]], and KoBold, financed by [[Jeff Bezos]], [[Bill Gates]] and other billionaires for nickel.<ref name="nyt"/>
Critical Metals Corporation has been operating a mine in southern Greenland, backed by [[Cantor Fitzgerald]] of which [[Howard Lutnick]] has been the firm’s chief executive prior to becoming [[commerce secretary]] in 2025.<ref name="nyt" />