EU Invests in Canadian Mining Company in East Greenland
Source: iStock.com/RHJ
Ursula von der Leyen’s recent visit to Greenland not only marked the beginning of a new phase in relations between the sparsely populated, independence-seeking Arctic island, Denmark, and the European Union—a phase enshrined in a Joint Declaration that The North Observer will analyze shortly—but also yielded a significant tangible outcome.
BACKGROUND
Amid the EU’s preparations for a war with Russia—a conflict Euro-bureaucrats anticipate will begin in 2029—a united Europe has agreed to help finance a project to mine molybdenum-bearing ore from a major deposit in eastern Greenland.
As The North Observer had predicted, this unprecedented, high-profile visit by the EU leadership to Greenland served as the opening round of a ten-round professional boxing match. It is a contest with high stakes for former allies—the US and the EU—as they vie for the rich mineral resources of the northwestern North Atlantic, specifically the vast island itself and its surrounding waters.
In this bout, Canada—led by a reckless liberal elite that has failed to build a viable state and has instead succeeded primarily in paving the way for its collapse—plays the role of a “junior” fighter barred by the rules. It is the sort of fighter who sneaks into the ring to land a cheap shot on the US from behind, only to quickly scramble out of the ring and into the safety of the spectator stands.
However, the weary, aging visage of the European Union—the old fellow is more than 75 years old, counting from the moment of conception—bears a massive bruise covering the entire face; inflicted by tiny but proud Iceland—which, surprisingly enough, wished to preserve its independence and sovereignty—the mark has not yet had time to fade from dark blue to green or yellow.
Following this heavy blow, instead of a wide gateway into the resource-rich Arctic—so generously endowed by the Creator—the European Union was left with only a small wicket gate via Greenland, a territory still belonging to Denmark.
On September 7, Euro-bureaucrats attempted to hastily cement this temporary situation politically, mindful of their currently negligible presence in the Arctic.
The practical outcome of the EU leadership’s trip to Greenland was the allocation of a modest €200 million for the 2026–2027 period to fund projects on the island—including the aforementioned molybdenum ore extraction project led by a Canadian company.
Although the European press makes no public mention of it, a primary consumer of this molybdenum will be the EU defense industry, rather than European housewives gazing fondly at their stainless-steel pots, knives, and forks—items that also rely on these same alloying metals during manufacture.
Molybdenum, chromium, and nickel are key alloying metals used to produce armor steel. The molybdenum content in the toughest armor plating can reach as high as 1%, and the extreme-hardness plates used for stopping high-velocity projectiles often use higher alloy mixes containing roughly 0.40% to 1.0% molybdenum.
Given the sheer weight of military hardware, the defense industry requires vast quantities of these metals; access to them dictates the production capacity of military manufacturing facilities.
Nazi Germany received approximately 13,000 tons of pure nickel from the Petsamo region (Kolosjoki mines) in northern Finland between 1940 and 1944. Nickel was vital for the German war machine to produce hardened armor steel, gun barrels, and aircraft engines. By 1943, Finnish imports accounted for roughly 73% of Germany’s total nickel supply, rising to about 87% in 1944 prior to the Soviet offensive.
As is well known, the godfathers of the European Union were economists who had served in Hitler’s SS during World War II—men who had planned to create a unified economic and political space under the leadership of Nazi Germany.
The European Union—the ideological heir to Nazi Germany—once again requires precious metals to manufacture weaponry for the rapid, large-scale militarization needed for the war with Russia planned for 2029.
NATO military officials and politicians—and European ones in particular—would do well to study Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine before bedtime, rather than dreaming of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia in three years’ time (will you actually manage to get ready by that time?).
Expensive military hardware—which will certainly be of no use to Europeans in the war with Russia they desire—will only burden the meager EU budget and deeply indebted national budgets, without bringing peace or security to Europe.
These alloying metals would be better used to make shiny, beautiful, stainless cookware—items that European housewives will continue to view with love and appreciation.
Greenland Resources has been designated by the EU as a high-priority project. Now the director talks about their cooperation with the Greenlandic government and Europe.
When the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was in Nuuk, she talked about the cooperation with Greenland on mining.
During her presentation in Katuaq, she mentioned, among other things, the Piiaaffik project at Malmbjerget, south of Mestersvig.
“This could become one of Greenland’s largest enterprises. If we do it well, it could generate up to 90 million euros—672 million kroner—per year in value for the country,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
Greenland Resources is the Canadian mining company behind the project. In June last year, they received their exploitation permit.
In the Greenlandic Government’s Political-Economic Report for 2026, it is stated that the company is in the process of drafting the environmental assessment (EIA) and the social sustainability assessment (SSA).
KNR met the director, Ruben Shiffman, for a conversation after Ursula von der Leyen’s press conference with Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
“I am very excited. This is teamwork, and the most important thing is the local community in Ittoqqortoormiit. We want to do a lot for them. It just has to happen at the right time and in coordination with the Greenlandic Government.”
The Mine at Malmbjerget
The Canadian company Greenland Resources Inc. will extract the element molybdenum in a mine approximately 30 kilometers west of the coast at Mestersvig.
Molybdenum is used, among other things, in the steel industry.
The plan is for the mine to operate 24/7 for 18 years and extract 22,000 tons of molybdenum concentrate during this period.
The mine is expected to employ 300 to 500 people.
The Country’s Largest Project
KNR has previously described how the company expects to mine 12.8 million tons of ore per year, which will be shipped abroad from a quay in Mestersvig during the ice-free months.
In addition, the company has previously said that they will rebuild the runway at Station Mestersvig so that it can be used for civil flights by the company and the rest of Greenland more frequently than today.
If the mine receives the final approvals, Ruben Shiffman expects that it will take four years to build the mine. He also expects that the mine could account for 30% of Greenland’s gross domestic product through taxes.
“Everyone wants molybdenum from Greenland. You can’t make defense-classified alloys without molybdenum.”
Cooperation with Europe
Last week, Múte B. Egede, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Industry and Raw Materials of Greenland, was in Brussels to talk to EU politicians.
There, he asked for more European companies that can receive raw materials from Greenland and process them.
Ruben Shiffman says that Greenland Resources already has a large number of partners in the EU.
“We have binding purchase agreements with the largest steel companies in Europe. This is not a theoretical project, it is already an economic interest for European steel producers.”
“Greenland can help the EU secure the supply chains of critical minerals, while you help Greenland diversify its economy. But for this to work, there must be European customers,” said Múte B. Egede last week in the EU.
Here the Finnish company Outokumpu is mentioned, Europe’s largest producer of stainless steel. The director says that the customer agreement is worth $2.4 billion for 10 years and can be extended for a period of 20 years.
“We also have binding customer agreements with Swedish SSAB, which is one of the largest defense-classified steel producers in Europe.”
“They have just signed a large agreement with Rheinmetall, the largest defense company in Europe. So we have about 80% of the German market covered. The German government is very involved in the project,” says Ruben Shiffman.
Relationship with the Government of Greenland
KNR has described since March how the American oil company Greenland Energy Company and the Government of Greenland have been in conflict with each other.
Ruben Shiffman will not comment on the other company. But he says that Greenland Resources has had a great collaboration with the Greenlandic government throughout.
“We have interacted with many authorities around the world. I must say that our experience with the Greenland authorities is very positive. They do a lot with the limited funds, and they really want the project to be possible.”
Similarly, the director says that the high environmental standards and bureaucracy in Greenland are something that their partners in Europe see as a strength rather than a hindrance.
“The Government of Greenland has been very supportive, and the rules are very clear. In my opinion, the environmental standards are the highest in the world. This gives strong credibility to the Arctic. This is very important for the Europeans.”
Local Communities
The final approvals are still missing.
Therefore, the director cannot be specific at this time about how the company intends to contribute to the various local communities in East Greenland.
In July, citizens in Ittoqqortoormiit took to the streets to demonstrate against the American oil company Greenland Energy Company and their handling of the cooperation with the Government of Greenland and the local environment. The director of the Canadian company says that they have a good collaboration with the Greenland government and local communities on the east coast.
“If this project becomes a reality, there are many really exciting opportunities that can come to the local communities on the east coast. But we will have to start the project before we can deliver on it.”
The Canadian director is married to a Danish woman, and in the last sentence of the interview, which was conducted in English, he switches to Danish.
“We already have commitments, and our company structure is to share. As we say in Danish: ‘We are good people’.”
Source: KNR (in Danish)
