President Trump announced that oil, gas, and mineral exploration in Greenland is about to begin.

“Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland! There are Experts that are saying that the amount of easily available Oil is far greater than that of almost any land, anywhere in the World and, even more importantly, from a Security Purpose in the Defense and Offense of both the United States of America, and Europe, is second to none,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Any future attack on the United States will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived. It gives us time, location, and sightline, like nowhere else in the World!” he added.

Full post below:

CBS News shared further:

The announcement comes more than four weeks after the U.S., Greenland and Denmark, which oversees the territory, signed a new security agreement to bolster American military and security presence on the island.

That agreement, which gives the U.S. broad access to the island’s airspace and territory, largely focuses on using Greenland for military purposes, but also mentions resource extraction and “minerals cooperation” between the two countries, without specifying any details.

ADVERTISEMENT

The plan allows the U.S. to expand the existing Pituffik Space Base, the northernmost U.S. military installation which serves as an early-warning system for incoming missiles. The agreement also says the U.S. can establish additional bases at the sites known as Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, which are roughly 950 miles apart. Any of the three parties can propose more “defense areas” as needed, subject to approval by the others.

The deal, which has no expiration date, also blocks non-NATO countries from establishing bases on the island without agreement from the parties.

According to Forbes, a Greenland mining official said Trump’s claims about “massive” oil, gas, and mineral exploration are “heavily exaggerated.”

Forbes noted:

Greenland’s deputy mining minister Jørgen Hammeken-Holm told CNN, “there are activities by U.S. companies,” but “we are very far away from ‘massive’ exploration.”

The smaller explorations underway, he said, “could take years to become operational,” citing difficulties associated with Greenland’s Arctic terrain and lack of infrastructure.

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.