AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MiningNewsWire Editorial Coverage: Rare earth elements sit quietly inside electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, data centers, advanced defense systems — and much more. Yet one country dominates the mining, refining and magnet production, and global demand keeps climbing. That imbalance has turned the search for new, Western-aligned sources into an urgent economic and security priority. Greenland Mines Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRML) (profile) has made a significant move in that race, announcing that it has applied to more than double its footprint in West Greenland, which could turn one promising deposit into a full rare earth district. If approved, the move could position Greenland Mines squarely among other leaders, including MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP), USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR), Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) and Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML), that are working to advancing rare earth and critical-mineral resources aimed at strengthening Western supply chains for critical applications.

• The IEA finds that demand for the four magnet rare earths has doubled since 2015 and should grow by another third by 2030.
• Greenland Mines announced that it has submitted an application to the government of Greenland for a new license that would more than double the company’s footprint across a known rare earth and carbonatite district.
• Sarfartoq is a carbonatite-hosted rare earth project enriched in neodymium and praseodymium.
• Greenland Mines’ filing arrived just days after a major geopolitical development.
• The company's strategy is focused on advancing high-quality Greenlandic mineral assets capable of supporting diversified and secure Western critical-minerals supply chains.
  
  

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Why the World Cannot Live Without Rare Earths

Despite their name, rare earth elements (“REEs”) are not geologically scarce. The International Energy Agency (“IEA”) explains that these 17 elements are fairly plentiful in Earth's crust. However, they are seldom found in concentrations that are economically viable to mine. Their value comes from performance.

High-performance neodymium-iron-boron magnets, built mainly from neodymium and praseodymium, underpin electric vehicles, wind turbines, industrial motors and AI data centers. They also appear in aerospace, medical and defense systems. According to the same IEA report, permanent magnets account for around 95% of rare earth consumption by value.

Demand is rising fast. The IEA finds that demand for the four magnet rare earths has doubled since 2015 and should grow by another third by 2030. Robotics, automation and digital technologies are expected to add momentum after that. Outside China, the agency projects demand for magnet rare earths will rise 50% by 2035, with electric vehicles contributing the most.

Supply, however, is highly concentrated. In 2024, China accounted for 60% of mined magnet rare earths, 91% of refined output and 94% of sintered magnet production. U.S. Geological Survey data show a similar picture at the mine level, putting China's 2025 output at 270,000 of the 390,000 tons mined worldwide, or roughly 69%.

That concentration became a real-world problem in April 2025, when China imposed export controls on seven heavy rare earth elements. The IEA says some automakers in the United States and Europe cut utilization rates or temporarily halted production. China widened the controls in October 2025. In November, it suspended that expansion for one year, while the April controls stayed in place.

The financial stakes are enormous. If the full October controls were implemented, the IEA estimates that $6.5 trillion of annual downstream production outside China would be at risk. Existing and planned projects outside China would cover only about 50% of 2035 mining demand and 25% of refining demand. They would cover well under 20% of magnet demand. Closing those gaps would take around $60 billion of investment over the next decade.

Progress is real but modest. The IEA reports that the top supplier's share of rare earth refining fell from more than 90% in 2023 to 85% in 2025. It could reach 70% by 2035, if planned projects come online on schedule. Recycling could trim primary demand by up to 35% by 2050, but it cannot replace new mines. New, dependable sources are essential. One such effort is unfolding in West Greenland, where Greenland Mines has applied to increase its control position in the Sarfartoq Rare Earth Magnet District.

The Filing That Doubles the Footprint

On Monday, Greenland Mines announced that it had submitted an application to the government of Greenland for a new license. The license would cover approximately 262 km² immediately east of the company's existing Sarfartoq license. The filing followed significant reconnaissance work by the company. If granted, the move would increase Greenland Mines' control at Sarfartoq from approximately 192 km² to approximately 454 km², more than doubling the company’s footprint across a known rare earth and carbonatite district.

According to the company, a granted license would create a more connected project footprint and preserve flexibility for future infrastructure. It would also support the advancement of the southern ST zones. Greenland Mines points to historical stream-sediment geochemistry, regional aeromagnetic data and other geological information that together mark the applied-for area as a prospective new frontier for rare earth exploration.

“This application is about building Sarfartoq at district scale,” said Greenland Mines President Dr. Bo Møller Stensgaard. “At ST1, we now have a new S-K 1300 Mineral Resource Estimate, an independent Initial Assessment with exceptional high-case economics. We are advancing a defined rare earth neodymium and praseodymium dominated development asset, but we do not believe the opportunity ends at ST1.

“Our strategy is straightforward,” he continued. “Advance ST1 toward development, unlock the value of the less-developed known ST zones and systematically test the wider district for the next rare earth discovery.”

The company set careful expectations, calling the ground an “exploration opportunity.” The application remains subject to review and approval by the government of Greenland, and no assurance is given on timing, terms or outcome. Greenland exploration licenses grant exclusive rights over specified areas and carry ongoing exploration commitments. Applications also go through a statutory review and consultation process. The new area is not part of the current ST1 resource estimate, mine plan or economic analysis, and no resource has been defined there.

A Neodymium-Rich Deposit With Room to Grow

That said, the potential is evident. Sarfartoq is a carbonatite-hosted rare earth project enriched in neodymium and praseodymium. The ST1 deposit sits about 60 km southwest of Kangerlussuaq and its international civilian and military airport.

The new 262 km² area creates a contiguous project position of roughly 454 km². That follows an evaluation of earlier geological work that pointed to potential for more rare earths eastward of the Sarfartoq deposit. Greenland Mines says ST1 hosts conventional minerals, including bastnäsite and monazite, which are already processed at commercial scale elsewhere.

The ST1 numbers explain the company's enthusiasm. Its S-K 1300 resource estimate includes 6.9 million tons of Indicated resources grading 1.60% total rare earth oxides. It also includes 5.3 million tons of Inferred resources grading 0.96%. Combined, that is about 12.2 million tons at 1.32%.

An independent Initial Assessment sets a high-case, pretax net present value of approximately $2.05 billion. That figure uses an 8% real discount rate and carries an internal rate of return of 118.6%. Excluding Inferred resources, the high-case value is $1.49 billion. Neodymium and praseodymium make up about 84% of the modeled in-concentrate basket value. The company estimates planned annual output would equal roughly 34% of all NdPr oxide refined outside China at 2025 consumption levels.

The district-scale strategy is designed to move ST1 forward while opening a second front. The company says ST1 occupies well under 1% of its existing license area. Five other known occurrences — ST40, ST19, ST24, ST31 and ST43 — remain largely untested and sit outside the current economics. ST40 lies about 4 km from ST1, and Greenland Mines says historical sampling there suggests even richer neodymium enrichment. Its plan pairs ST1 development work with systematic testing of the wider district, including drone-based magnetic surveys ahead of ground follow-up.

Partnerships and next steps add further context. Neo Performance Materials became a strategic shareholder when Greenland Mines completed its acquisition of the Sarfartoq license holder. Neo retains nonbinding offtake rights on up to 60% of future concentrate. That material would be processed at its Silmet facility in Estonia. Test work produced flotation concentrates of about 8.25% total rare earth oxides at a design recovery of 63.6%. Planned work includes infill drilling, pilot-scale metallurgy and continued environmental baseline studies, with the aim of a Pre-Feasibility Study. The Initial Assessment is preliminary, and it includes Inferred resources that are too speculative to be classified as mineral reserves. No reserves have been estimated.

Why Timing, Geography Favor Greenland

Greenland Mines’ filing arrived just days after a major geopolitical development. On September 18, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Denmark and Greenland, describing the agreement as giving the United States “permanent control over security” in Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the deal recognizes Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders' right to self-determination. Signing of the agreement is expected at the UN General Assembly, with parliamentary action still needed. Trump also noted that no U.S. adversary could have a base or make sensitive investments in Greenland without U.S. written approval. The full text has not been released, so details may evolve.

Greenland Mines welcomed the announcement. Stensgaard said Greenland is becoming one of the most strategically important regions in the world, adding that the same importance extends to the critical minerals needed for defense, advanced technology and energy security.

Building a Western Critical Minerals Future in Greenland

The company's strategy is focused on advancing high-quality Greenlandic mineral assets capable of supporting diversified and secure Western critical-minerals supply chains. Greenland Mines also promotes a North Atlantic Critical Metals Corridor, which would link Greenland's resources with downstream processing in allied jurisdictions. That vision fits the IEA's point that supply security depends on refining and magnets, not mining alone.

The geological case is also compelling. USGS lists Greenland with 1.5 million tons of rare earth reserves, yet the territory does not currently produce the metals. That gap between resources and output suggests untapped potential.

The story could come down to the simple facts. Demand for magnet rare earths has doubled since 2015 and is still rising. Refining and magnet production remain concentrated in one country, and export controls have shown how quickly that can hurt industry. Greenland Mines is pursuing Sarfartoq because the project offers a defined neodymium-praseodymium anchor in ST1. The company also sees room for a wider district. Its 262 km² application would connect and extend its ground while more exploration is done.

While the license is not yet granted and the acreage is unproven, the company’s strategy appears clear. Greenland Mines is working to advance one deposit toward development while testing whether Sarfartoq can grow into a new Western rare earth region.

Rare Earth Supply Chains Take Shape

Rare earth elements and critical minerals have become increasingly important to global manufacturing, advanced technologies, energy systems and national security. Across the sector, companies are moving to develop more secure and diversified supply chains through new mining projects, expanded processing capacity and investments in domestic manufacturing. 

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) has selected a 120-acre site in Northlake, Texas, to develop 10X, the company's planned large-scale rare earth magnet manufacturing campus. Located less than 10 miles from MP's existing Independence facility in Fort Worth, the new campus will cement North Texas as the center of gravity for the United States' rare earth magnet supply chain. 10X will significantly expand MP's fully integrated U.S. rare earth magnetics manufacturing platform, which already encompasses mining and refining, metallization and alloying, sintering, finished magnet production and closed-loop recycling.

USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR) has broken ground on its new rare earth metal and magnet manufacturing facility in Blacksburg, South Carolina. The move marks a major step in the company’s effort to build a secure, integrated rare earth supply chain for the United States and its allies. Located on a 124-acre site in Bailey Industrial Park in Cherokee County, the approximately 800,000-square-foot facility represents an approximately $1.2 billion investment and is expected to create roughly 490 high-skill, high-wage manufacturing jobs in South Carolina’s upstate.

Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) has completed its acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials Limited (“ASM”), a leading producer of REE metals and alloys. The acquisition of ASM marks a major milestone in Energy Fuels' long-term growth strategy to build an integrated mine-to-magnet rare earth platform. By adding ASM's operating Korean Metals Plant in South Korea, Energy Fuels immediately gains commercial scale metal and alloy production capacity, expanding into one of the most critical and constrained vulnerabilities of global rare earth supply chains.

Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML) has been shortlisted to proceed to the next stage of the government of Kenya’s competitive tender process for the right to develop the Mrima Hill rare earth and niobium project. The move is a powerful endorsement of the consortium’s financial strength, world-class technical capability and vision of developing Mrima Hill and Kenya as a regional rare earth processing hub. Mrima Hill is widely regarded as one of the most significant undeveloped rare earth and niobium deposits globally, positioned on Kenya’s southern coast with direct access to the Port of Mombasa.

These milestone moves reflect growing momentum toward building more resilient rare earth and critical-mineral supply chains outside traditional centers of production. As governments and industries seek reliable supplies of materials essential to defense, energy and advanced technologies, investment is expanding across the value chain, from developing new mineral resources to establishing processing and manufacturing capacity capable of turning those resources into high-value finished products.

For more information, visit Greenland Mines.

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