3 hours ago
11
US President Donald Trump says helium wants to bargain Greenland from Denmark and is not taking ‘no’ for an answer.
Published On 15 Jan 2026
Ilulissat, Greenland – In the Arctic municipality of Ilulissat, perched beside an crystal fjord successful occidental Greenland, fisherman Joel Hansen says helium is “terrified” astir the imaginable of a United States takeover of his home.
“One mode oregon another”, US President Donald Trump has said, Greenland volition go portion of the US, and helium is not ruling retired subject unit to execute that goal.
While the Trump medication argues that Greenland is geographically wrong the North American portion and is vital for US security, observers accidental the US is arsenic funny successful the island’s immense mineral wealth.
Hansen, who is fractional Inuit and fractional Danish, has been sportfishing among the towering icebergs successful the waters disconnected Ilulissat for the past 14 years and says helium desperately does not privation his beingness to change.
“I americium terrified to beryllium American,” helium tells Al Jazeera. “I person seen Alaskan Inuits – however hard they are living.”
Despite the often tricky narration betwixt Greenland and Denmark, which began colonisation of the land successful 1721, helium is 1 nonmigratory who believes it mightiness beryllium amended to beryllium Danish aft all, helium says.
“I emotion Greenland because, erstwhile I’m fishing, we person state to enactment for ourselves.”
Rich successful resources
While Greenland gained “home rule” successful 1979 and past greater autonomy via the Self-Government Act of 2009, it remains portion of Denmark and, therefore, politically portion of Europe. But, geographically, it is successful the portion of North America.
Because the land is truthful distant and inhospitable, its affluent deposits of zinc, iron, uranium and graphite are mostly untapped. It is, however, believed to beryllium location to the world’s eighth-largest deposits of much-sought-after rare-earth elements.
When processed, these person magnetic and electro-chemical properties which are captious for producing components of modern tech, specified arsenic upwind turbines, electrical vehicles, smartphones, rocket systems and combatant jets.
The subject applications are of peculiar interest to the US, it says, due to the fact that China has astir 60 percent of the world’s rare-earth elements – and processes 90 percent of them.
Greenland itself has lone 2 operating mines, but Greenlanders judge they could physique their ain capableness to process minerals. “We person a batch of minerals successful Greenland, truthful we tin beryllium a federation if we want,” says Hansen. “We don’t request wealth from Trump.”
‘We are wholly different’
The imaginable of the US descending connected Greenland to pat its minerals has struck fearfulness into Inuit communities astir Ilulissat, which welcomed backmost the sunrise this week aft adjacent changeless acheronian during the polar nighttime of the past 2 months.
In beforehand of a gathering betwixt the Danish and Greenlandic overseas ministers with US US authorities caput Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance successful Washington connected Wednesday, Inuit Greenlander Karl Sandgreen, caput of the Ilulissat Icefjord visitant centre, told Al Jazeera, “My anticipation is that Rubio is going to person immoderate humanity successful that talk.”
His fears are for the Inuit mode of life. “We are wholly different. We are Inuit, and we’ve been surviving present for thousands of years. This is my daughter’s and my son’s future, not a aboriginal for radical who are reasoning astir resources.”
English (US) ·