Business
Greenland: What natural resources does the island have?
Archie Mitchelland
Danielle Kaye,Business reporters
Getty ImagesDonald Trump has made clear he covets Greenland.
Now he claims to have secured the “framework” of a future deal, to address defence on the island – a deal that he says includes rights to rare earth minerals.
So what natural resources does Greenland have?
Greenland is believed to sit on top of large reserves of oil and natural gas.
It is also said to be home to the vast majority of raw materials considered crucial for electronics, green energy and other strategic and military technologies – to which Trump has been pushing to secure America’s access.
Overall, 25 of 34 minerals deemed “critical raw materials” by the European Commission are found in Greenland, including graphite, niobium and titanium, according to the 2023 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
Greenland’s strategic importance is “not just about defence”, Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, said at a Senate hearing last year about the potential acquisition of Greenland, pointing to the island’s “vast reserves of rare earth elements”.
Trump has sometimes downplayed the importance of those resources, pointing to what he claims is rising Russian and Chinese influence in the region to justify his claims that the US has to “have” the island.
“I want Greenland for security – I don’t want it for anything else,” he told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, pointing in part to the difficulty of exploring in the Arctic region. “You have to go 25ft down through ice to get it. It’s not, it’s not something that a lot of people are going to do or want to do.”
But access to the island’s natural resources have loomed large in the background for the administration, which has put the US economy at the centre of its geopolitical vision and has made combatting China’s dominance of the rare earths industry a priority.
Trump’s interest in controlling Greenland is “primarily about access to those resources, and blocking China’s access”, according to Steven Lamy, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California.
Even before Trump’s second term, the US had been tightening its ties with Greenland, including by reopening its consulate in the island’s capital, Nuuk, in 2020, responding to Russia and China’s expanding military presence in the Arctic.
Since Trump returned to office, his allies have talked up the island’s commercial potential, as rising temperatures expand sea routes and opportunities to explore the region’s fisheries and other natural resources, especially those related to defence, such as energy and critical minerals, that the administration sees as a priority.
“This is about shipping lanes. This is about energy. This is about fisheries. And, of course, it’s about your mission, which is keeping us safe and monitoring space, monitoring our adversaries, and making sure the American people can sleep safely in their homes, day in and day out,” Mike Waltz, the current US ambassador to the United Nations and then Trump’s national security adviser, told US troops stationed in Greenland last year.
And Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry told CNBC this month that Trump was a “business president” who believed the island represented “a more robust trading opportunity”.
Over the summer, the Trump administration signed off on the possibility of backing an American company’s mining project in Greenland, via $120m (£90m) in financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
The plan built on other deals the Trump administration has agreed with Australia and Japan, as well as private firms, to secure US access to supply and production of rare earths, an industry now dominated by China.
Dr Patrick Schröder, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, said the scale of Greenland’s critical minerals holdings had the potential to “shift the dial” for the US, allowing it to reduce its reliance on China – a key priority for the administration.
But critics of Trump’s designs on the island, say it is not clear why US control would be necessary to access the island’s resources.
Analysts also warn that tapping them is easier said than done.
Among other challenges, mining in Greenland currently is expensive and hampered by severe weather conditions, a lack of infrastructure and a small labour force, Lamy said.
While exploration permits have been given for 100 blocs of the island, there are just two productive mines in Greenland.
“Greenland has been trying to attract outside investments into its extractive industries for a long time, and has not had a lot of luck because the business case just hasn’t really been there,” said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies.
“It’s true that there are huge quantities of minerals of various kinds in Greenland. However, it also costs a lot of money to extract those minerals.”
But Prof Andrew Shepherd, director of the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, said rapidly melting layers of ice are increasingly easing the process, exposing rock for potential mining and creating river runoff.
“Getting all the fieldwork done traditionally has been very hard to do because you have to get energy to remote regions,” he told the BBC.
“With the melting ice, you get the potential for hydro power in the area where the land is being exposed… so this presents itself as an interesting prospect.”
Jennifer Spence, director of the Arctic Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School, said when it came to mining in Greenland, “it’s all still about potential”.
Still, she thinks the island’s strategic shipping location and rare earths deposits were key factors drawing Trump’s attention.
“His logic is that there’s a national security imperative,” Spence said. “My belief is that this is much more economically driven.”
Additional reporting by Natalie Sherman
New Delhi: India’s foreign exchange reserves witnessed a massive surge of $14.167 billion to reach $701.36 billion in the week ended January 16, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday. In the preceding week that ended January 9, the country’s foreign exchange reserves had increased by $392 million.
The largest component of the foreign exchange reserves, Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), increased by $9.65 billion in the week ended January 16, reaching $560.51 billion. FCA includes the value of other major global currencies such as the yen, euro and pound, in addition to the dollar, expressed in dollar terms.
The gold reserves also increased by $4.6 billion to $117.45 billion in the reporting period. According to the RBI, the value of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) decreased by $35 million to $18.70 billion in the week ended January 16. The value of the reserve position in the IMF decreased by $73 million to $4.684 billion.
Previously, on October 17, 2025, the country’s foreign exchange reserves had reached $702.25 billion. The all-time high for India’s foreign exchange reserves is $704.89 billion, recorded in September 2024.
Foreign exchange reserves are very important for any country and reflect its economic condition. They also play a significant role in stabilising the exchange rate. For example, if the rupee comes under pressure against the dollar and its value falls, the Central Bank can use its foreign exchange reserves to prevent the rupee from depreciating further against the dollar and maintain exchange rate stability.
Rising foreign exchange reserves also indicate a large inflow of dollars into the country, which strengthens the economy. Furthermore, an increase in reserves makes it easier for the country to conduct international trade. The steady rise in foreign exchange reserves comes amid strong capital inflows into the country, with India witnessing a notable increase in foreign direct investment commitments during the current financial year.
Poundland has announced the completion of a sweeping restructure that saw the discount retailer close nearly 150 shops and axe 2,200 jobs, though it concedes there remains “much to do” to stabilise the business.
The troubled chain, which secured High Court approval for its restructuring plan last August, confirmed it concluded the year with 651 sites, a significant reduction from approximately 800 stores prior to the overhaul.
Its workforce also diminished from 14,200 to around 12,000 by the end of last year.
The extensive revamp also involved the closure of two of its four warehouses, located in Darton, South Yorkshire, and Springvale in Bilston, West Midlands.
Additionally, its customer service centre in Walsall, also in the West Midlands, underwent a reorganisation.
In an update issued on Friday, Poundland stated that the large-scale shop closures are now concluded.
The company clarified: “Any future closures will be a consequence of standard business-as-usual lease events expected at a retailer with a large store network.”
Christmas trading figures revealed a 2.9 per cent drop in like-for-like underlying sales for the quarter ending 28 December.
This decline was attributed to the retailer’s strategy of slashing prices to return to its core discount roots, a move that saw comparable store sales by volume lift by 2 per cent.
Underlying earnings in its first quarter rose £8.4 million to £17.3 million, in line with its expectations.
Poundland managing director Barry Williams said: “While there’s been significant progress as we refocus and re-energise the business with lower prices and a sharper offer, we know we still have much to do.
“Our focus on our costs has, without doubt, given us a platform for future growth, but no sustainable turnaround can be based on cost management alone.
“That’s why our focus in 2026 will be on delivering the kind of ranges and price simplicity our customers want right across the store – in clothing, homewares, as well as our core grocery aisles.”
Poundland was sold for £1 to investment firm Gordon Brothers in June last year.
It avoided entering administration after a restructuring plan was approved in the High Court in August, days before the company was due to run out of money.
Recovery efforts since have focused on simplifying the business, including by cutting stores but also by overhauling its pricing structure and removing some categories, such as frozen foods and some chilled ranges, as well as ditching its online offering.
It is returning to a simple £1, £2 and £3 grocery pricing across all its UK shops – with around 60 per cent of grocery items priced at £1.
The group is relaunching in-house designed Pep&Co clothing to its UK and Ireland stores, with 90 per cent of items priced below £10 to be available from next week.
It is also next week launching a nationwide ad campaign “to highlight the everyday value” of ranges.
New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2026–27 on February 1, 2026, marking her ninth consecutive Budget and the third full Budget of the Narendra Modi–led NDA 3.0 government. The Budget will be tabled on a Sunday, a relatively rare occurrence in recent years, adding to the significance of this much-anticipated economic announcement.
Budget Session 2026 to Run from January 28 to April 2
The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on January 28 and conclude on April 2, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has announced. Sharing the update on X, Rijiju said that President Droupadi Murmu has approved the summoning of both Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session 2026, following a recommendation from the Union government.
With this Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman will set a new record by surpassing several former finance ministers including Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P. Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, and Morarji Desai in the number of Union Budgets presented. The decisions and policy announcements made during this session are expected to play a crucial role in shaping India’s economic direction for the next financial year.
Economic Survey 2026–27 to Be Presented on January 29
The Economic Survey for 2026–27 will be tabled in both Houses of Parliament on January 29, a day ahead of the Union Budget. The Survey will be presented by Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran and is expected to outline the state of the economy, key challenges, and growth priorities that will set the context for the Budget announcements.
Union Budget 2026 Presentation Date and Time
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2026–27 in Parliament on February 1, 2026, beginning at 11:00 AM. The Budget speech is one of the most closely watched events of the year, as it lays out the government’s economic priorities and policy direction for the coming financial year.
How to Watch the Union Budget 2026 Live
Business enthusiasts and the general public can watch the Union Budget 2026 live on February 1 at 11:00 AM on the official Parliament channel, Sansad TV.
The live telecast will also be available across major news channels and on social media platforms such as YouTube and X (formerly Twitter).
Additionally, viewers can stream the Budget live on the official website: www.indiabudget.gov.in
What Is the Union Budget?
The Union Budget is an annual statement presented by the central government that outlines its proposed revenues and expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year, which runs from April 1 to March 31. Prepared and presented by the Finance Minister of India, currently Nirmala Sitharaman, the Budget is a comprehensive document detailing the government’s policies, priorities, and financial plans.
As per Article 112 of the Constitution, the President of India is required to lay the Annual Financial Statement (the Budget) before Parliament. Closely watched by businesses, investors, and the general public, the Budget offers important insights into the government’s focus areas and can have a major impact on the country’s economy.
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