US President Donald Trump recently announced that an agreement has been reached on a possible deal with Greenland that would include rights to rare earth minerals.
These critical and rare earth minerals are crucial to supporting the technology sector, particularly in the transition to clean energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and the provision of advanced military equipment.
According to the International Energy Agency, China now controls more than 90% of the world's refined rare earth output and more than 60% of rare earth mining production.
Executive Director of the Minerals Center at SAFE (Securing America's Future Energy), Abigail Hunter described China as far ahead of the US through government-backed projects, coordination with the private sector, and aggressive international investment.
The statement was reported by CNN while she was attending the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last week.
Analysts believe that Saudi Arabia is now planning to expand its rare earth mineral sector to reduce its economic dependence on oil production and increase its geopolitical influence.
However, the Saudi government claims to have $2.5 trillion in mineral reserves, including gold, copper, zinc and lithium.
In addition, they also have deposits of rare earths such as terbium, neodymium, dysprosium and praseodymium, which are used to build electric cars, wind turbines and high-speed computing.
According to the global S&P 500, Saudi Arabia's budget for exploratory mining increased by 595% between 2021 and 2025, although this figure is still considered modest compared to advanced mining countries such as Canada and Australia.
During an official visit to Washington in November last year, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud announced an investment of almost $1 trillion in US infrastructure, technology, industry and minerals as part of a bilateral agreement with the US.
Although the value of these minerals is still low compared to their oil reserves, there are various other factors that are driving the country to invest heavily in the minerals sector.
