The Arctic and the Geopolitics of Strategic Minerals

Mar 17, 2026

Salim Ali, professor of energy and the environment and expert on mineral diplomacy. He explores why Arctic minerals matter now and the limits of their global impact. He weighs governance options like a Global Minerals Trust and trade-offs between frontier sources and existing supply chains. He considers regional prototypes, geopolitical risks, and who would benefit from cooperative frameworks.

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INSIGHT

Arctic Minerals Will Become More Accessible With Melting Ice

Arctic minerals are significant and likely to become more accessible as climate change opens access and navigation.
Greenland may contain 25 of the EU's 34 critical raw materials, though full exploration is incomplete and viability depends on melting ice and infrastructure.

ANECDOTE

Greenland's Cryolite Shaped Aluminum History

Greenland historically hosted the only cryolite mine, key to early aluminum processing, prompting U.S. military protection in World War II.
Cryolite's scarcity then drove industrial innovation until synthetic cryolite removed that monopoly.

INSIGHT

Perceived Supply Security Matters More Than Reserve Size

Total global reserves in the Arctic are marginal compared to global stocks, but strategic value comes from perceived secure supply.
Countries prioritize

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The Arctic is emerging as a new front in the global competition over strategic minerals, raising questions about how the supply chains behind the energy transition will be governed.

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In recent months, Arctic resources have moved to the center of geopolitical debate. President Trump has publicly proposed that the United States take control of Greenland, citing its strategic location and mineral wealth, while leaders in Denmark and Greenland have rejected the proposal.

The dispute comes at a time when critical minerals are becoming central to the global energy transition. Electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and advanced technologies all depend on them. Yet much of the world’s refining and processing capacity is concentrated in a small number of countries, most prominently China. That concentration has intensified concerns about how geopolitical rivalry could shape access to the materials that underpin the transition to cleaner energy.

Saleem Ali, Professor of Energy and the Environment at the University of Delaware and a leading voice on mineral diplomacy, discusses where frontier resources, in the Arctic and beyond, fit into this evolving landscape. He assesses whether emerging resource frontiers can meaningfully rebalance global mineral supply chains, or whether their importance has been overstated.

Ali also discusses a proposal for a governance framework, a Global Minerals Trust, designed to reduce resource nationalism and prevent critical minerals from becoming instruments of geopolitical leverage. He examines whether cooperation is realistic in a period of growing competition for strategic resources.

Saleem Ali is the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment at the University of Delaware.

Related Content

Policy Design Issues for Border Carbon Adjustments. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/policy-design-issues-for-border-carbon-adjustments/

Battling for Batteries: Li-Ion Policy and Supply Chain Dynamics in the U.S. and China. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/battling-for-batteries-li-ion-policy-and-supply-chain-dynamics-in-the-u-s-and-china/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

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