Which companies currently hold mining permits or active projects in Greenland and who are their major investors?

1. The incumbents: who actually runs mines today

Greenland today has just two fully active mines: Lumina Sustainable Materials operates the White Mountain anorthosite mine and Amaroq Minerals runs the Nalunaq gold mine; both are the island’s operational backbone and have attracted international capital — Lumina has major backing from investors including Cordiant Capital, while Amaroq markets itself as holding Greenland’s largest portfolio of exploration licences and has been the focus of recent investor and government interest. ^{[1] [6]}

2. Graphite and the long permits: GreenRoc’s Amitsoq licence

In late 2025 Greenland issued a 30‑year exploitation licence to London‑listed GreenRoc Mining Plc for the Amitsoq graphite deposit, marking a formal long‑term permit that places GreenRoc among the handful of companies now permitted to move from exploration to production planning. ^[2]

3. The rare‑earth contest: Tanbreez and Kvanefjeld as prize projects

The island’s highest‑profile rare‑earth projects are Tanbreez (recently acquired by Australian Critical Metals/ Critical Metals Corp in reporting) and Kvanefjeld (formerly developed by Energy Transition Minerals/Greenland Minerals), projects that together anchor most commentary about Greenland’s strategic minerals — Tanbreez was the subject of lobbying by US and Danish officials during ownership shifts and is now promoted by Critical Metals as a large production project, while Kvanefjeld has long been the subject of feasibility work and permitting. ^{[3] [7] [8]}

4. Who bankrolls exploration: tech capital and geopolitical money

A new investment cohort — from venture funds to billionaire individuals — has placed capital behind AI‑led explorers and juniors working Greenland, most prominently KoBold Metals (whose investor list is reported to include Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Ray Dalio and Andreessen Horowitz) and other tech‑oriented backers who see rare earths and battery metals as strategic inputs; simultaneously, Critical Metals and Amaroq have reported investor interest that includes private tech capital and queries from state‑backed agencies, and Reuters/other outlets say US government conversations about stakes have taken place. ^{[4] [5] [6] [9]}

5. Foreign ownership patterns and Chinese links

While British, Canadian and Australian companies are the largest foreign licence holders overall, some projects have had Chinese institutional involvement historically — for example, Energy Transition Minerals/Greenland Minerals (Kvanefjeld) drew investment from Chinese firm Shenghe and became a geopolitical flashpoint — and that history explains recent Western investor and governmental scrutiny of who controls big Greenland deposits. ^{[10] [11] [3]}

6. Caveats: permits vs. production, infrastructure and social consent

Permits and licence portfolios do not equal imminent mining; Greenland’s remote terrain, limited infrastructure and strict environmental and social requirements mean converting permits into production often takes a decade or more — a point emphasized by policy analysts and the Atlantic Council — and local consent, radiological standards and tailings rules remain non‑negotiable obstacles that shape which investors will commit long term. ^{[12] [7]}

7. What the reporting leaves unresolved

Public reporting lists headline investors (billionaires and venture firms) and identifies key licence holders and operators, but sources differ on the exact ownership stakes, the full roster of institutional funders behind each junior, and how pending government discussions (including U.S. interest) might alter financing or offtake deals; those details require company filings, shareholder registers and formal announcements not fully available in the cited reporting. ^{[13] [9]}