“The idea of turning Greenland into America’s rare-earth factory is science fiction. It’s just completely bonkers,” said Malte Humpert, founder and senior fellow at The Arctic Institute. “You might as well mine on the moon. In some respects, it’s worse than the moon.”

Despite its name, approximately 80% of Greenland is covered with ice. And mineral extraction — or just about anything — in the Arctic can be five to 10 times more expensive than doing it elsewhere on the planet.