Mining companies with projects based in Greenland, the Arctic island at the center of a political firestorm between the U.S. and Europe, have seen share prices surge in 2026. Following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3, the U.S. has ramped up rhetoric around acquiring Greenland by diplomatic or military means, citing national security concerns. Investors also have their eyes on commercial interests in the semi-autonomous territory, which is owned by Denmark. Shares in seven mining stocks tracked by CNBC have posted gains ranging from the single digits to over 100% so far this year. CRML ETM-AU,BRW-V,80M-GB,GROC-GB YTD line Stocks with mining interests in Greenland moves 2026 YTD Critical Metals Corp has seen the biggest increase in 2026, rising 158%. Energy Transition Minerals , Brunswick Exploration , and 80 Mile have risen more than 70%. Gains have also been seen for others. Eclipse Metals has increased by around 29%, GreenRoc Strategic Materials 30%, and Amaroq 6%. There’s been growing interest in recent years in the rare earth and critical minerals deposits in Greenland, with climate change causing ice to melt and, in theory, making them more accessible. Trump has stressed national security as the key concern when discussing acquiring Greenland, but former national security advisor Mike Waltz told Fox News in January last year that U.S. interest in the island was about “critical minerals.” Some see Greenland’s deposits as a potential way to break China’s dominance in the sector. The world’s second-largest economy accounted for 70% of global rare earth mining in 2024, according to Statista. While the Arctic island is home to two rare earth deposits that are among the largest in the world, no rare earth mining has yet taken place on the island, according to U.S. think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Despite that, investors’ bullishness on many stocks with Greenland mining interests isn’t new to 2026. Over the past year, following a pickup in interest in the territory after Trump reaffirmed his desire to acquire the island, Critical Metals Corp rose 128%, Eclipse Metals Ltd gained over 300%, Energy Transition Minerals added around 60%, Brunswick Exploration Inc up129%, 80 Mile up 155%, and GreenRoc Strategic Materials added 70%. Amaroq, though down 5% in the past year, is developing a number of critical mineral mining projects across Greenland and has seen an increase in attention from investors in the past year as geopolitical tensions brought supply chains for critical minerals into focus, CEO Eldur Ólafsson told CNBC last week. The company’s shares are trading 7% up since the start of 2026. The company reported in November that “commercial levels” of germanium and gallium — critical minerals crucial for building advanced AI chips that saw export bans imposed by China in 2025 — were present in a mining project it owns in Greenland. Ólafsson also told CNBC that U.S. government bodies were considering investment opportunities in projects run by Amaroq. In recent days tech investors have been sounding out how the U.S. acquiring Greenland would affect the viability of critical and rare earth minerals mining there, Tony Sage, CEO of Critical Metals Corp, a company with a mining project in development on the Arctic island, told CNBC. Critical Metals Corp’s project is in the early stages of building a plant to extract heavy rare earth elements (HREE), which can be used to provide heat resistance and magnetic stability in advanced technology ranging from EVs to AI data center infrastructure. Sage said he doesn’t expect the geopolitical uncertainty to affect the company’s plans. Despite rising investor interest, experts point to difficulties in extracting rare earth and critical minerals from Greenland. The idea that the Arctic island could offer short-term success was “absurd,” John Mavrogenes, professor of economic geology at the Australian National University, told CNBC.