COPENHAGEN: Greenland, which President Donald Trump wants to annex for US national and international security needs, is an ice-covered self-governing Danish territory in the Arctic. On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron will become the first foreign head of state to visit the strategically important 2.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank ((EXIM)) is considering a loan of up to $120 million for Critical Metals (CRML) to finance the Tanbreez rare earths mine project in Greenland.

The project would have to be “well-capitalized with sufficient equity from strategic investors” to receive the loan, the letter said.

The US trade war with China has a major sticking point: rare earths minerals. Last month, President Donald Trump said the United States needed Greenland “very badly,” renewing his threat to annex the Danish territory.

Greenland-focused Amaroq Minerals (AIM, TSXV: AMRQ) has raised £45 million in an oversubscribed financing round to support its strategy of tapping into the island’s rich mineral resources, which have garnered interest from the world’s superpowers, including the US.

The European Commission has added 13 strategic projects located outside the bloc to its list of priority initiatives under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), aiming to secure long-term supply of raw materials.