▪️Denmark sent private messages to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's team expressing willingness to discuss boosting security in Greenland or increasing the U.S. military presence there without claiming the island, Axios reported on Saturday, citing two sources.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has described U.S. control of Greenland as an "absolute necessity". He did not dismiss the potential use of military or economic means, including tariffs against Denmark.

▪️The global race for critical minerals and rare earth metals has reached new heights. The investments by Gates, Bezos, and other American entities signal a new era in the global competition as the fourth industrial revolution drives the demand for these resources.  
  
Take KoBold Metals, a mining and artificial intelligence start-up backed by Gates, Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Ray Dalio, venture capital group Andreessen Horowitz et al. and valued at $2.96bn. It has raised $537mn in its latest funding round.

KoBold, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to hunt for raw materials, in 2021 secured a 51% stake in the Disko-Nuussuaq project on Greenland’s west coast, which is operated by London-listed Bluejay Mining.

“The objective is to target massive nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals,” Bluejay Mining Chief Executive Bo Steensgaard told Reuters.

The cherry on the cake? KoBold claimed that the incumbent supply of cobalt and other metals is "ethically challenged" because China is mining them in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Taking control of Greenland to exclude China from the US supply chain and from the tendering process in Greenland is apparently done out of consideration for "human rights, rule of law and environmental protection." You can't make this shit up.