US President Donald Trump has announced plans for “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration in Greenland, but it remains unclear which projects he was referring to, as the Arctic territory faces major obstacles to commercial resource extraction.

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump described Greenland as “our new and beautiful Greenland”. However, the self-governing territory belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark and is not part of the United States.

Greenland has significant deposits of rare earth minerals and potential offshore oil and gas reserves. But harsh weather, limited infrastructure, difficult geology and Arctic ice have hindered exploration and commercial extraction for decades.

Trump’s announcement came less than a month after he signed an agreement with Danish and Greenlandic leaders to strengthen Arctic and North Atlantic security. The deal allows for an expanded US military presence but does not grant Washington special rights to explore Greenland’s natural resources.

The United States is seeking to reduce its dependence on China, which dominates global supplies of rare earth minerals used in electronics, batteries and renewable energy technologies.

Trump also highlighted Greenland’s strategic importance for US and European defence. The island hosts the Pituffik Space Base, where roughly 200 US personnel support missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance operations for the United States and NATO.

Last month, Trump said Washington would begin developing a larger military presence in Greenland, including two major military bases.