Critical Metals stock surges after taking full control of Greenland rare earth project

Staff Writer | April 17, 2026 | 5:14 am Critical Minerals Markets Canada Europe USA Rare Earths

Critical Metals licence for Greenland rare earths deposit extended

Tanbreez project in Greeland. (Image courtesy of Critical Metals.)

Greenland has approved the indirect transfer of the mining licence for the Tanbreez rare earth project after Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML) increased its ownership in the developer, the territory’s ministry for mineral resources and business said on Friday.

The approval clears the way for Critical Metals to complete its move to a 92.5% interest in the southern Greenland asset, while the licence itself remains held by Tanbreez Mining Greenland A/S. Under Greenland’s mining framework, an indirect transfer means the legal licence holder does not change, but ownership of the company behind that licence does. European Lithium holds the remaining 7.5% interest.

Shares in Critical Metals Corp surged by 23.6% in pre-market trading exchanging hands for $11.46 a share and affording the company a $1.4B market cap. The stock is up nearly four-fold over the last year but still nowhere near the peak hit in October last year.

Tanbreez, located at Killavaat Alannguat in southern Greenland, is regarded as one of the largest undeveloped heavy rare earth deposits outside China. A preliminary economic assessment released in March 2025 valued the project at about $3 billion based on a 4.7B tonne resource.

The Tanbreez project will follow a phased growth strategy, with initial production of around 85,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides per annum, scalable to 425,000 tonnes after expansion. The resource base is 45 million tonnes grading 0.40% total rare earth oxides with 27% in heavy rare earths (Dy, Tb, Y). Critical Metals is currently working on a feasibility study.

Last year the Trump administration discussed taking a stake in Critical Metals, underscoring Washington’s growing focus on securing supply, particularly of scarce and expensive heavy magnet rare earths. The project also qualifies for up to $120 million in potential US Export-Import Bank financing.

Tanbreez has continued to advance on multiple fronts. Critical Metals a year ago entered into a partnership with GreenMet to co-develop the project and in January this year signed, a 10-year offtake arrangement tied to Ucore’s Louisiana processing facility and at the same time approved the construction of a multi-use storage and pilot facility in Qaqortoq, Greenland.