Greenland's government pushed back against President Donald Trump's claim on Wednesday that "massive oil, gas and mineral exploitation is getting ready to begin" in the Arctic territory. While Greenland's deputy mining minister Jrgen Hammeken-Holm acknowledged that "there are activities by US companies," he told CNN that "we are very far away from massive' exploration." "There are many smaller explorations underway but these could take years to become operational," he added, echoing researchers who have pointed out the difficulties and enormous expense involved in extracting resources from Greenland. Many of the island's deposits are located in remote areas above the Arctic Circle, where there is a mile-thick polar ice sheet and little infrastructure. Approximately 80% of the island is covered in ice.