For thirty years, three generations of one family have worked on mineral projects in Greenland — begun by a geologist’s instinct in 1996, carried through a decade of feasibility work at Tanbreez, and now continued by Kris Barnes as Non-Executive Chairman of Disko Gold Ltd.
Kris has operated in South Greenland since 1998. The September 2026 family briefing records that he led five definitive feasibility studies, including Tanbreez (2008–2010), and was involved in the 2025 sale of the family’s 92.5% Tanbreez interest at a peak implied valuation of US$1.3 billion. That outcome is a prior family project. It is not a value, resource or reserve for Disko Gold.
He now leads Disko Gold toward a targeted ASX listing in 2026, while separately project-managing the neighbouring Narsaq Rare Earths Project. Narsaq is not a Disko Gold asset.
Three generations of the Barnes family at their previously owned Tanbreez site, South Greenland, 2025.
Long before Greenland became a live geopolitical story, Greg Barnes carried Tanbreez’s strategic-minerals case to Washington.
The family briefing records that he briefed then–US Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands in South Greenland, then officials at the White House and the Pentagon, on Greenland’s rare earth potential. That engagement later converted into commercial outcomes for the Tanbreez project the family built:
These facts describe Tanbreez. They do not mean Disko Gold has US government funding, a offtake, or a defined resource.
The White House, Washington, D.C.
Five exploration projects across three districts of central West Greenland — Disko Bugt, Nuussuaq and Nordre Strømfjord — assembled by Kris Barnes. Disko Gold Ltd holds, or has an option to acquire, tenure over the package. Under an option agreement with Rimbal Pty Ltd, Disko Gold can acquire a 100% interest in four Mineral Exploration Licences, all granted to 31 December 2030.
| Project | Commodity | Stage | Best reported result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eqi Gold (lead) | Gold, copper | Advanced exploration | 60 g/t Au, composite grab (707 samples, 12 drill holes) |
| Akuliaruseq Graphite | Flake graphite | Advanced exploration | 90–94% Cg concentrate (124 holes, 5,705 m, 1982–83) |
| Attu Carbonatite | Rare earths, Sr, Ba | Early-stage | 12.4 wt% TREO, surface grab |
| Attu Gold | Gold | Early-stage | 2–8 g/t Au, surface showings |
| Itilliarsuk Gold | Gold | Early-stage | 41 g/t Au, grab; 15 g/t Au, channel |
Combined tenure is reported in the briefing as about 283 km². No Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve has been estimated for any Disko Gold project under the JORC Code (2012). Figures above are historical results and grab/channel sample values, not evidence of grade or continuity over any volume.
The family that built Tanbreez to a peak implied valuation of US$1.3 billion and sold it to NASDAQ-listed Critical Metals Corp now runs Disko Gold. Tanbreez is a prior project, not a Disko Gold resource or valuation.
The briefing records four Greenland projects since 1996 — Tanbreez, Sarfartoq Niobium, Isua Iron Ore and the Cryolite Mine (now Hudson Resources) — among the longer-standing foreign operators in the country.
Reported results include up to 60 g/t Au at Eqi (707 samples, 12 drill holes), 90–94% Cg graphite concentrate from 5,705 m of historic drilling at Akuliaruseq, and up to 41 g/t Au at Itilliarsuk. These remain exploration results.
Four of the five projects can be advanced through desktop studies and historical-data compilation without a field season, ahead of the targeted 2026 ASX listing.
Gold, flake graphite and rare earths sit on the critical minerals lists of the US, EU and Australia. Greenland’s permitting pathway is illustrated nearby by the Amitsoq graphite project, granted a 30-year, EU-backed exploitation licence in December 2025. That is a jurisdictional analogue, not an equivalent Disko Gold outcome.
Disko Gold’s stated principle is that mineral exploration must benefit the people who live here. That is a commitment of approach, not a claim that agreements or certifications already exist.
A family business built over thirty years — and the government-level relationships that came with it.
1st generation
Founding geologist (1996– )
Founded the family’s Greenland business. Personally briefed the White House and then–US Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands on Greenland’s strategic minerals.
2nd generation
Non-Executive Chairman, Disko Gold
Led five DFS processes end-to-end, including Tanbreez (2008–2010), and was involved in the 2025 sale of the family’s 92.5% Tanbreez interest to Critical Metals Corp.
2nd generation
Tenement research
Led research into mining jurisdictions for 30 years, securing the international portfolio in Greenland and across multiple continents for the Barnes Group.
3rd generation
Lawyer
Legal, regulatory and corporate support across the family’s Greenland projects.
3rd generation
Geologist
Field, sampling and geological database work across Tanbreez and Narsaq.
Technical specialist
15 years, Greenland
Deputy project management, MRA liaison and investor communications across the Barnes family’s Greenland and international portfolio.
The story is built in the field. Each Arctic season — June to September — Kris Barnes and the technical team map, sample and drill across the Ilímaussaq complex and the Disko Bugt district.
Kris Barnes is applying the method used at Tanbreez to two platforms.
Narsaq Rare Earths, alongside Tanbreez in the same Ilímaussaq complex, has moved from concept to a draft JORC-compliant pre-feasibility study in eight months, with an exploitation licence application submitted and a 5,000 m drill program underway with NIRAS A/S. Narsaq is a neighbouring family-led project. It is not part of the Disko Gold portfolio.
Disko Gold Ltd, where Kris is Non-Executive Chairman, is heading toward a targeted ASX listing in 2026. The West Greenland gold, graphite and rare earth projects remain exploration-stage.
Greenland is the latest chapter in a method the family has applied for generations — a private library of mining and oil & gas tenement title records in Perth, covering the first floor of their offices and running back hundreds of years. That library led the family to Greenland in the 1990s.
The Barnes family library, Perth.
Three generations of the Barnes family, Perth.
Gold-first exploration in West Greenland, with strategic graphite and rare earth element projects. Exploration-stage. No Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves have been defined.
Exploration-stage disclosure. The properties described on this website are exploration-stage. No Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves have been defined. Reported grades, widths, lengths and historic results are not, unless expressly stated, representative of any mineralised volume. Exploration potential is conceptual. Further exploration may not result in a Mineral Resource or a Mineral Reserve. Geological analogues are provided for context only and do not imply equivalent scale, grade or economics.
