Swedish miner finds largest European deposit of rare earth metals
LKAB’s facility in Kiruna, Sweden. The company said on January 12 that it found Europe’s largest known deposit of rare earths there.
Jonas Ekströmer | Afp | Getty Images
State-owned Swedish mining company LKAB said it has found what it believes is Europe’s largest known deposit of rare earths.
Located in Kiruna, the far north of Sweden, the company said Thursday that the store contained more than one million tons of rare earths.
These metals are used in the manufacture of electric cars and wind turbines, as well as magnets, glass screens, speakers and various other electronics.
The discovery could pave the way for rare earth metals to begin mining in Europe, where the region is currently entirely dependent on imports from a market dominated by China.
The European Union imports 99% of its rare earths from the country, according to a 2020 report — and breaking them closer to home has been identified as a key goal of the bloc.
In her 2022 State of the Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said rare earths, along with lithium also used in batteries, “will soon be more important than oil and gas.” The EU expects demand to increase fivefold by 2030.
Jan Moström, LKAB’s CEO, called the discovery “good news, not only for LKAB, the region and the Swedish people, but also for Europe and the climate.”
However, the company said the road to mining would be “long”, with an exploration license still to be submitted and several years of exploration required to discover the full extent of the deposit.
– If we look at how other permit processes have worked in our industry, it will take at least 10-15 years before we can actually start mining and deliver raw materials to the market, says Moström.
Last year, The police reported it that local Swedish people living near potential sites and some campaigners were concerned about the potential effects of mining in the EU.