Sweden announces the discovery of the largest deposit of rare earths in Europe
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FROM OUR REPORTER- KIRUNA (Sweden) – The Swedish government has announced the discovery of the most important deposit of rare earths in Europe. These mining elements are a crucial component of high-tech products, especially batteries. Until now, Europe has proved to be dramatically dependent on third countries, such as China. The company that exploits the country’s mineral resources has urged Stockholm and Brussels to speed up the authorization procedures.
“The news is important for Sweden and for Europe,” Jon Moström, the managing director of the public company LKAB, said at a press conference in Kiruna, a city in Swedish Lapland. “Our discovery could prove to be a significant building block in the production of rare earths essential in the green transition.” The deposit is located 150 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, in a traditionally mining region. According to the prospecting carried out so far, the new reserves would be “enormous”, said the company executive.
Authorization procedures to be accelerated
Among the rare earths potentially available are lithium, scandium, lanthanum. The news of the discovery of the Per Geijer field comes on the eve of the inauguration of the six-month Swedish presidency of the European Union. As mentioned, rare earths are a crucial element in high-tech manufacturing, increasingly important at an industrial level. In presenting the discovery, the company LKAB emphasized the times of the authorization procedures in view of the exploitation of the reserves: on average 10-15 years. «The procedures were developed when we had the luxury of being able to wait. Today there is an urgent need to exploit the reservoir and we must ensure that the authorization times are reduced, hopefully by 50-60%», Jan Moström explained to Il Sole 24 Ore. The matter will have to be discussed with both the Swedish and European authorities.
The executives of LKAB were unable to give details either on the costs of exploitation or on the actual size of the reserves. “We will only be able to have precise estimates in one or two years,” added the CEO. The company is already building an underground tunnel to connect the new reserves with the iron deposit of Kiruna which the Swedish authorities have been exploiting since the beginning of the 20th century and which has led to the birth of the city, now inhabited by around 20,000 souls. Also according to the Swedish authorities, the new discovery could be sufficient to answer the European demand for the permanent magnets used in the production of electric motors. Electric cars are expected to account for 50% of the demand for cars by 2050.
Chinese dominance
Welcoming the news with satisfaction, the single market commissioner Thierry Breton recalled that currently 91% of the rare earths used in Europe come from China. As mentioned, the Swedish public company LKAB has been successfully exploiting the Kiruna iron deposit for over a century, producing 80% of the iron ore used in Europe. The mine has over 500 kilometers of roads built up to 1,300 meters underground. In addition to recovering iron ore – 90 thousand tons per day, LKAB is also active in the recovery of apatite which then works to produce phosphorus ultimately used in fertilizers, now in shortage due to the Russian war in Ukraine.
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