Significant deposits of rare earths have been discovered in the far north of Sweden, needed to build electric cars and wind turbines, among other things. As announced by the Swedish mining company LKAB, more than a million tons of rare earth oxides have been found near Kiruna.
“This is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world,” said CEO Jan Mostrom. It could become an important building block for the production of important raw materials that are absolutely crucial for the energy transition.
According to Moström, it is difficult to estimate the size of the deposits compared to others outside Europe. The reason is that much of the mining is currently taking place in China and the size of the deposits is not clear, he said at a press conference in Kiruna.
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However, it is clear that Sweden is a large warehouse, even by international comparison. However, according to the LKAB, the road to the possible degradation of metals is long. The first step is to apply for a decommissioning license, which they intend to apply for this year. Given other approval processes in the industry, it should take at least ten to 15 years before mining can actually start and raw materials can be brought to market. Mining projects like those in Sweden will receive more support from Brussels.
Ursula von der Leyen’s EU Commission wants to propose measures this spring to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy over critical raw materials. Another argument is that without this autonomy there can be no ecological and digital change. For major batteries, one relies 100% on imports, said Sweden’s Energy and Economy Minister Ebba Busch. We look forward with great anticipation to the proposals proposed by the Commission.