AFP
“Largest rare earth deposit” in Europe discovered in Sweden
Sweden announced on Thursday (12th) the discovery of the “largest” previously known rare earth deposit in Europe, a small step towards greater EU autonomy over China, which is leading the supply of these transitional essential metals the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world and could become an important building block for the production of critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial for the green transition,” said the CEO of the mining group Public LKAB, Jan Moström. “We have a supply problem. Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles,” he continued in a statement. , specifically from China the world’s largest producer to source these minerals, which are used to make batteries for electric vehicles and the turbines of wind towers. According to initial Estimates are that the Kiruna deposit, gr in the Scandinavian country’s mining region, contains more than “a million tonnes of rare earth oxides” but the company admitted it has yet to quantify its exact size. There is “a long way to go” before it can be exploited,” the LKAB warned. “We anticipate that it will take several years to study the deposit and conditions for viable and sustained exploitation,” Mostrom said in obtaining operating permits. From previous experience, he added, that license could last “between 10 and 15 years,” according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). and is now interested in emancipating himself from rare metals. Currently, 98% of the rare earths used in the EU are imported from China, which has a nearmonopoly in this sector. “We must avoid falling back into a situation of dependency, as is the case with oil and gas,” warned von der Leyen, who then announced that preparations for a European raw materials regulation were still ongoing. of crucial importance. As part of its efforts to fight global warming, the EU has agreed to phase out sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. They must be replaced by electric models. “Electrification, the selfsufficiency and independence of Russia and China will start with this mine,” said Swedish Deputy Prime Minister and Economy and Energy Minister Ebba Busch, whose country has been part of the rotating EU since the beginning of the year. holds the presidency of the Council. The announcement by the public group LKAB was made during a visit by a European Commission delegation to Kiruna. Briefly, Busch stressed how important it was for the EU to “diversify” the origin of its imports. “But in the long term, we cannot rely solely on trade deals.” The term “rare earths” includes metals such as neodymium, praseodymium or dysprosium, which are essential for making magnets in electric cars and wind turbines.” ;These metals are also in consumer products such as smartphones, computer screens and telescope lenses. Others have more traditional uses, like cerium, used to polish glass, and lanthanum, for exhaust pipes or optical lenses. jllphy/misesavl/mb/aa