Europe’s largest rare earth deposit found in Sweden
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The Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB has found deposits of rare earth metals in the Kiruna area. The discovered deposit is the largest in Europe, the press service of LKAB reports.
“LKAB has identified significant deposits of rare earth metals in the Kiruna area, which are necessary, among other things, for the production of electric vehicles and wind turbines,” the company said in a statement.
LKAB reserves in the new deposit amount to more than one million tons of oxides of rare earth elements. Jan Moström, CEO of the company, noted that this field could play a significant role in the production of materials that provide a “green” transition.
LKAB explained that now rare earth metals are not mined in Europe, at the same time, a sharp increase in demand for them in the region is expected due to electrification. According to the European Commission (EC), by 2030 demand will increase five times. This could lead to global shortages at a time of rising geopolitical tensions, the Swedish company added.
LKAB’s next step will be to obtain a license to develop this field. The company plans to apply in 2023. However, it will take at least 10-15 years before specialists can start mining and supplying raw materials to the market, Mostrem said.
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