Sweden announced the discovery of the largest deposit of rare earth elements in the EU

Swedish mining company LKAB announced this Thursday that it has discovered the largest rare earth deposit in the EU in the country’s far north, a deposit that will represent a “substantial part of Europe’s demand” for electric vehicles and wind turbines.

“We have discovered the largest rare earth deposit in Europe and we will continue to explore,” said Jan Moström, CEO of LKAB, at a press conference from the Kiruna iron ore mine in northern Sweden.

Initial exploration for a deposit called Per Geijer suggests it contains 585 million tons of ore, including the mineral apatite, which contains phosphorus and other rare elements.

LKAB believes that one million tons of the deposit is oxides, including praseodymium or neodymium, which are used to produce permanent magnets, which are then used in electric vehicles.

The concentration of rare earth elements found is 0.18% of the volume of the stored mineral, but its high volume makes it potentially “profitable and sustainable” to use it for conversion into metals for industrial use, – David Hognelid, head of LKBA’s specialty products division. strategy.

The company has already begun preparing access galleries to the deposit, located about 700 meters from the Kiruna iron mine, in order to be able to explore it “in depth and detail.”

The head of the LKAB predicted that it would take “one to two years” to know when development of these reserves could begin, which at the current rate would take “ten to fifteen years”, but he is confident that it is possible. be accelerated.

The statement “shows that there are important implications for the green transition and will help the EU bloc reduce its dependence on China for these minerals needed for electrification,” said Swedish Energy and Industry Minister Ebba Busch, whose country presides over the EU Council. EU within the next six months.