This discovery is important at a time when Europe is concerned about its dependence, in particular vis-à-vis China.
MO12345LEMONDE with AFP
This is “the largest known deposit” in rare land in Europe. The Swedish mining group LKAB announced, Thursday, January 13, that it has identified in the Kiruna region, in northern Sweden, a deposit which would conceal more than a million tonnes of metals.
This discovery is important at a time when Europe is concerned about its dependence, in particular vis-à-vis China, the largest world producer, for the supply of these minerals, which are used in particular to manufacture the Batteries of electric vehicles and turbines of wind turbines.
This deposit “could become an important basic element for the production of absolutely crucial critical raw materials for the green transition”, welcomed the CEO of the Public Group LKAB, Jan Moström, in a press release. “We are faced with a supply problem. Without mines, there cannot be electric vehicles,” he said.
“a long path” before a start-up
According to preliminary estimates, the Kiruna deposit, the large mining region of the Scandinavian country, contains more than “a million tonnes of rare earth oxides”, but the company notes that it has not yet quantified its exact magnitude . “A long path” remains to be traversed before an operation, warned LKAB:
“We plan that it will take several years to study the deposit and the conditions for a profitable and lasting exploitation.”
Questioned at a press conference on the expected date of the first picks, Jan Moström replied that it would largely depend on the speed of obtaining operating permits, specifying that the experience showed that this would probably take “between ten and fifteen years”.
“The electrification, self-sufficiency and independence of the EU vis-à-vis Russia and China will begin in the mine,” said Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Swedish energy, EBBA Busch.
This announcement was made during a visit to a delegation from the European Commission in Sweden, which has occupied the rotating presidency of the EU since the start of the year. Among his efforts to stop global warming, Brussels endorsed last year the end of sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035.