Norway, 'the largest rare earth deposit in Europe' discovered

Norway relaunches on rare earths, claiming the discovery of what could be the largest deposit on the European continent, with resources even richer and more valuable than those boasted in Sweden by the state-owned miner Lkba. The latter's announcement at the beginning of 2023 had caused a stir and - despite being very short on details - had raised high hopes for emancipation from China, which controls more than 80 per cent of the supply of these metals, which are indispensable in many technologies for the energy transition, but also in the hi-tech and defence sector.

The rare earths (or at least some of them) are the most critical of critical materials. And Europe to date does not produce a single gram of it. But Rare Earth Norway (REN) promises a breakthrough. In the Fen Complex - an area about a hundred kilometres from Oslo, in Telemark County, where it has been conducting targeted exploration for the past three years - there could be 8.8 million tonnes of rare earth oxides, at least four times more than the Swedish Kiruna deposit is believed to contain. The Norwegian area would also be rich in valuable rare earths: 1.5 million tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium oxides, which are particularly sought after because they are used in super magnets and are also found in wind turbines and electric cars.

The estimates presented yesterday by REN - although made by a third-party company, applying rigorous standards recognised in the mining industry - are still very preliminary: the first to quantify and qualify Fen's resources using scientific methods. At this stage, there is no guarantee as to the volumes that will actually be mined and processed. But REN is very optimistic, to the point of assuming that a final investment decision of 10 billion kroner (approx. EUR 870 million) can be made by 2030 to start the first phase of development.

The company's ultimate goal is to create a complete production chain, 'from mine to magnet', with a low environmental impact and so prolific that it will eventually be able to meet 10% of the EU's needs, in line with the goal of self-sufficiency for at least 10% of critical materials, as set by the Critical Raw Materials Act (Crma). Although Norway is not an EU country, it has a privileged status as it belongs to the European Economic Area. Moreover, it is already an established - and considered reliable - supplier of many raw materials: in the case of gas even the most important, since we have distanced ourselves from Russia.

"The resource estimate," said REN CEO Alf Reistad, "underlines the potential of the deposit to be a truly transformative asset, capable of supporting the development of a secure rare earths value chain in Europe. The company, the CEO added, is committed to employing the 'most sustainable mining and mineral processing technologies in the world, minimising environmental impact from mine to magnet'.