STOCKHOLM, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) — The largest known deposit of rare earth metals in Europe has been discovered in Sweden, state mining company LKAB said on Thursday.
Found near an existing iron mine near northern Kiruna, the deposit exceeds one million tonnes, the company said in a press release.
“This is the largest known deposit of rare earth metals in our part of the world, and it can become an important building block for producing the critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to enable the green transition,” says LKAB’s CEO and CEO. (CEO) Jan Mostrom said.
“We are already investing heavily to move forward and we expect it will take several years to investigate the deposit and the conditions to mine it in a profitable and sustainable way.”
According to the press release, no rare earths are currently mined in Europe at a time when demand is expected to increase more than fivefold by 2030 as a result of electrification. LKAB estimates that it will take 10-15 years before mining can begin.
Source: sn.dk