Sweden: One million tonnes of rare earths deposit found, largest in Europe
Rare Earth
In what can raise Europe's hopes of cutting it dependence on China, continent's largest known deposit of rare-earth elements has been found in Sweden. Rare-Earth elements are absolutely essential for the manufacture of electric vehicles and other products that are important in today's tech driven world.
LKAB, the Swedish mining group, said on Thursday (January 12) that the deposit contained more than one million tonnes of rare earth oxides. The deposit was found right next to LKAB's iron ore mine.
"This is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world, and it could become a significant building block for producing the critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to enable the green transition," LKAB's chief executive Jan Mostrom said in a statement.
"We face a supply problem. Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles," Mostrom added.
Though this deposit is biggest in Europe, it is small compared to global deposits. The US Geological Survey has estimated that this deposit is less than one per cent of 120 million tonnes estimated to be present worldwide.
In 2021, the European Commission said that 98 percent of the rare earths used in the EU were imported from China, prompting Brussels to urge member states to develop their own extraction capacities.
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LKAB's find was presented as a delegation from the European Commission visited Sweden, which took over the rotating EU presidency at the start of the year.
"Today, the EU is way too dependent on other countries for these materials," Swedish Energy Minister Ebba Busch told a press conference, pointing specifically to Russia and China.
"This must change. We must take responsibility for the raw material supply needed for the (green) transition," she added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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