- LKAB discovers elements to aid green transitioning.
In the vicinity of its Kiruna iron ore mine in northernmost Sweden, Swedish government-owned miner Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) claimed to have found the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in Europe. According to the company, the location reportedly has more than a million tonnes of rare earth metals in the form of rare earth oxides.
Rare earth elements are crucial for the green transition since they are needed to make wind turbines and electric cars. As China controls most of the world market, no rare earth elements are mined in Europe, according to LKAB.
However, the corporation also acknowledged that mining is a complex process. The next step is applying for an exploitation concession, which the miner plans to do this year to investigate the mining conditions.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of the news and given the long road to mining, Gavin Harper, an expert at the University of Birmingham, said that the UK university is developing production facilities for rare earth magnets from secondary sources.