Summary
- Sweden’s LKAB discovered Europe’s largest known deposit of rare earths near the town of Kiruna, above the Arctic Circle.
- LKAB’s CEO Jan Moström said the so-called ‘Per Geijer’ deposit is sufficient to satisfy a large part of the EU’s future demand for manufacturing magnets used in wind turbines and EVs.
- LKAB’s discovery is the latest in a string of developments and investments stretching from Scandinavia to the Baltics that suggest the continent’s north is taking the biggest steps towards meeting Europe’s rare earths ambitions.
For Europe’s fledgling rare earths industry, 2023 started with a bang. On January 12, Sweden’s state-owned mining company LKAB declared it had discovered Europe’s largest known deposit of rare earths near the town of Kiruna, above the Arctic Circle.
LKAB announced the news 500 metres underground, in one of its nearby mines, alongside Sweden’s Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, Ebba Busch, who said the one million-tonne body of rare earth oxides “can play a key role in securing a green transition within the EU”.