The northern Swedish mining town of Kiruna has one of the world’s largest concentrations of iron ore. The deposit is more than 4 kilometers long and has the shape of a plate, which protrudes 60 degrees towards the depth. As early as 1898, the Swedes opened their first ore mine in Kiruna. Since 1902, tons of iron ore have been transported on the Ofot railway to Narvik and sent on to the world. Before the weekend, the state-owned mining company LKAB announced that they had made Europe’s largest discovery of rare earth elements (REE), just over an hour from the border with Nordland. Neither the smartphone, PC, electric car or modern TVs work without earth metals. HUGE DISCOVERY: The Swedish state mining company LKAB recently announced that they have detected large deposits of rare earth metals (REE) just north of the iron ore mine in Kiruna. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT / NTB LKAB estimates that there are around 1 million tonnes of the earth metals in the field, which is named after the Swedish geologist Per Geijer. – A gold mine, exults the Swedish government. – Not the biggest The statement causes both regional geologist Vestfold and Telemark and the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) to be stumped. – Do the Swedes take it a bit hard here? – It depends on how you formulate yourself, and how far the projects have come in the process. It takes a very long time to clarify instances. They have drilled quite a lot in Kiruna, but they are not quite finished, says department director Henrik Schiellerup NGU. JUBILEE: Swedish LKAB has made the largest discovery of rare earth metals in Europe to date, CEO Jan Moström (left) announced on Thursday. Energy and Industry Minister Ebba Busch refers to the find as a gold mine. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT / NTB And adds: – Further down in the press release, LKAB makes a reservation. They refer to Per Geijer as the greatest of his kind. In other words, iron ore with the mineral apatite, where the apatite contains the rare metals. Examples of uses of rare earth metals Yttrium: In lasers, TV and computer screens Lanthanum: In batteries for hybrid cars Promethium: In fluorescent paint Europium: Makes euro notes fluorescent Samarium: Captures neutrons in nuclear reactors Gadolinium: In contrast liquid for MRI X-rays Neodymium: In supermagnets for wind turbines Cerium: In catalysts Dysprosium: Enables supermagnets to withstand heat Source: NGU – Norwegian deposit 40 times larger Regional geologist Sven Dahlgren in Vestfold and Telemark has no doubt that the Swedes boast Europe’s largest deposit. – Any operation at both Fen and Per Geijer is far in the future – at least 10-15 years ahead at Per Geijer, says regional geologist Sven Dahlgren in Vestfold and Telemark County Municipality. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news – They are definitely working hard. The Fens field in Nome municipality in Telemark is undoubtedly a far larger REE deposit than Per Geijer. According to Dahlgren, the occurrence of earth metals on Fen is about 40 times greater than the Swedish one. But it is a completely different type of geological deposit, not associated with iron ore. NARVIK DISCHARGE PORT The ore trains between Kiruna and Narvik run around the clock, all year round. 15.9 million tonnes of goods are transported annually on the Ofot line, and measured in tonnes this is more than all other freight traffic by rail in Norway combined. Photo: Øystein Nygård / news Dahlgren says the Fensfield has the potential to become a significant European and global REE supplier to the industry for several decades. – Compared to the “REE whale” on Fen, the REE in Per Geijer is only a small shark. But as you know, sharks can bite, he adds. In 2019, Dahlgren published a report estimating a conservative estimate of possible recoverable REE resources of 4.9 million tonnes of TREO ore. That corresponds to almost five times the resources LKAB refers to in its occurrence, according to Dahlgren. Nevertheless, the Swedes have some advantages, compared to the Norwegian company Rare Earths Norway, which hopes for an industrial adventure in Telemark, according to Dahlgren. Firstly, LKAB has a gigantic mining facility which has been in operation for over 100 years right next to it. In addition, they have the financial muscle to make large investments. Kiruna is Sweden’s northernmost city and lies approximately 20 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland. Photo: Hanna Franzén/TT / TT NEWS AGENCY – In addition, the main production from Per Geijer will be iron ore from which they extract apatite as a by-product. The apatite goes into the production of artificial fertiliser. From the apatite they again plan to extract REE as a by-product. NGU: – A pure bonus It means that the Swedish mining giant can maintain steady iron ore production, which is what provides a financially sustainable foundation. – In many ways, the rare earth metals become a bonus that comes in addition to the production of iron and phosphate, says Henrik Schiellerup at NGU. The Swedish mining giant has known about the rare earth metals in the area for two years, but the size of the deposit has been unclear. Nevertheless, the mining giant defends that the deposit is Europe’s largest. Press manager Anders Lindberg writes in an e-mail to news that LKAB has not itself assessed the size of the Per Geijer discovery against other European deposits of REE. – We have used compilations of occurrences from the analysis company Roskill. Here, the Fens field is not listed as a reported occurrence. Maybe it’s a bit like comparing different things. – That there are large deposits in both Sweden and Norway is exclusively positive, says Anders Lindberg, press manager LKAB. Photo: LKAB Lindberg emphasizes that LKAB has not finished exploring the deposit, and that it will grow in several directions. – How much do we only report when we have reliable results that can be reported according to international standards, he adds. – What do you think of the reactions from Norway? – More such occurrences are exclusively positive. The need for these metals will increase dramatically when we move to the green shift. Today, there is no production of REE in Europe. BIGGEST: Drill core from the Fens field in Nome municipality in Telemark, probably Europe’s largest deposit of several rare earth metals in the Fens field. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news According to Sintef, China currently accounts for 80 percent of the production of REE on the world market. – The discovery can secure a very large part of Europe’s consumption for a number of years, says Erik Jonsson, state geologist at Sweden’s Geological Survey and professor II at Uppsala University to SVT. – Now we have seen Putin’s true face, and it has made it even clearer that we should not put ourselves in a similar situation with dependence on critical metals as we have done with Russian gas, says Erik Jonsson. LKAB will build an industrial park in Luleå that will extract the earth’s metals. The planned start of production is in 2027. Norway will also have a role in production. The Swedes are the largest owner in the company REEtec in Porsgrunn, which will ensure the entire supply chain from mining to finished REE products. REEtec’s new plant in Porsgrunn should be completed in 2024, according to LKAB. Photo: Børve Borchsenius Arkitekter AS According to Anders Lindberg at LKAB, the first factory will be completed in 2024, and a new one is being planned. – Our expertise and the new deposit have of course played a role in our decision to enter REEtec, where a possible future mining operation by Per Geijer could mean further expansion opportunities for REEtec. Strategy manager David Högnelid at LKAB tells news that metals will be an important element in the green transition. And contribute to Europe becoming less independent of countries such as Russia and China. – Europe has imported many different minerals from Russia. But in this type of minerals, it is China that is dominant. But phosphorus is a substance we can offer to Europe, in which Russia is now a leader. LKAB operates mines in Norrbotten in northern Sweden and produces approximately 80 percent of Europe’s iron ore. Photo: Kiruna municipality
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Can outperform China and Russia – news Nordland
