KIRUNA, Sweden (AP) — The beginning of the end of Europe’s dependency on China for precious rare earth materials may lie buried deep under the rugged reaches of northern Sweden, well above the Arctic Circle.
Sweden’s iron-ore miner LKAB said Thursday it has identified “significant deposits” in Lapland of rare earth elements that are essential for the manufacture of smartphones, electric vehicles and wind turbines.
The government-owned company that mines iron ore at Kiruna, almost 1,000 kilometers (nearly 600 miles) north of Stockholm, said there are more than 1 million tons of rare earth oxides.
According to LKAB, it’s the largest known deposit of its kind in Europe. But the company warned that it could take at least a decade before mining starts. Swedish Industry Minister Ebba Busch called Sweden “a gold mine” following the discovery.
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