On Thursday, Swedish iron ore miner LKAB announced the discovery of the largest rare earth deposit in Europe, essential in the electric vehicle industry.
“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.”
– Jan Moström, CEO of LKAB
The deposit is located in Kiruna and contains more than 1 million tonnes of rare earth oxides, including praseodymium used to produce special magnets in EVs.
While it is the largest in Europe, it is comparatively small on a global scale and represents less than 1 % of the 120 million tonnes estimated worldwide by the US Geological Survey.
However, CEO of LKAB Jan Moström said that based on his experience, it would take “10 to 15 years” before the raw materials would hit the market.
