On January 12, Swedish mining company LKAB announced that it has discovered a rare earth mine with reserves exceeding 1 million tons in Kiruna, northern Sweden. This is considered one of the largest rare earth mines discovered in Europe.
Rare earth mines play a crucial role in many high-tech manufacturing processes and are essential materials in the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronic devices, and audio equipment, Reuters reported on January 12.
“This is great news, not just for LKAB, the region, and the people of Sweden, but also for Europe and the climate situation,” said LKAB.
The company stated that the newly discovered rare earth mine in Kiruna could become an important raw material source for the green transition.
LKAB mentioned that the rare earth mine was found adjacent to an iron ore mine, containing over 1 million tons of rare earth oxides. The company also noted that the entire mining area has not been fully explored yet, according to AFP.
According to Eurare, Sweden is referred to as the “home of rare earth elements”, as the first rare earth mines were discovered in this country.
A report by Visual Capitalist in 2020 indicated that China is currently the largest producer of rare earth elements (140,000 tons) and holds the largest reserves (44 million tons). Other countries with significant reserves include Vietnam (22 million tons), Brazil (21 million tons), and Russia (12 million tons).
