Swedish mining company LKAB has discovered what CEO Jan Moström called "the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world."
Demand for rare earth metals has skyrocketed in recent years with the adoption of electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other renewable energy and battery technologies, making the find a big deal indeed.
“Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles,” Moström said in a press release.
LKAB stumbled upon the Per Geijer deposit at its iron ore mine in Kiruna, which is nearly 600 miles north of Stockholm in the arctic region of Sweden.
Ebba Busch, Sweden’s minister of energy and business, touted the geologic find as a win for the European Union's ongoing efforts to achieve energy independence from Russia and China — countries which currently extract and refine the bulk of the world's rare earth minerals.
”We need to strengthen industrial value chains in Europe and create real opportunities for the electrification of our societies. Politics must give the industry the conditions to switch to green and fossil-free production,” she said.
Mining the resources, however, could be a long way off. LKAB explained in the announcement that it first needs to receive what's called an "exploitation concession" from the government. It also needs to complete its own due diligence to understand the conditions of the deposit before it starts rolling in the equipment. The company expects the process to take 10 to 15 years.
“We are already investing heavily to move forward, and we expect that it will take several years to investigate the deposit and the conditions for profitably and sustainably mining it," said Moström
He added that the Swedish government should change the permit process to speed up the mine's development.
The 25-year-old set off a frantic search after she went missing for two days following her 911 call to report that a toddler was wandering on an interstate.
The world is facing record-breaking and historical temperatures. Cheddar News explains.
Consumers are looking to beat the heat in record numbers with sales of air conditioners and inflatable pools soaring to record levels.
Johnson & Johnson will pay $18.8 million to a California man who claims he developed cancer from exposure to the company's baby powder product.
Rex Heuermann, the man charged in the so-called Gilgo Beach murders, is now being investigated by other police departments across the country.
The heat wave continues to break records across the country with Phoenix recording 19 straight days of over 110 degrees as the southwestern cities are also coming close to records as well. Iran recorded a heat index of 152 degrees on Sunday with high temperatures affecting a big portion of the planet.
High-water rescue crews pulled people from flooded homes and vehicles Wednesday in Kentucky, where waves of thunderstorms prompted flash flood warnings and watches. A search continued for two children swept away after torrential rains in the northeastern United States.
Finding the most interesting animal in the Bronx Zoo is one tall order. Cheddar News Senior Reporter Michelle Castillo is hanging out with some of the zoo's biggest stars to find out more about their conservation efforts.
A former unidentified member of the Northwestern University football team filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging former coach Pat Fitzgerald enabled a "culture of racism."
John Gidding, designer and host of HGTV's Curb Appeal: The Block, joins Cheddar News to provide some advice on how to avoid turning your home into a money pit.
