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.
At least three people are dead after a gunman went on a rampage in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday.
Federal safety investigators have released a preliminary report on the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and toxic chemical release.
Cheddar News' Shannon LaNier spoke with Meredith Maskara, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, about what it takes to run of the largest Girl Scouts organizations in the country and the only one that is 100 percent urban. The group serves 25,000 girl with the support of 3,000 volunteers. Maskara gave viewers a sneak preview of the cookies soon to be available across the city.
The prosecutor in the case against an Arizona rancher accused of killing a Mexican man on his land near the U.S.-Mexico border alleged during a court hearing Wednesday that the rancher fired that day on a group of about eight unarmed people.
The winner of a $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot — the fourth largest in U.S. history — has come forward to collect the prize, state officials said Wednesday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment arm will pay $5 million in fines.
A brutal winter storm knocked out power in California, closed interstate highways from Arizona to Wyoming and prompted more than 1,200 flight cancellations Wednesday.
Your Need2Know headlines for the day
Migrants wait to be processed after crossing the border on Jan. 6, 2023, near Yuma, Ariz. The Biden administration says it will generally deny asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S. southern border without first seeking protection in a country they passed through. That mirrors an attempt by the Trump administration that never took effect because it was blocked in court. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
According to forecasts, about 40 million people from Nebraska through Michigan would be affected, with the worst hitting the Minneapolis-St. Paul region.
