The largest known deposit of rare earth elements, which are required for the production of electric vehicles, has been discovered in Sweden’s far north, boosting Europe’s hopes of reducing its reliance on China.
LKAB, a Swedish mining company, announced Thursday that a newly discovered deposit near its iron ore mine contained more than one million tonnes of rare earth oxides.
“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,” LKAB’s chief executive Jan Mostrom said in a statement.
What Are Rare Earth Elements?
Rare earths are a group of 17 heavy metals with names like scandium, cerium, dysprosium, and thulium that are abundant in the Earth’s crust all over the world.
Prior to the Swedish discovery, the US Geological Survey estimated that there are 120 million tonnes of deposits worldwide, including 44 million in China, which is currently the world’s largest producer, AFP explained in its report.
Brazil and Vietnam are estimated to have another 22 million tonnes, while Russia has 21 million and India has seven million.
But Why Is There Not More Harnessing of These?
However, mining the metals necessitates extensive chemical use, which generates massive amounts of toxic waste and has resulted in several environmental disasters, making many countries wary of shouldering the high financial costs of production.
Because they are frequently found in minute ore concentrations, large amounts of rock must be processed to produce the refined product, which is frequently in powder form.
How Are They Helpful?
Each of the 17 rare earth elements is used in industry and can be found in a wide range of everyday and high-tech devices, ranging from light bulbs to guided missiles.
Europium is essential for television screens, cerium is used for polishing glass and refining oil, lanthanum powers a car’s catalytic converters, AFP reports.
And they all have unique properties that are either irreplaceable or can only be substituted at exorbitant costs.
For example, the report explains, that neodymium and dysprosium enable the fabrication of nearly permanent, super-strong magnets that require little maintenance, making the placement of ocean wind turbines to generate electricity far from the coastline feasible.
According to a study for the Eurometaux producers’ association, the European Union will require 26 times more rare earths than it does now to meet its goal of replacing hydrocarbons and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.
How Does China Come Into the Picture?
For decades, Beijing has maximised its reserves by massively investing in refinery operations, often without the strict environmental oversight required in Western countries.
China has also filed a large number of patents on rare earth production, making it difficult for companies in other countries to begin large-scale processing.
As a result, many companies find it more cost effective to ship their ore to China for refining, reinforcing the world’s reliance.
According to the European Commission, the European Union gets 98 percent of its supply from China, while the United States imports roughly 80 percent of its rare earths from China.
In the midst of rising geopolitical tensions between the West and China, officials on both sides of the Atlantic are advocating for increased rare earth production as well as new recycling technologies – though few analysts anticipate a significant reduction in Chinese production anytime soon, the report says.
At the height of a trade dispute between the United States and China in 2019, Chinese state media suggested that rare earth exports to the United States could be reduced in retaliation for American measures, causing concern among a variety of manufacturers.
Japan experienced the pain of a Chinese cut-off firsthand in 2010, when Beijing halted rare earth exports due to a territorial dispute.
Since then, Tokyo has worked hard to diversify supplies, signing deals with the Australian company Lynas for Malaysian production and expanding its recycling capabilities.
With inputs from AFP
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