Rare Earths Norway Discovers Largest Rare earth element deposit in Europe
TapTechNews June 10th news, Rare Earths Norway (REN) announced that the Fen Carbonatite Complex discovered in the southeastern part of the country contains the largest rare earth element deposit on the European continent.
After three years of exploration, REN released the first mineral resource estimation report of the Fen Carbonatite Complex that complies with the JORC 2012 standard this week, and REN currently holds about 90% of the exploration licenses in this mining area.
Preliminary survey results show that the estimated resource amount in this mining area is 559 million tons and the total rare earth oxide (TREO) content is 1.57%, which means that the Fen Carbonatite Complex has 8.8 million tons of TREO and has considerable potential for economic exploitation.
It is estimated that among the 8.8 million tons of rare earth oxides, about 1.5 million tons are magnetic rare earth elements used in electric vehicles and wind turbines. The European Commission regards this type of rare earth mineral as the most critical raw material to counter supply risks.
The current estimated depth of mineral resources is 468 meters below sea level. REN company said that this project has great potential in the future. The exploration completed by the geological advisors of the Norwegian Geological Survey and the Telemark County Council previously shows that the mineralized zone may extend to about 1000 meters below sea level.
REN company also expects that the development of new mining methods will further increase the estimated value of resource reserves. The company said that its goal is to create a whole industry chain from mines to magnets and significantly reduce the impact on climate and the environment. It plans to conduct further exploration drilling this year.
TapTechNews noted that so far, the rare earth mine in Kiruna, Sweden has been considered the largest rare earth mine on the European continent with reserves of more than 1 million tons. The rare earth reserves in Greenland are said to reach 19 million tons.