The push to develop Europe’s critical mineral discoveries
In this aerial view, Kiruna Kyrka church is moved by road to its new location in Kiruna, Sweden, on August 20, 2025. The church, which weighs 672.4 tonnes, is being moved as a whole to a new location 3 km away to avoid damage to LKAB’s iron ore mine.
Bernd Lauter | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Two Scandinavian mining companies at the center of Europe’s push to achieve its goal resource security They adopt new, albeit very different, approaches. One is pursuing the “invisible mine” concept, and the other is undertaking one of the world’s most radical displacement projects.
This forms part of the European Union’s strategic change. Coming soon”SOURCE” initiative, the 27-nation bloc plans to accelerate efforts to secure access to local sources of critical raw materials in both the short and long term.
The plan, which aims to increase investment in strategic projects, is designed to help break China’s long-held mining dominance.
Alf Reistad, CEO of mining company Rare Earths Norway, told CNBC that there is a clear shift in how both domestic and EU policymakers think about mineral supply chains.
“What we’re seeing right now is really a sense of urgency. Everyone is talking about the need for action,” Reistad told CNBC via video call. he said. “Now is the time to really act. We’ve always said it’s too early until it’s too late.”
In June last year, Rare Earth Norway announced the discovery of Europe’s largest known rare earth deposit; this reflected a moment seen as a turning point in the region’s quest for strategic autonomy.
His estimated It was stated that the company’s Fen Carbonatite Complex, located in the small industrial town of Ulefoss in southern Norway, contains a total of 8.8 million metric tons of rare earth oxides (TREO).
It’s not clear that this is a business case. That’s what it looks like for us at the moment, but it’s not something where you say ‘oh, it’s a no-brainer, just run’.
Niklas Johansson
LKAB Spokesperson
In particular, approximately 1.5 million tonnes of these TREOs are thought to contain highly valuable magnet-related rare earth elements such as neodymium and praseodymium. These are critical components for a range of modern technologies, from electric vehicles to wind turbines, from robotics to defense applications.
Rare Earths Norway said it is currently working closely with local municipal and national authorities on a development plan and hopes to submit a pre-feasibility study by the end of the year.
But ultimately, there is a long road ahead to unlock the potential of rare earths. The company aims to bring rare earth elements to the market in the first half of the 2030s.
Advanced Games?
To help achieve these goals, Rare Earths Norway is lobbying local and EU policymakers to consider fast-track permitting and price guarantees, saying such measures will be crucial to the company’s success.
Reistad describes the company’s efforts to reveal its resource potential, Advanced GamesA controversial event that allows athletes to take banned performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision.
“If you look at what you see right now with China and the United States, they are competing in a kind of Advanced Game, and if we don’t have security, it’s not possible for us to compete,” Reistad said.
“You see that the actions taken [U.S. President Donald] Embers. He was fast and brave. “Therefore, if there are no equal conditions, this project will not be possible,” he added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her speech during a debate on the new 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework at the European Parliament in Brussels on November 12, 2025.
Nicolas Tucat | Afp | Getty Images
A spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, told CNBC that the bloc has a “clear vision” to ensure safe and sustainable access to raw materials. The bloc wants to extract 10% of what it consumes each year by 2030, process 40% and recycle 25%.
The EU also aims to limit dependence on any external supplier to 65%.
‘Invisible mine’
To develop its discovery, Rare Earths Norway plans to extract rare earths from the Fen field using the “invisible mining” concept to avoid surface degradation and environmental impact.
This concept involves drilling a long, narrow tunnel diagonally beneath the village of Ulefoss and filling the excavated cavities with waste materials.
Reistad, who likened the concept to the “Kinder Egg” concept, said, “It is important that the people on the deposit are safe.”
“So if you saw it in LKAB’s project in Kiruna, move the city. “We need to prevent this, there are about 300 properties on deposit and a lot of people live there,” he said.
Reistad said the company had a “very good” dialogue with the people living above the rare earth deposits. First community surveys reportedly cited strong local support for the project, along with some concerns about stability and waste management.
An Arctic city on the move
Operating well above the Arctic Circle in the city of Kiruna, Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB takes a completely different approach to Europe’s growing appetite for raw materials.
Rain falls as a general view shows the LKAB iron ore mine and a sign bearing the company’s logo in Kiruna, northern Sweden, on August 21, 2025.
Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images
The discovery of the deposit, called the Per Geijer deposit, is located very close to the world’s largest underground iron ore mine. In fact, it was LKAB’s plans to expand its iron ore mine that prompted thousands of city dwellers to move to a brand new city center.
The extensive urban relocation project brought workers international attention in August. moved successfully A 113-year-old wooden church five kilometers (3 miles) down the road for two days.
Later in the same month, LKAB announced It was stated that another 6,000 people and approximately 2,700 houses would be affected by the displacement. The conversion is estimated to cost 22.5 billion Swedish krona ($2.4 billion).
Niklas Johansson, LKAB’s senior vice president of public affairs and external affairs, said the relocation was related to the firm’s expanding iron ore mine, not the rare earth discovery.
A worker is seen in the underground tunnels of the LKAB iron ore mine in Kiruna, northern Sweden, on August 21, 2025.
Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images
Like Rare Earths Norway, LKAB’s Johansson said the company is currently meeting with European regulators to ensure it is economically viable to develop its resources.
“We’ve already got the material down. It’s all paid for by the iron ore. It’s not clear it’s a business case, though. It looks like that for us right now, but it’s not something where you say ‘oh, it’s a no-brainer, just run with it,'” Johansson told CNBC by phone.
“They also tell them, if that seems to be the case for us, who have most of the infrastructure and everything, what do you think it will be like for others in Europe?”
mineral domination
Anthony Heron, deputy editor at the Arctic Institute think tank, said the projects overseen by Rare Earths Norway and LKAB were “strategically important” because they represented some of the most reliable ways to reduce Europe’s near-total dependence on rare earths imported, especially from China.
“Estimates suggest that the Norwegian Fen deposit could meet a large portion of future EU demand for rare earth minerals, and exploration of Arctic deposits is being framed by analysts as key pillars of Europe’s emerging ‘mineral sovereignty’ agenda,” Heron told CNBC via email. he said.
“This brings the Arctic directly into compliance with the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, which sets the target for a minimum share of extraction within Europe,” he added.
