An estimate of the mineral resources at a mine being developed by Rare Earths Norway, Europe’s largest rare earth project, has soared by 81% since the last evaluation two years ago, the privately held firm said on Tuesday.
Europe has no operating rare earth mines, and the development of the company’s Fen project in southern Norway would support the continent’s drive to cut dependence on dominant producer China.
The project has 15.9-million metric tons of total rare earth oxide content in indicated and inferred resources, according to consulting firm WSP, a statement said.
The new estimate reflects additional exploration drilling that took place last year and compares to 8.8-million tons calculated in 2024, it added.
SEEN AS STRATEGIC ASSET
“By nearly doubling its known size, Rare Earths Norway has moved from being a promising discovery to a world-class strategic asset,” said Bernd Schaefer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials, an EU-funded agency for critical minerals.
The size of the deposit is much larger than Per Geijer in Sweden, which mining company LKAB said in 2023 was the largest in Europe with 1.3-million tons of rare earth oxides. Last year it updated the estimate to 2.2-million tons.
The latest estimate for the Rare Earths Norway project shows 19% of the oxides are neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), key minerals needed for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defence applications, the company said.
It expects to start production in late 2031, producing 800 tons of NdPr by 2032, which would meet about 5% of the EU’s demand for the minerals, CEO Alf Reistad told Reuters.
The company has an extraction permit but still needs an operating permit.
Reistad said the project was still in the permitting phase and would need some “derisking procedures” to be able to compete with lower-price output from China, which accounts for about 90% of global processed rare earths.