And that will also be an obstacle for the discovery in Sweden. It remains to be seen whether it will be economically feasible to extract these rare earth elements. The mining company LKAB estimates that it will take 10 to 15 years before it will even have the necessary permits to start possible exploitation. So that reduced European dependence on China is not yet for tomorrow.
“Fast is a word that is not often used in the mining industry,” says Jeroen Visser, correspondent in Sweden. “It is technically not easy to extract and therefore takes a long time before you can exploit it on a large scale. At the same time, there is also a risk of environmental damage and people live in the area.” The latter group can also throw a spanner in the works, because recently the expansion of another mine was successfully stopped in the region.
