With a global market of US$ 11 billion in 2023, set to reach US$ 34.2 billion in 2032, REE (Rare Earths Elements) are on the rise in the mining commodities landscape. To get a comparative idea, the market value of all colored stones is US$ 32 billion in 2023, with a projection of about 56 billion in 2033.
REEs are a group of 17 chemical elements on the periodic table and are essential components of many modern technologies, but their extraction and supply present significant environmental and geopolitical challenges. Currently, the largest extractor of these elements is China, which relies on them for the development of renewable energy. Today, albeit with different quantities, good news comes from Norway.
In fact, after three years of exploration, the Norwegian mining company Rare Earths Norway (“REN”) has stated that the Fen Carbonate Complex (“FCC”), in the south-east area of the country, hosts the largest REE deposit in continental Europe, so far estimated to contain 1.5 million tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium oxides.
Rare Earths Norway will continue the exploration work in Fen with a new drilling campaign already planned, assessing the economic feasibility of the project and also taking into account the environmental impact of a probable extraction.
