Core samples taken from the Fen Carbonatite Complex in Norway. (Image credit: Rare Earths Norway)
The mining company estimate focuses on the upper portion of the ancient volcano’s guts, down to 1,535 feet (468 meters) below sea level. According to the company statement, there are likely deposits down to about 3,300 feet (1,000 m) below sea level.
The company plans to continue exploratory drilling and will also build a pilot plant near the outcrop for processing the ore into pure rare earth elements. According to a 2023 report from The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, about 70% of the world’s supply of rare earth elements are mined in China, and 90% of all rare earth elements are processed there.
However, these 17 elements, which are crucial for technologies such as touch screens and batteries, are actually distributed widely. Countries around the globe are aiming to secure their own domestic supply chains for these minerals. In the U.S., for example, researchers are looking in coal mines, where mining activity is already occurring, to see if rare earth metals might become the next product of these mines.
Source link : https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/geology/enormous-deposit-of-rare-earth-elements-discovered-in-heart-of-ancient-norwegian-volcano
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Publish date : 2024-06-12 07:00:00
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