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Sweden on Thursday announced plans to try to boost its mining sector, particularly when it comes to rare earths, and counter European dependence on China.
Sweden declared mining critical metals and rare earths a national security interest to accelerate permits and attract investment, aiming to reduce European dependence on China. Energy Minister Ebba Busch outlined plans to streamline authorizations for projects like rare earth deposits near Kiruna, boosting EU and NATO defense capabilities.
Resource-rich Sweden is already home to Europe’s largest iron ore mine, and has since found considerable rare earth deposits at the same Arctic Circle site in Kiruna.
Rare earth minerals are essential for renewable energy generation, defense and electric vehicle production, modern computer manufacturing and other core industries. China accounts for roughly 70% of global mining and refining.
What did the Swedish government say about the plan?
The government in Stockholm on Thursday declared the mining of critical metals and rare earth minerals to be a national security interest.
This should ease and accelerate the permit process for new extraction projects and help attract investments, according to Energy Minister Ebba Busch, who is also deputy prime minister.
“Sweden must become a leading mining nation,” she said as she outlined the new strategy, saying the government intended to “streamline authorization procedures so decisions can be taken more quickly.”
“We believe that this can contribute significantly to both Sweden’s the EU’s and NATO’s defense capabilities,” Busch said, calling European industry’s dependence on China a “systemic risk.”
Busch also said the move would make it easier for the state to assign land for mining projects, an area of tension with the Sami reindeer-herding indigenous people, who say the expansion of mining could spell the end for their traditional way of life.
The energy minister also said the government was looking into setting up a state-owned investment company for the mining sector.
“Today, to put it plainly, the governemnt lacks concrete tools to wisely contribute to accelerating and attracting investments in crucial strategic projects,” she said.
What are Sweden’s existing mining credentials?
Sweden has been a European mining giant since the 10th century and the opening of the vast Falun copper mine, which at one point produced as much as two-thirds of the continent’s copper. The distinctive deep red color that adorns many houses, churches and other buildings in the country is called Falu Red and hails from the disused mine. It’s now a museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sweden’s modern-day Falun is the vast LKAB iron ore mine in Kiruna in the Arctic Circle. Sweden holds around 60% of Europe’s known iron ore deposits and, as of 2021, was responsible for around 90% of the continent’s iron ore extraction, around one-third of that from Kiruna alone.
The vast frozen mining town made headlines in recent years because of the need to relocate various homes and buildings — including the church — in Kiruna because of subsidence as the giant operation literally undermines the city.
More than 90% of Sweden’s mines operate in the sparsely populated and resource-rich Norrland region in Sapmi, the traditional territory of the Sami.
Near the Kiruna mine is the Per Geijer find, a flagship EU project seeking to reduce mineral reliance on China. This is an area where around 1.2 billion tons of mineral resources, including around 2.2 million tons of rare earth oxides, have been identified.
Mining group LKAB is examining the potential of the deposit but estimates that obtaining permits to excavate on Sami land could take 10 years.
Four of the EU’s 47 strategic projects aimed at reducing mineral dependence on China are located in Sweden.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
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Source: DW
