Ulefoss, Noruega
The quiet Norwegian city of Ulegoss rises over a rare land deposit. Reservations can help reduce China EU dependence on technology necessary elements such as phones.
With a population of just over 2000 inhabitants, Ulefoss may not seem like the answer to one of the current economic problems gives Europe. But this point of the southern Norway landscape is directly above the largest rare land deposit on the continent.
These metals difficult to obtain are crucial components of many technologies and modern devices, from fighters to electric vehicles, from flat -screen televisions to digital chambers.
They are so important, in fact, that having a safe supply of them became part of the European Union legislation. As, at this moment, the EU does not have its own internal supply, Ulefoss is promising.
The hidden deposit known as the FEN complex rests on Only 100 meters from the surface. The area is even under the schools and homes of the community, which makes it a complex and potentially controversial operation for the mining company Rare Earths Norway (REN).
A resident who asked not to be identified said that three of the places that the House is exploring as landfills to the mines They are currently lagoons.
“For me, the existing lagoons are almost sacredtaking into account the climate problems we have or have. If this had happened in the 1950s, when I was a child, I would understand, but now that the plans are for 2025, I oppose myself. ”
But Torn Simonnsen, representative of the REN community and local resident, says the company has made an effort to meet residents’ concerns.
“Many people are curious about new mining activities, hoping that this Bring jobs and people back“He said.” And we are working closely with local companies to strengthen local value creation. “
At least so far, the project has prevented the type of protests and objections from the local government that often make it difficult to initiatives for similar infrastructure. The city’s past lends itself to this support.
Mining is a milestone for Ulefoss
Ulefoss is one of the older industrial communities in Europewith a history of iron mining dating back to the seventeenth century. The last mine closed in the 1960s, when smaller Norway operations lost ground to the forces of globalization and international trade.
“Growing up in Ulegoss, many people said one day there would be a new mining activity,” said Simonsen. “We just don’t know when.”
But if Ren’s project advances as planned, this day may not be far away and may become the most significant chapter of the community’s mining activity. The company claims to have identified 9 million tons of rare land oxideswhich places the warehouse on a similar scale to the largest active mines in the world in China and the United States.
The company expects to start its operations on a large scale in 2030, but can only extract these elements of rare land if it can do it without affecting or moving the village above.
For this, Ren plans to create what he calls a “invisible mine“Starting about 4 kilometers from the city center, Ren will excavate a long and narrow diagonal tunnel directly in the heart of the fench warehouse. Using automated perfoters, REN will dig 300 meters to 50 meters from the deposit.
This material will be poured into a crusher directly below the excavation point. Once sprayed, it will be sent back to the surface on transport carpets to be separated in the processing sitewhich will be built by the entrance of the tunnel.
How will underground mining impact the village?
The risk of this approach is subsidence. The empty space recently created below the ground can cause geological instabilityas was the case in Kiruna, the most northern city of Sweden.
Kiruna’s iron ore mine left the urban center above it with cracks and soil deformation. Thus, in the early 2000s, it was decided that the city would need to be permanently resolved, a process that is underway. This experience has not gone unnoticed in Ulefoss.
“There are some people who saw things from other places. They are afraid that our homes Fall in a big crater Or something is destroyed, ”said local resident Eli Landsdal.“ But I feel that now we have reached a point where more and more people are migrating from the negative side to the positive. ”
To avoid Kiruna’s same destination, REN plans to return about half of its waste to the holes left in the Fen deposit, mixed with a binding agent to strengthen the rock.
The invisible mine can become a turning point for Europe
If the company is able to realize its ambitions, it will be a great advance to the EU, which is currently hurrying to ensure the internal supply of essential materials also used for renewable, aerospace and defense energy, which, for the most part, come from China.
The supply chains are also firmly under Chinese control, which leaves the EU at the mercy of any geopolitical tensions and changes that the future reserve. This became evident in April, when Beijing imposed controls of export of rare land and íma elements.
Although Norway is not part of the EU, it is a close ally with strong commercial ties, and the incipient European land supply chain would be the main target of everything that came out of Fen.
“We are very late in both EU and naturally in Norway,” said Tomas Norvolt, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Fisheries of Norway, responsible for the mining sector. It highlights the importance of not being “excluded” from the ie supply chains. “Therefore, it is important that the Let’s do with our own resources here.”
Fen’s new mine is still decades away from the company’s dream of satisfying a third of Europe’s estimated demand for elements of rare land. But the company expects to start a small -scale pilot operation next year. If all goes as planned, it will become the first industrial source of rare land elements in Europe.
