Norwegian mining company Rare Earths Norway (REN) has announced a significant discovery: Europe’s largest proven deposit of rare earth elements, following three years of exploration.
The Fen Carbonatite Complex in southeast Norway, according to REN, contains an estimated 8.8 megatons of rare earth oxides with promising prospects for economic extraction. Within this deposit, there are approximately 1.5 million metric tons of magnet-related rare earths, crucial for electric motors, generators, wind turbines, consumer electronics, medical devices, and touch screens.
“The resource estimate underscores the potential of the deposit to be a truly transformative asset that can underpin a secure rare earths value chain for Europe,” stated REN CEO Alf Reistad.
Located southwest of Oslo near Lake Norsjø, the complex was once the pipe of an active volcano around 580 million years ago. The upper part of the volcano has eroded, revealing a 1.2-mile-in-diameter magma-filled pipe. REN reports that the solidified magma, now carbonatite, contains valuable rare earth elements such as neodymium and praseodymium.