Swedish producer is trying to to accelerate the process of extracting the elements vital for hi-tech products
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t is deep winter with temperatures dropping to -20C. The sun never rises above the horizon, instead bathing Sweden’s most northerly town of Kiruna in a blue crepuscular light, or “civil twilight” as it is known, for two or three hours a day stretching visibility a few metres, notwithstanding heavy snow.
But 900 metres below the arctic conditions, a team of 20 gather every day, forgoing the brief glimpse of natural light and spearheading the EU’s race to mine its own rare earths. Despite identification of several deposits around the continent, and some rare earth refineries including Solvay in France, there are no operational rare earth mines in Europe.
Across the globe, the scramble for rare earths has become the source of huge geopolitical tension, with China accused last year by the EU of “weaponising” its near monopoly on raw materials and end products, essential for everything from smartphones, to electric cars, to fridges, music speakers and military jets.
