The deposit has a high concentration of heavy rare earths.
The Norra Kärr deposit has a high concentration of heavy rare earths, which have so far been mined almost exclusively in Myanmar and southern China. However, there has been resistance to the development of the deposit from the local population for a decade, as it is located near a lake important for the region’s drinking water supply. As a result, no mining has taken place on-site to date. Despite this, the owner of Norra Kärr, the Canadian mining company Leading Edge Materials, has applied for recognition as a strategic project under the Critical Raw Materials Act. This legislation is intended to diversify the supply of raw materials in the European Union. Strategic projects benefit from an accelerated approval process, which, according to the legislators’ wishes, should only take a maximum of 27 months for mining projects. Leading Edge Materials also intends to apply for a mining concession in the fourth quarter. The EU Commission will publish an initial list of projects classified as strategic in December.
Norra Kärr is an eudialyte deposit. This mineral contains a high proportion of heavy rare earths, but the concentration of raw materials in eudialytes is comparatively low. Extraction is complex and still the subject of research projects.
Photo: TRADIUM GmbH
