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Did Norway just find the industrial future in Telemark's bedrock?

The Fen Complex in Telemark has something the world needs: Europe’s largest documented deposits of rare earth elements. Now, plans are underway again for mining in one of Norway’s oldest industrial communities.

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The new gold

This is the ore from the Fen Complex that contains rare earth minerals. The rock is called rauhaugitt after a farm in Fen.

The Critical Raw Materials Act
  • EU legislation which aims to ensure sustainable and secure access to critical and strategic raw materials.
  • Identifies 53 raw materials divided into two categories – critical and strategically important. The number of materials is being updated.
  • 17 raw materials are filed under “rare earth”. They have properties of great importance for modern industry. They can be found in everything from medical technology to defence materials, mobile telephones and EVs.
  • Many of the critical and strategic raw materials are not recycled today. The EU is dependent on imports from other countries.
  • There is also currently no extraction of rare earth minerals in Europe. 
  • The EU has set a goal that by 2030, at least 10 per cent of the minerals and metals that it relies on will be produced in the EU or in Western partner countries, with 25 per cent sourced from recycling.
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