Ground broken for sample extraction at Fen field

REE Minerals has started preparatory work for the extraction of rare earth elements from the Fen field near Ulefoss, Norway, Europe's largest deposit of light rare earth elements.

The current work lays the groundwork for the extraction of raw materials for the EU-backed SUPREEMO project. This project aims to improve Europe's access to rare earth elements and reduce its current near-total dependence on imports from China.

Samples have been extracted from two trenches at the Fen field as part of the preparations. Depending on the timing of necessary approvals from the Directorate of Mining, further materials are expected to be extracted this summer. The work is carried out in cooperation with the Danish mining consultancy firm 21st NORTH.

“Although we’re still in a preparatory stage, it is very satisfying to see actual work going on at the Fen field. At REE Minerals, we’re proud to contribute to the SUPREEMO project. Our goal is that this will improve Europe’s technological and geopolitical position by increasing the region’s self-reliance within critical raw materials.”

— Thor Bendik Weider, Chairman of REE Minerals.

EU-supported project

REE Minerals and SINTEF are the Norwegian partners in the SUPREEMO project, which has 11 partners from nine countries.

Read the press release about REE Minerals joining SUPREEMO.

The EU is contributing €7 million to the project under the Horizon Europe framework program, the EU's primary program for research and development. This illustrates the issue's strategic and geopolitical importance.

Critical materials

Rare earth elements are a group of 17 different chemical elements with unique properties, some of which have valuable applications. Certain elements, such as neodymium and praseodymium, are crucial for creating powerful magnets used in electric motors and wind turbines.

The SUPREEMO project aims to develop further technologies demonstrated in previous projects to reach Technology Readiness Level 7 (TRL7), involving a full-scale demonstration plant with the goal of processing ten tons of ore into enough rare earth elements for 50 kilograms of magnets. Based on this, a business plan for full-scale production will be developed and presented to investors.