Freedom from China? The mine at the centre of Europe's push for rare earth metals

"It 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."

"China's willingness to slap export bans on rare earths led to the vicious trade war with Donald Trump last year and is partly driving his current bid to take over Greenland, which is rich in these materials, now among the most precious in the world. Every day the team at LKAB mine in Kiruna drive 4km (2.5 miles) down an impressive network of tunnels to get closer to what is known as the Per Geijer deposit of magnetite-hematite-phosphate"

Deep winter in Kiruna leaves the surface in blue crepuscular light while a team of 20 work 900 metres below, foregoing natural light to mine rare earths. LKAB operates at two levels, 900m and 1.3km, tunnelling to connect the existing iron ore mine with the Per Geijer deposit about 2km away. Europe has identified several rare earth deposits and hosts refineries such as Solvay in France, yet has no operational rare earth mines. China maintains a near-monopoly on rare earth raw materials and end products, has used export bans, and its dominance has driven geopolitical tensions and foreign bids for resource-rich territories.

Read at www.theguardian.com