Berlin-based raw materials company plans cooperation with South African rare earth mine
Since the spectacular discovery in northern Sweden, rare earths have been on everyone’s lips. These comprise 17 elements. Many of them play a central role in the energy transition as components of wind turbines, electric vehicles, and fuel cells. Unfortunately, Kiruna is not a game-changer. We need these critical metals not in 15 years, but today.
Near Cape Town, there is an old thorium mine, inactive since the 1990s, whose ore is rich in rare earths. The management of the Noble Group intends to visit this site. “We want to increase supply security for European industry and become more independent from China. In this regard, we are working in alignment with the EU and the federal government. With this objective, we are traveling to South Africa in February to assess whether this represents a tremendous opportunity for Europe,” explains Andreas Kroll, Managing Director of Noble Elements.
The mine’s tailings alone contain ores with 5-8% rare earth content, which former mine owners simply left behind due to low prices at the time. Additionally, a rich monazite vein runs through the mine area, whose rare earth content is said to exceed that of the Kiruna discovery many times over. Profitable extraction would be possible for at least 20 years. “The rare earths are available faster than those from Kiruna, and at the same time, the ore grades are of higher quality,” says Andreas Kroll.
The rare earths from the waste heap could be extracted immediately, and underground mining could begin as early as 2025. Nevertheless, a financial commitment to this mining venture carries a high risk for the Noble Group: “We hope for government support, in this case from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, as they plan, according to their policy framework, to provide guarantees to enterprises that contribute to securing raw material supplies,” notes Andreas Kroll.
“China’s engagement in this region is enormous. We simply cannot afford to fall further behind.”