Huge rare earths discovery is gamechanger in America's trade war with China
Rare earth elements (USDA photo)
(OIL PRICE) – At the height of the American war machine’s realization that China controls nearly all of its raw materials, two new developments in Europe now suggest that the West has a fighting chance to secure critical metals for the future: A major discovery in Norway, and a potentially game-changing acquisition in Greenland.
In mid-June, Norwegian mining company Rare Earths Norway unveiled one of the largest deposits of rare earth elements in Europe in the Fen Carbonatite Complex in the country’s south. That discovery followed a vote in Norwegian parliament that paved the way for offshore, deep-sea mining of rare minerals in the country’s remote northern waters, Fortune magazine reported, making this the first country in Europe to allow such seabed mining activities.
At the same time, Critical Metals Corp (NASDAQ:CRML) announced an acquisition deal for what it believes is the largest critical metals deposit in the world, in Greenland. On June 10, Critical Metals Corp signed an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Greenland’s Tanbreez project, which it says is the largest rare earth deposit in the world. Once operational, CRML expects it to supply Europe and North America. And on June 18 the company announced it had completed its initial investment for the Tanbreez acquisition, lending more confidence to the deal and further de-risking the transaction, according to a company press release.