Deeper drillings at Europe's largest rare earth mine reveal much bigger true size

The recent discovery of a rare earth deposit in southern Norway sparked excitement across Europe’s energy sector when its initial estimated size already made it the continent’s largest source of these metals. However, new research on the 2024-discovered Fen Complex shows the find is about 80% larger than originally thought, pushing the deposit into the ranks of the world’s largest.

Recent analyses indicate that the mineral resources in the Fen Complex, located in the Telemark region, total roughly 15.9 million tons—up from an earlier estimate of 8.8 million tons. The revised figure was announced this week by the Norwegian Geological Survey (NGU), the government body responsible for geological mapping and research, according to a press release by the corporation that operates on site.

Rare Earths Norway is developing the mine at the Fen site by working with specialists from Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria on the project.

“Based on the data available today, the Fen deposit is one of the largest rare earth metal deposits in the world,” state geologist Haavard Gautneb of the NGU said.

The revised resource estimate is based on 10,000 meters of new drill core collected during the 2025 campaign. In total, roughly 30,000 meters of drill core have been analyzed so far.

Currently, Europe has no operating rare earth mines. Aside from the Norwegian project, another mine is being developed at a smaller deposit in Sweden, meaning the new discovery could significantly reshape Europe’s supply chains.

Metal self-sufficiency

Such a development could greatly reduce Europe’s reliance on China, which supplies up to 98% of certain key rare-earth metals imported by the European Union.

China produces about 70% of the world’s rare earths and controls roughly 90% of their processing, often using these resources as leverage in negotiations with the EU and other nations.

In April, Beijing introduced export controls on certain rare earths to the EU amid broader trade tensions with the United States, intensifying concerns about Europe’s reliance on imported minerals.

In 2024, the EU introduced the Critical Raw Materials Act, designed to boost domestic production of strategic materials and diversify supply sources by 2030.

Progress has been slow, however, with critics blaming lengthy project timelines and heavy bureaucracy for hindering the development of local mining and processing capacity.

Bernd Schäfer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials—an EU-funded agency focused on critical minerals— is quoted in the press statement, describing the site as “a world-class strategic asset that can single-handedly help de-risk our most vulnerable supply chains.”

Rare earth minerals consist of a group of seventeen metallic elements that are essential for renewable energy, defence, and electronics industries. They are used in the production of batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, and many other advanced technologies.

By Nazrin Sadigova