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New EU law could lead to more mines in Sweden - and a jackpot for Boliden

The EU wants to become less dependent on China and has now hammered through a new law that could lead to more mining permits in Sweden. "It could mean that more projects in Sweden get permission in a shorter time," says Erika Ingvald, head of unit at SGU. The stock market giant Boliden hopes that this opens the way for a huge investment in copper mining in Älvsbyn.

Swedish mining industry led by Boliden is now backed by new legislation in the EU where the Union puts the green light on Sweden and other member states to increase the extraction of strategic metals and raw materials necessary for the green transition. This since the EU Parliament and the Commission agreed on the content of the Critical Raw Materials Act, CRMA.

After formal approvals in Parliament and the Council, the decision is expected to enter into force as a directly effective regulation for all EU countries in the spring of next year.

The new law aims to make the EU less dependent on the outside world - read China - for around thirty strategic metals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, vanadium and rare earth metals. All necessary for the transition to a fossil-free society and central to e.g. electric car batteries, solar cells and wind turbines.

STOPPED BY THE SWEDISH BUREAUCRACY
China is the largest producer of most of the metals on the EU's list. China's strategy to gradually introduce export restrictions on these metals, most recently on graphite, has accelerated the legislative process in the EU.

In the Swedish bedrock there are large resources of several of these strategic metals. In Häggån there is a large deposit of vanadium, in Nunasvaara/Vittangi there is Europe's largest deposit of graphite and in Kiskamavaraa there is a large deposit of cobalt. Everyone is stuck in the Swedish bureaucracy. In Norra Kärr vid Vättern there is also one of the world's largest known resources of rare earth metals, where China has 90% of the world market and 100% of the EU's consumption.

NO NEW MINE IN 13 YEARS
The Swedish permit process for mining these is almost endless, not a single new mine has been started in 13 years. However, a smaller gold mine will be opened after the summer if everything goes according to plan. The permit process in Norra Kärr, which is owned by First North company Leading Edge Materials , has been going on for over ten years. The new EU law is therefore very much aimed at Sweden when it sets a maximum ceiling for the permit process of two years and three months.

"It could mean that more projects in Sweden get permission in a shorter time," explains Erika Ingvald , unit manager for mineral information and mining industry at the Geological Survey of Sweden, SGU, in Uppsala.

"But the maximum period of 27 months means before any appeals," she adds.

"The new law also opens the door for anyone seeking permission to notify the commission that it is a strategic project and thus be able to get support from the EU. So I think that, for example, the project in Norra Kärr could go forward", says Erika Ingvald to Affärsvärlden.

DOES BOLIDEN HELP IN ÄLVSBYN?
The EU's new metals law could also be of great importance for Boliden's project to open a new large copper mine in Laver in Älvsbyn. In 2021, the government rejected Boliden's application for an open-pit mine in Laver - an investment of around 20 billion that would increase Boliden's copper production by around 40%.

Copper is on the EU's list of strategic raw materials and Laver would account for around 10% of Europe's copper production.

"We have started a new application process for mining in Laver and naturally welcome all the support we can from the EU and Sweden in that work," says Boliden's communications director Klas Nilsson to Affärsvärlden.

The Critical Raw Materials Act aims to make the EU self-sufficient in the extraction of critical and strategic metals and raw materials to 10% by 2030, compared to only 3% today, and to be able to refine 40% of its need for these and to recycle 25% of the annual consumption .