Norge Mining, a UK-registered company with an office in Egersund, Norway, is planning to move a project based on a massive Norwegian deposit of critical raw materials, including phosphate, on to the next stage of mining production following the completion of an exploration phase (GM Jan. 29, 2021).
The huge underground ore body, located in the Dalane region in sparsely populated southwestern Norway, is estimated to contain at least 70 billion mt of phosphate-containing materials, according to Norge Mining. This would make it the world’s largest phosphate deposit, ahead even of Morocco’s 50 billion mt.
Besides phosphates, two other important minerals – vanadium and titanium – have been found at the site and are classified by the EU as critical raw materials used in the aerospace and defense industries.
Norge Mining initially made the discovery in 2018 based on information provided by the Norwegian Geological Survey. The company has completed two drilling programs in two zones of the ore body, which was originally estimated to extend 300 meters below the surface, but was in fact found to be running 4,500 meters deep.
Norge Mining Founder Michael Wurmser said the Norwegian government has been “very supportive” of the project, proclaiming last December that all critical raw materials projects in Norway would be subject for “fast-track” approval, according to a report by European news website Euractiv.
Norge Mining does not need to secure funding, according to the report, because it already has listed interest from companies in Europe, the US, and Japan, including “two significant airplane manufacturers” that are interested in titanium supplies.
In its March proposal for a Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Act, the European Commission (ED) classified phosphorus and phosphate rock as “critical” but not as “strategic” minerals, which are subject to a 40% home production benchmark and fast-track permitting rules.
While acknowledging that phosphorus is “a highly relevant material for battery chemistries and digitalization,” the EC said reserves of phosphate rock are “abundant” and therefore do not need to be classified as strategic.
The proposed CRM Act is currently being assessed by the European Parliament and EU Member States with a view to a possible final adoption later this year.