- 1Montanuniversität Leoben, Department of Applied Geosciences and Geophysics, Montanuniversität Leoben, (viktor.erlandsson@unileoben.ac.at)
- 2Deptartment of Industrial and Materials Science (IMS), Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
- 3Department Mineral Resources Engineering, Montanuniversität Leoben, Leoben, Austria
- 4Granex AB, Stockholm, Sweden
Rare earth elements (REEs), as a group, make up the raw materials scored with the highest supply risk and economic importance out of the numerous critical raw materials listed by the European Union. This is due to the very limited source of REEs and its key-role in a wide range of high-tech applications (e.g., electro-magnets and high storage capacity batteries), many of them related to the green energy infrastructure and the defense industry. As is with most of the metals needed for an energy transition, demand predictions show high increases for REEs – up to seven times current production by just 2040 (European Commission, 2023). To achieve these goals and predictions, we need to re-envision what mining is, and what is being mined.
Kiruna-type iron-oxide-apatite (IOA) deposits in the Bergslagen region (central Sweden) were mined for centuries, with the largest deposit being the Grängesberg ore field – mined from the 1500s until 1989. The Grängesberg mining operation is since 1989 inactive and all that is left after the ~150 million tons of ore production (Allen et al., 2013), besides the open pits, are large piles of gangue waste material (e.g., 3.46 dry Mt Indicated Mineral Resources at the Jan-Matts tailings dam; Lindholm, 2021). At the time of production, the Grängesberg ore was solely processed for iron bearing minerals. However, as is apparent in the deposit type name (IOA), apatite is present in significant concentrations in the ore. It at the time it was viewed as waste rock and deposited as stamp sands in large waste piles.
Apatite, along with monazite that also occurs in the Grängesberg ore (e.g., Jonsson et al., 2016), are both well-known hosts of REEs. The presence of these minerals in the mine waste poses a possible ‘new’ source for REE in Europe. This study aims to constrain the mineralogical occurrence, distribution, and type of REEs, and other critical metals, in the mine waste from the Grängesberg deposit to evaluate the potential of extracting these metals.
Acknowledgements
This project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101177746.
Allen, R., Jansson, N., & Ripa, M. (2013). SWE4 Bergslagen: Geology of the volcanic- and limestone-hosted base metal and iron oxide deposits (excursion guide).
European Commission. (2023). Study on the Critical Raw Materials for the EU 2023 – Final Report (European Commission, Ed.). https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/raw-materials/areas-specific-interest/critical-raw-materials_en
Jonsson, E., Harlov, D. E., MaJka, J., Högdahl, K., & Persson-Nilsson, K. (2016). Fluorapatite-monazite-allanite relations in the Grängesberg apatite-iron oxide ore district, Bergslagen, Sweden. American Mineralogist, 101(8), 1769–1782. https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2016-5655
Lindholm, T. (2022). Jan-Matts tailings dam, Grängesberg - Updated Mineral Resource Estimate. GeoVista AB.
How to cite: Bertrandsson Erlandsson, V., Bhadani, K., Asbjörnsson, G., Varelija, M., Gopon, P., and Hellingwerf, R.: RE(E)-mining what’s left behind: unravelling the mineralogy, distribution, and mining potential of REEs in Grängesberg IOA mine wastes (Bergslagen, Sweden), EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-15875, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-15875, 2025.
