Sweden to speed up mining permits to cut reliance on China
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Energy Minister Ebba Busch said Sweden currently receives just 1 per cent of global investment in exploring for base and critical metals, despite having mineral wealth.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Sweden aims to speed up mining permit approvals to reduce the EU's reliance on China, which controls 70% of rare earth mining worldwide.
- The government plans to streamline authorisation, create a new environmental impact authority, and support funding for key mining projects.
- Local authorities will receive a larger share of mining taxes, addressing opposition and environmental concerns around current mining projects.
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STOCKHOLM – Sweden said on July 23 that it wanted to speed up mining permit approval to help the European Union reduce dependence on China, which accounts for 70 per cent of rare earth mining worldwide.
The Scandinavian country is the EU’s leading producer of iron ore and also has known deposits of graphite, cobalt, rare metals and phosphate minerals.
Despite its mineral wealth, it currently receives just 1 per cent of global investment in exploring for base and critical metals, Energy Minister Ebba Busch said.
“Sweden must become a leading mining nation,” she said on July 23 when she outlined the government’s new national mining strategy.
Busch said Stockholm intended to “streamline authorisation procedures so decisions can be taken more quickly”.
It would set up a new environmental impact assessment authority “so companies benefit from a more consistent process” and look at “how the state can help fund the projects that will most help the country achieve self-sufficiency”, she said.
It would also ensure a larger share of mining taxes and royalties went to the local authorities where mining occurred.
This revenue currently goes into state coffers.
Several mining projects are currently being considered in Sweden but many are being held up by local opposition and concern over their environmental impact.
Mining group LKAB is examining the potential of a rare-earth deposit located on land inhabited by Sami in northern Sweden. It estimates that getting a permit could take 10 years.
In 2024, the EU adopted legislation designed to curb its dependence on China for raw materials and introduced 47 “strategic projects”, four of them located in Sweden. REUTERS
