2023-07-09 07:46:05
hair Andrei Stiru
posted on Sunday July 09, 2023 at 09:46 •
4 min read
A major discovery has been made in Norway, with the unearthing of a huge underground deposit of high-quality phosphate, described by the mining company Norge Mining as the largest in the world. It is estimated that there is enough phosphate to meet global demand for fertilizers, solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) batteries “for the next 50 years”.
Why is this important?
In the coming years, more and more electric cars will appear on the roads. They must be powered by renewable energy. However, to make this transition, huge amounts of raw materials are needed, including phosphate. Indeed, phosphorus can be produced from it, making it an essential ingredient for solar panels, electric vehicle (EV) batteries and especially fertilizers.
In the news : A phosphate deposit of some 70 billion tonnes has been discovered in Norway. It’s as much as all known phosphate resources in the world together.
Norge Mining actually discovered the phosphate deposit as early as 2018. Originally it was thought to extend to a depth of 300 meters underground, but the company eventually discovered that the formation was sinking up to fifteen times this depth, reaching regarding 4,500 meters. “When we made this discovery, we carried out two drill programs in two zones. And in these two areas… we discovered two world-class springs, which together provide resources for at least 50 years“said Michael Wurmser, founder of Norge Mining, to Euractive. But it is possible that this precious deposit is even larger. However, it is currently not possible to drill to depths of 4,500 meters, so an assessment has only been carried out to a depth of 1,500 meters. In addition to phosphate, quantities of vanadium and titanium were also discovered in the deposit. Wurmser did not specify exact quantities. Titanium is often used in the construction of aircraft and rockets due to its resistance to corrosion and its ability to withstand large temperature variations. Vanadium is also widely used in aviation, as well as in the production of stainless steel.
Du phosphate au phosphore
And now : Norge Mining, following determining the quantities involved, wants to move on to the exploitation phase.
Wurmser told Euractive thate all the prerequisites for obtaining an authorization have been fulfilled. The company has already carried out economic feasibility studies, among others. The Norwegian government is also said to have given its approval. According to Wurmser, it is now necessary to also convince the European Union (EU) the strategic importance of the discovery. Although Norway is not a member of the EU, it is part of several European trade projects, including the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen area. The European Commission considers phosphate as a “critical” resource according to the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), a proposed law aimed at guaranteeing the supply of important raw materials to the EU, and not as a “strategic” resource. Resource development projects in the latter category are granted faster permits. According to Wurmser, phosphate should also be considered strategic because it will enable Europe to become more self-sufficient. Moreover, phosphate processing can be done in a more environmentally friendly way in Europe compared to countries such as China and Vietnam, he claims. Indeed, the process releases a large amount of carbon, but due to higher environmental standards in Norway, carbon capture technologies will be used during processing, says Wurmser. “Phosphorus from China, Vietnam and Kazakhstan does not necessarily make a solar panel an ecological product. »
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