LKAB reports larger Mineral Resources: significant increase in Rare Earth Oxides
After exploration in 2024 LKAB has continued to add to the Mineral Resources of the company whilst improving the quality of the Mineral Reserves, reaching a combined total of 6,1 billion tonnes. Compared to 2023, the Mineral Resources have increased by some 500 million tonnes. The Per Geijer deposit in Kiruna is now 1,2 billion tonnes of total Mineral Resources, including 2,2 million tonnes of in situ REE oxides – an increase of almost 30 percent since last year and a doubling from 2022.
“These are very good results which continue to support the strategic direction of the company. These significant mineral assets are the result of great efforts from all our colleagues and teams working together. The potential for Sweden’s iron ore supply and also for the supply of critical minerals has once again improved and provides increased security for the future”, says Ian Cope, Vice President Exploration at LKAB.
At the end of 2024, LKAB had identified Mineral Reserves of approximately 1,0 billion tonnes and Mineral Resources of some 5,1 billion tonnes in Svappavaara, Malmberget and Kiruna (including Per Geijer). Since the start in 1890, LKAB has mined a total of more than 2 billion tonnes. In addition to iron ore, all LKAB’s ores contain minerals from which the critical materials of phosphorous and rare earth elements may be obtained.
Exploration at Per Geijer has continued to increase the Mineral Resources, now to approximately 1,2 billion tonnes of iron ore and phosphorous. This same increased tonnage also contains an Inferred Mineral Resource of rare earth oxides, at grades much richer than those found in LKAB’s other deposits. The increase in REE oxides from 1.7 million to 2.2 million tonnes in situ continues to add to the resource base of Per Geijer, which is one of the largest deposits in Europe for rare earths.
On March 25, the European Commission announced that LKAB’s Industrial park for critical minerals in Luleå, the extraction of apatite at the mine in Gällivare, and the new Per Geijer deposit in Kiruna have been granted the status of strategic projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act.
“The decision is a recognition of LKAB’s potential to contribute to securing Europe’s access to strategic raw materials. The fact that we can now demonstrate an increase in our mineral resources and an even greater occurrence of rare earth oxides in the new deposit is an important message for our and Europe’s future, in a situation where increased self-sufficiency is more urgent than ever”, says Jan Moström, President and CEO of LKAB.
The iron ore Mineral Reserves in Kiruna have decreased by 19%, in line with mine production and by the removal of waste rock from the mine plan, thereby improving quality by improving the iron grade. The Mineral Reserves at the Malmberget mine have overall increased by 7% due to an upgrade of existing Resources. Mineral Reserves in the Leveäniemi mine in Svappavaara have decreased by about 8% to 84 million tonnes.
Mineral Resources across the mining operations now report waste material which would have to be moved whilst mining, although the predicted ore grades remain stable from 2023 reporting. In Kiruna, this means that Mineral Resources have increased by some 34% to 1,1 billion tonnes, whereas the Malmberget mine reports a 9% increase to approximately 1,9 billion tonnes. In Svappavaara, the Mineral Resources at Gruvberget increased 6% to 880 million tonnes.
For further information on LKAB’s Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources, the reader is guided to the LKAB website via this link. Here, the Summary Technical Reports for each of LKAB’s mineral deposits and how the Mineral Resource estimations have been made can be found shortly.
The Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources reported in the Summary Technical Reports are the same as those reported in LKAB’s Annual and Sustainability Report for 2024.
Facts about Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
- An estimation of the mineralisation in a deposit may be declared as a Mineral Resource if, under assumed and justifiable conditions, it may be considered to become economically mineable in the future. When the Measured and/or Indicated part of the Mineral Resource has been shown to be economically mineable
- Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves are the basis of a mining company’s operations and their determination requires successful and continuous exploration. LKAB reports its Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves in accordance with the PERC (2021) reporting standard.
Facts about LKAB’s planned extraction of critical minerals
- LKAB aims to increase resource efficiency and value creation by producing critical raw materials from what today is mining waste. The EU classifies raw materials as critical due to high import dependence and great importance for our economy and the green transformation; this includes phosphorus and rare earth elements found in LKAB’s ores.
- Phosphorus is primarily used for the production of mineral fertilisers, which today enables half of the world’s food production, but also has other uses such as food, feed and batteries. Europe is 90 percent dependent on imports, where Russia has accounted for a significant portion.
- Rare earth metals are mainly used in permanent magnets in motors for electric cars and generators for wind turbines. China dominates the value chain for rare earths, Europe has no extraction at all and modest processing.
- LKAB’s deposits contain all 17 rare earth metals, all of which are classified as critical raw materials (CRMs) by the EU. In addition, the EU also classifies the rare earths neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), gadolinium (Gd), samarium (Sm) and cerium (Ce) as strategic raw materials.
- The European Commission has granted strategic project status to LKAB’s industrial park for critical minerals in Luleå, the extraction of apatite at the mine in Gällivare and the new deposit Per Geijer in Kiruna within the framework of the recently introduced Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).
- CRMA aims to reduce the Union’s dependence on imports of critical raw materials by strengthening extraction, processing and recycling within Europe. Strategic status is granted to initiatives that are considered to be crucial to achieving these goals. This applies in particular to certain rare earth metals, which are also classified as strategic raw materials.
Pan-European Reserves & Resources Reporting Committee (PERC) Reporting Standard
LKAB compiles its Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves annually. LKAB’s reporting method follows the PERC Reporting Standard 2021 aimed at a balanced assessment of the value of LKAB’s mines and deposits. The 2021 edition of the PERC Reporting Standard is aligned with the November 2019 version of the CRIRSCO International Reporting Template (Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards). This report covers the reporting period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024.
The Mineral Resource estimates were prepared under the supervision of Howard Baker FAusIMM(CP), Managing Director and Resource Geologist, Baker Geological Services Ltd (BGS) who is a “Competent Person” as defined in the PERC Reporting Standard 2021. Mr Baker has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this report and has confirmed that: “At the effective date of the Public Report, to the best of my knowledge, information and belief, the Public Report contains all scientific and technical information required to be disclosed in order to make the Public Report not misleading”.
The Mineral Reserves estimates were prepared under the supervision of Tim McGurk CEng FIMMM(QMR), Corporate Consultant (Mining Engineering) with SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd who is a “Competent Person” as defined in the PERC Reporting Standard 2021. Mr McGurk has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release and has confirmed that: “At the effective date of the Public Report, to the best of my knowledge, information and belief, the Public Report contains all scientific and technical information required to be disclosed in order to make the Public Report not misleading”.
For more information and interview requests, please contact:
Mikko Viitala, press contact LKAB
phone: + 46 70 309 8163, mail: mikko.viitala@lkab.com
Media hotline: +46 771 76 00 10, press@lkab.com
These are very good results which continue to support the strategic direction of the company. These significant mineral assets are the result of great efforts from all our colleagues and teams working together. The potential for Sweden's iron ore supply and also for the supply of critical minerals has once again improved and provides increased security for the future.
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