The good news is Sweden has discovered one of the largest deposits of Rare Earths.
Sweden's state-owned mining company says it has identified more than 1 million tonnes of rare earth minerals in the northern area of Kiruna. LKAB said on Thursday that the deposit, found next to its iron ore mine, was the largest of rare earth oxides in Europe.12 Jan 2023
The good news is Gallium costs about $500 per kilo and you require very little in semiconductor chips and Gallium AESA.
The good news is that controlling the supply will mean prospecting companies will divert efforts towards virgin territories in Africa, South America, Antarctica and the sea bed.
First of all, we need to understand that rare earth is divided into two kinds, one is light rare earth, the other is heavy rare earth.
Light rare earth has seven elements, the main component is cerium. Light rare earths are widely distributed, with large reserves in China, Mongolia, Brazil, Vietnam and other countries. China's reserves account for 23% of the world's rare earth reserves.
The main component of heavy rare earth is yttrium. Heavy rare earths are mainly used in satellite, missile, aircraft engine, laser and other industries. The reserves of heavy rare earths are small, mainly distributed in Jiangxi and Anhui provinces of China. China's heavy rare earth reserves account for 92% of the global reserves.
China now monopolizes the global rare earth industry. Whether Brazil, Australia, Canada or the USA, almost all their rare earth mines are mined by Chinese enterprises. That is because China has monopolized the rare earth mining technology and patents.
BTW: I bet what was found in Sweden is a light rare earth. Because if it is a heavy rare earth, the western media will definitely report "heavy rare earth". If it is a light rare earth, the western media will only say "rare earth" and then not tell readers the difference between light and heavy rare earths.