Swedish advanced iron ore products producer LKAB's tailings ponds in Kiruna and Malmberget, Sweden contain large quantities of apatite and rare earth elements bound in the phosphate mineral apatite, which is considered an impurity in iron ore.
An internal pre-study will determine the conditions for recovery of apatite and rare earth elements from tailings in LKAB's ponds. Test drilling results indicate the occurrence of 15 different rare earth elements in the apatite.
Rare earth metals are strategically important and necessary for the manufacture of, for example, electronics components, motors, glass and automobiles, and as alloying materials in steelmaking. China accounts for 97 percent of global production, and there is an impending shortage.
Estimates show that there is enough apatite in the Kiruna tailings pond for production of 400,000 mt of concentrate per year over a 14-year period. A possible production start-up will not take place until 2015 at the earliest.