From folklore to modern day discovery Norway is famous for its Nordic Folklore trolls – often living in inaccessible areas like caves or forests in the mountains. We believe we’ve found a modern-day ‘troll’ on land in Norway. Namely, a huge deposit in the southwest of the country, that will supply four Critical Raw Materials to European industry for generations to come.
Weighty discussions
This was the intriguing opening story from our CEO, Olav Skalmeraas, who received a prestigious invitation to speak at the EU Raw Materials Week in December on ‘Raw materials business opportunities in strategic partner countries’. In its 11th year, this is the largest policy event on raw materials put on by the European Commission, attracting around 1,000 people. These conversations in Brussels, therefore, carry huge weight.
During this year’s event more than ever, because of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) that came into force in May 2024; the first regulation of its kind in the EU. By March 2025, the first batch of EU Strategic Projects along the value chain of StrategicRaw Materials (a sub-section of the EU Critical Raw Materials list) will be selected. In light of this, many questions remain, that will be answered in due course. For example, what does CRMA implementation look like? How does the strategic projects’ selection unfold? And what finance and investments can the industry expect to be channelled in the sector, in pragmatic terms?
Partnerships prioritised
It’s also worth noting that a new European Commission took office just before the event, with some highly relevant key priorities highlighted, including ones directly related to the development of CRM value chain in Europe. For example, among others, ‘A new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness’ and ‘A global Europe: leveraging Europe’s power and partnerships’.
Partnerships were a prominent theme throughout the EU Raw Materials Week – from the official talks to more informal discussions on the sidelines. The fact that Norway had its own session, during which Norge Mineraler had the opportunity to speak, shows that the EU is realising that partnerships with responsible, reliable, friendly ‘third party’ countries that uphold the same values and standards are a prerequisite to fulfilling the climate, industry and economic ambitions.
Competitiveness and carbon neutrality
Against this backdrop, Norge Mineraler’s mission to secure responsible supply chains for Strategic and Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) within Europe is very pertinent. We have recently acquired Skaland Graphite AS – Europe’s largest graphite producer. Graphite is an EU Strategic Raw Material and Skaland mine is the world’s highest grade flake graphite mine.
This is in addition to our confirmed world-class deposits of the EU Critical Raw Materials phosphate, vanadium and titanium, materials with key roles in the clean energy and digital transitions, defence and aviation, security of food supply and many other areas, including chemical and automotive sectors. Securing CRM and SRM supply chains for strategic industries in the EU will drive competitiveness and carbon neutrality.
Net-positive value
Back to his speech, during which Olav Skalmeraas emphasised Norge Mineraler’s highest ESG standards from the exploration to the development of a carbon-neutral mine within Europe, with the objective of delivering net-positive value for all stakeholders. Beyond the mine, he emphasised the importance of vertical integration, value creation and our social licence to operate.
As an example, by producing P4 (yellow phosphorous) in Europe, it will help secure strategic industries and significantly reduce CO2 emissions. Europe’s last P4 installation closed in 2012. Currently, the EU is 100% import dependent – on Kazakhstan (71%), Vietnam (15%),and other non-EU countries.
P4 as a prime example
P4 is critical for several industries. For the energy and digital transitions, we need li-ion batteries, solar cells and semiconductors. In the chemical and pharma industries, there was US$13bn in estimated revenues from P4 chemicals in Europe in 2023. Norge Mineraler can be the only European P4 producer – securing European P4 supply and competitiveness, with significantly decreased carbon emissions compared to average production (through CCUS, CO2 utilisation and renewable energy). As 2025 unfolds, we continue to explore the dynamic future of Strategic and Critical Raw Materials in Europe. Important conversations continue – from derisking, to maintaining high ESG standards, innovation, circularity and market trends. And one thing we can be confident about is that EU cooperation with strategic partner countries, such as Norway, will be an even greater focus this year.
