As we hurtle towards the end of the year, there’s been a flurry of activity. Hot off the press, I bring you the news that Norge Mining has now been catapulted to a revenue-generating company. It’s very exciting. And a great way to end the year. It’s redefined us entirely, changing our risk profile. It’s a boost for Norway, for Norwegians, for us as a Group – and for our end customers. It’s a transformative upstream milestone that perfectly complements our mission to secure supply chains for Strategic and Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) within Europe.
Strategic importance
It’s due to our acquisition of Skaland Graphite AS – Europe’s largest graphite producer. Skaland mine is the world’s highest grade flake graphite mine and the fourth-largest graphite mine outside China. Significantly, graphite is an EU Strategic Raw Material – due to its pivotal role in the green energy transition. It’s a key component in many applications in the following sectors: energy storage and EVs, steel and metallurgy, aerospace and defence and graphene applications – such as electronics, medical and construction.
Securing graphite supply has, therefore, become increasingly urgent. Especially so, as China ramps up its restrictions on graphite export controls as a national security measure. Then, of course, the change of government in the US will result in a change to foreign – and therefore trade – policy.
The strategic significance of CRM value chains has never been so important.”
Geopolitical ebb and flow
In fact, the ebb and flow of geopolitics has kept us on our toes throughout the year. There’s political upheaval in some major countries – we’ve all been following events in France closely. Then there are the snap elections in Germany early next year, after its coalition government collapsed. These affect the whole of the EU, at a time when we need governments to lead the charge and countries to be aligned on policies between government, capital markets and industry – in order to deliver a new CRM value chain in Europe. One that revolves around several billion dollars-worth of Capex.
Then, of course, the change of government in the US will result in a change to foreign – and therefore trade – policy. In my opinion, the strategic significance of CRM value chains has never been so important. If we are to meet the requirements of Net Zero (the ‘uneasy’ transition, as I like to call it), we need to do it together, collaboratively.
“If we are to meet the requirements of Net Zero (the ‘uneasy’ transition as I like to call it), we need to do it together, collaboratively.”
Evolving to the new market order
For Norge Mining and our operational arm in Norway – Norge Mineraler – we plough on and pivot accordingly. That’s the beauty of being such a nimble, dynamic company. We don’t have legacy issues. We evolve to the new market order, never standing still; always adapting and growing stronger. We are early stage, but we don’t feel like it because we have huge ambitions, and we are resolute in our ability to turn them into reality.
“We evolve to the new market order, never standing still; always adapting and growing stronger.”
We’ve had some giant leaps forward this year, propelled by measures and results that have been released. In the early stages of our project, I was preparing my partner, Michael Wurmser, to expect about 200 million tonnes at our Øygrei deposit. The resulting JORC Mineral Resource statement at that time was 1.5 billion tonnes. That figure now stands at 4.6 billion tonnes over three deposits and covers the Critical Raw Materials – phosphate, titanium, vanadium – which is a huge increase and further solidifies the global significance of our world-class deposit.
Speed, cost efficiency and greener
We’ve also had an increase in our phosphorus pentoxide – P205 – grades. People often compare our igneous phosphate to sedimentary reserves. But there really is little similarity; it’s not comparing apples with apples. Only about 5% of world’s phosphate deposits are of igneous rock type (igneous and igneous massif), and Russia has previously been the main supplier to European markets. High purity igneous phosphate contains little contaminants – meaning fewer chemical treatments down the value chain. This creates greater speed, cost efficiency and greener credentials.
“People often compare our igneous phosphate to sedimentary reserves. But there really is little similarity; it’s not comparing apples with apples.”
Norge Mineraler was awarded extraction rights in June – further underlining the economic viability of our Eigersund Project to become a European source for CRMs in Europe and create an ecosystem of integrated value chains. We believe this will bring greater security to industries and governments and help them accelerate their decarbonisation efforts. Not only with the green tech CRM ingredients we can provide, but also with responsible production, to the highest ESG standards.
At the beginning of the year, we also had a High Court decision on landowner rights. This changed our risk profile overnight.
Continuous innovation
As we continue to meet milestones and far smash expectations, we decided 2024 was a timely moment to invest more than ever in research and development, setting up an entire R&D subsidiary of our own. For every organisation in the business of critical resource security, providing a solution for residual resources is a top priority. And so, in this way, we can harness knowledge, innovation and technology, to find new ways to reuse residual resources – such as in coastal defence. I believe that having a dedicated unit enables us to think freely, without constraint.
Having a dedicated R&D unit enables us to think freely, without constraint.”
To do this, we have signed a collaboration agreement with the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), due to their specialist expertise in landscaping and vegetation ecology. And are partnering with Betolar – a Finnish material technology company – to create sustainable mining solutions for our Eigersund project in southwest Norway. One intriguing exploration is to investigate the potential for using residual resources to produce geopolymer-based concrete.
Merging the technical & commercial
Of course, none of this is possible without great minds and brilliant people. I am always astonished at the tenacity and talent of my team. While I don’t like to single out people, as our strength lies in our collaborative skills and expertise, I would like to mention our latest newcomer, Will Myles. He’s an excellent addition and has hit the ground running. Will is a highly experienced executive and consultant with an international track record working on major mining and infrastructure projects. He has both a technical and commercial mindset, so needed for our project – as we set our sights on broadening horizons.
I’ve never been prouder of what we are achieving. But there’s little time to rest. We continue to roll our sleeves up, for what lies ahead for my team and I in the new year are Himalayan challenges, more uncharted territory – and without doubt, great opportunity.
