Since Norge Mining was founded in 2018, the world has changed irrevocably. During the global Covid-19 pandemic, long supply chains sputtered to a halt – leaving industries bereft of vital components and customers without goods they’d blindly relied on. The fragility and vulnerability of western economies – so dependent on places like China for materials – was felt starkly, and globalisation as a strategy has been interrogated ever since.
Add to the storm the virulent effects of climate change – echoed by challenging net zero targets. And a choppy geopolitical landscape – from Russia’s invasion to Ukraine, to Middle East unrest, including in the Red Sea.
Critical Raw Material supply chains have been shaken to their core – leading to shortages, price volatility and insurmountable hurdles for the world’s green energy transition.
Evolving market
These demanding mega trends are the very reason we’ve evolved our positioning in the market; it’s in exact response to what’s happening in the world around us. In tandem with this, we now look and sound very different. And you can read all about our evolved purpose, mission, vision and values here on our new website. Our Chairman, John Vergopoulos explains it succinctly:
Norge Mineraler has a clear vision to operate the most ecologically, socially and sustainable mine for Critical Raw Materials vanadium, phosphate and titanium. We are building an integrated supply chain – one that will provide resource security and deliver products sustainably at the beginning of the value chain. Our operations will usher in a new era of considerate exploration and sourcing, in collaboration and communication with local, national and international partners.”
John Vergopoulos, Chairman
Resource powerhouse
Our untapped deposits are in Norway – politically and economically one of the most stable and developed countries in the world, with a solid history of transforming resources into real and financial assets. We are privileged to operate in a country that has deep resource knowledge and is a powerhouse of resource innovation.
Our minerals, assets – and markets
We are focusing our efforts on three high worldwide demand resources and EU Critical Raw Materials (CRMs): magnetite with vanadium, apatite with phosphate and ilmenite with titanium, developing a new integrated value chain for these responsibly produced materials. You can read more about our exploration rights and licences here.
And we are developing highly competitive, high purity products with low to zero contaminants – and due to the pure grade, we are also investigating the downstream potential of our products. Here is a brief snapshot of how our CRMs may be used by end markets in Europe – and beyond.
P2O5 – for fertilisers in food production
Phosphate is widely used in agriculture, including in fertilisers for plant and food production. The use of phosphate fertilisers over the past century has increased crop yields and helped fight hunger worldwide.
Phosphate is also fast becoming a key component in battery production – such as Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology – as the world moves away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy.
V2O5 – for steel and redox flow batteries
Our magnetite concentrate contains vanadium. Vanadium is a by-product of iron ore and is becoming increasingly valuable in the production of ‘green’ infrastructure.
Due to it being malleable and supple – yet incredibly durable – it’s used as a strengthening mechanism in steel production. It’s also increasingly used in emerging battery technologies, such as redox flow (VRFBs), which have extraordinary renewable energy storage capabilities.
TiO2 – for pigments, aviation and defence
Ilmenite contains titanium dioxide. Our ilmenite concentrate will be used for pigment production, with potential for further processing into high-quality titanium for metal production.
Titanium is stronger and lighter than steel, making it an ideal component in structures that need robustness, such as in aviation and defence.
Greener supply chains for a greener future
With net zero looming, and many targets way off, decarbonisation needs a supply of these EU Critical Raw Materials – and governments and industries need them to achieve environmental and social sustainability objectives. Our resources are vital ingredients for the greening of many sectors. They will be responsibly produced, with ESG embedded holistically in all our engagements and activities. This is an ethos that hasn’t changed since our inception.
From the purchasing of our licences to now developing an integrated value chain for EU Critical Raw Materials, we’ve been on an extraordinary journey so far. We are excited for the potential that lies ahead – in ensuring supply chain security through the global energy transition.
