Worldscale Norwegian Rare Earths Project Progresses
One of Europe’s most promising deposits, Fen, has been found in the southeastern Norwegian province of Telemark, close to the town of Ulefoss. However, the deposit’s location close to a local town and amenities, as well as the area’s historic use as a mining location, has posed significant challenges to the project’s development.
This is now changing, and Norway’s government now expects the Fens project to have a mining project plan in place by 2028. In April 2026, the Norwegian government exercised prerogative powers and accepted a request for it to take over the planning process for the development of the Fens deposit from the local administration.
The first step will be to undertake preliminary work for impact assessments, with the plan to issue a plan for consultation in the first half of 2026.
“The Fens project offers an opportunity to build stronger value chains based on local resources, but it also affects protected areas, nature and outdoor recreation,” Industry Minister Cecilie Myrseth says.
Potential worldscale resource
The Fens deposit, located in the caldera of a long eroded volcano, represents one of the largest REE mining development opportunities in Europe. While the ownership of the mining exploration rights in the area is divided, a Norwegian holding company, Rare Earths Norway, holds the rights to around 90% of the area. A second company, Saga Rare Earths, holds the rights over a smaller area.
Rare Earths Norway published a pre-feasibility study in March 2026, with a resource estimate of 1,206 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.31% total rare earth oxides (TREO), with NdPr accounting for up to 19% of the total rare earths content. The estimate was prepared under the JORC (2012) Code by the consulting firm WSP Norge.
Rare Earths Norway’s deposit also contains niobium and thorium, which, subject to further detailed studies, could become valuable by-products of the project.
Saga Rare Earths had previously published a resource estimate of 95 million tonnes of ore at 1.28% TREO. This represents a cumulative known resource base of almost 17 million tonnes of TREO in the Fens deposit.
Critical minerals are essential for green energy, technology, and defence, to name a few. The resources found in the Fen deposit can make us less dependent on other countries, which is important for Norway and our allies.
- REE encompasses 17 elements including scandium, yttrium and the 15 lanthanides.
- The light rare earth elements neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) typically account for around 75% of the value of light rare earth-rich REE deposits.
- NdPr is used in permanent magnets for electric vehicles, robotics and electronics and in wind power generation.
- Global demand for NdPr oxides was equivalent to 78,000 tonnes in 2024, but demand from key end-user markets is expanding rapidly.
European REE processing companies:
REEtec
REEtec is the only rare earth processing company located in Norway. It is constructing its first industrial separation plant at Herøya, Norway.
Solvay
Solvay is a worldwide leader in rare earths end products and formulations for automotive, electronic, medical, and hydrogen markets, offering high-purity tailored solutions. In 2022, Solvay established a rare earths hub for the permanent magnet value chain located around a processing facility in La Rochelle, France, aiming to enhance European self-sufficiency.
Silmet
Silmet operates one of Europe’s few operating commercial rare earth separation facilities located in Sillamäe, Estonia, with proven light rare earth separation capabilities. Silmet forms part of the Canada-based Neo Performance Materials group.
Carester
Carester is a French rare earth technology company currently building a recycling and heavy rare earth separation facility, Caremag, in Lacq, France.
