Rare earths from Greenland will be processed in Romania, announced Minister Bogdan Ivan. “Half of what Europe needs we have here”
Rare ore deposit Photo: MASSIMO BREGA, THE LIGHTHOUSE / Sciencephoto / Profimedia
The Minister of Energy, Bogdan Ivan, stated on Digi24 that Romania currently has 16 of the 32 elements considered critical at the European level, which are found only in our country and “at most in an EU member country”. Moreover, Romania could process rare materials extracted from other regions, with the possibility of an American company bringing rare earths from Greenland to be processed in Feldioara.
“The biggest challenge in rare earths and rare materials is their refining. Today, Asia has more than 80% of the world's rare earth refining capacity. And I can tell you what I have done in the last six months, together with a very important company in the United States of America, valued at several billion dollars. A cooperation protocol whereby rare earths mined from Greenland are brought to Feldioara in Romania, they are refined in this form, we are laying the foundations for the first integrated project of extraction, refining and consumption, because those rare materials will be destined for the aerospace industry, including SpaceX, Elon Musk's company (…) Romania really has this potential because we have an extremely important history in the matter of processing radioactive materials”, said Bogdan Ivan, quoted by News.ro.
He said it was a business partnership with a US company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange that has a mining concession in Greenland.
Asked about the value of this “hill”, Ivan replied: “I would talk a lot to say unlimited, but it depends a lot on how fast we move. Start, we can work up to 3 billion euros in the next ten years there.”
Romania has 16 out of 32 minerals considered critical at EU level
“Once we succeed in making the first refinery with the whole integrated cycle of extraction, refining, consumption in the Western Hemisphere, we can develop horizontally because all the big high-tech companies will want and will have an economic advantage if they come to Romania and process all these rare earths close to the refinery area”, explained the Minister of Energy.
Asked what rare metal resources Romania has, he invoked his experience as a former Minister of the Economy. “Graphite is an extremely important one. Today, Romania has 16 of the 32 critical elements, considered critical at the European level, which are found only in our country and at most in an EU member country, which positions us in the first place in terms of underground resources, rare earths and rare materials. So we have half of what Europe needs here,” said Ivan.
Deposit of rare minerals, discovered in the west of the country. Among them, uranium and nickel
He added that Romania is “obliged” to make an industry for these resources.
“I can tell you that when I was at the Ministry of Economy, I had 3 projects that I won at the European Commission worth 600 million euros that were considered strategic at the European level. The one for processing Verde Magnesium in Bihor la Băiţa county, the one for processing and refining copper in Hunedoara county and the one for graphite to make graphene from in Gorj county. So, I personally have three 600 million euro projects included on the list of strategic ones at the European level and which is obvious my colleagues who are now in this ministry continue”, he emphasized.
