At first glance, this small village seems like just another corner of southern Norway. It barely exceeds 2,000 inhabitants, is surrounded by lakes, hills and forests and does not convey the image of being a key piece of European geopolitics.
However, beneath the streets of Ulefoss lies the largest rare earth deposit on the continent, with critical materials for high-tech industries. These minerals are essential for manufacturing everything from fighter jets to electric vehicles, flat-screen TVs and digital cameras. Their importance is such that the European Union already considers them strategic and has established regulations to ensure their future availability. In a global scenario where China dominates production of these elements, the discovery in Ulefoss, located along the northwest shore of the large lake Norsjø, represents an unprecedented opportunity.
According to German publication DW, the supply of rare earths has become a legislative priority for Brussels, especially within the framework of the Green Deal – planning to transform the EU into a climate-neutral continent by 2050 – and European strategic autonomy.
The deposit, known as the Fen complex, is located just 328 feet below the surface. However, access will not be easy as the mineral lies just below schools, homes and natural ponds. Rare Earths Norway (REN), the mining company behind the extraction project, will have to overcome not only technical obstacles but also social resistance.
A local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told the news outlet: “For me, the existing ponds are almost sacred, considering the climate problems we already have or will have. That it should be for 2025 provokes a strong rejection in me.”
Despite this, the company maintains that it is actively engaging with the community.
So far, the project has not provoked protests or confrontations with the local government. Ulefoss was a mining centre from the 17th century until the mid-20th century, when globalisation displaced smaller operations.
Tor Espen Simonsen, REN’s community liaison and a local, said: “Growing up in Ulefoss, many people said that one day mining would return. We just didn’t know when.”
Now REN claims to have identified nine million tonnes of rare earth oxides – a quantity comparable to active reserves in China or the US. If this development goes ahead, Europe could have its own industrial source of these essential materials, thus reducing its almost total dependence on external suppliers.
REN plans to begin large-scale operations in 2030, but only if it can do so without altering life on the surface. To avoid urban impact, the company will build an “invisible mine” – a diagonal gallery several miles long, away from the urban centre, thought to allow material extraction without having to drill directly under houses.
“There are people who have seen what happened elsewhere. They are afraid our houses will sink into a huge crater or that something will be destroyed,” said Eli Landsdal, another Ulefoss resident.
To avoid a similar fate, REN will use part of its waste material to fill in the created voids and stabilise the ground, mixing that material with a special binder.
Though still at an exploratory stage for now, if the pilot operation planned for 2026 is successful, it will become Europe’s first industrial rare earth exploitation. With this, Norway, although outside the EU, would become a key strategic partner for the bloc in its energy transition and industrial agenda.
According to DW, Brussels regards these types of projects as essential for reducing technological dependence on China and strengthening local supply chains in sectors such as defence, clean energy, and the aerospace industry.