LKAB Advances SEK 800 Million Luleå Rare Earth Demonstration Plant Toward Commissioning

Highlights

• LKAB is commissioning an SEK 800 million ($80M+) rare earth and phosphorus demonstration plant in Luleå, Sweden, expected to begin operating in late 2026.
• The project leverages existing iron-ore mining infrastructure at Gällivare/Malmberget, allowing multiple products to share an established cost base without needing rare earths to fund the original mine.
• LKAB secured an environmental permit for the Luleå industrial park in May 2025, marking a key step from laboratory ambition toward industrial-scale production.
• Critical unknowns remain: commercial REE recovery rates, NdPr output, operating costs, and full-scale capital requirements are yet to be disclosed.
• The longer-term Per Geijer deposit near Kiruna, with higher apatite concentrations, targets full-scale critical-mineral operations in the 2030s, pending further permitting and investment decisions.