MINEX Forum

Tag: Energy Transition Minerals

  • Energy Transition Minerals Claims Greenland Expropriated Kvanefjeld Rare Earth Project Through Uranium Ban

    Energy Transition Minerals Claims Greenland Expropriated Kvanefjeld Rare Earth Project Through Uranium Ban

    Energy Transition Minerals (ASX: ETM) has accused Greenland of effectively seizing one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits outside China by blocking development of the Kvanefjeld project and refusing to renew its exploration licence.

    The Australian-listed company has invested approximately $150 million in the project since 2013, advancing it through resource definition, environmental studies, and public consultation before submitting a mining licence application in late 2020. However, Greenland’s coalition government subsequently enacted Act 20, legislation banning projects with uranium concentrations exceeding 100 parts per million, effectively halting Kvanefjeld’s application. Managing director Daniel Mamadou contends the legislation was specifically designed to stop the project after the government campaigned against its development. The dispute has escalated into a legal battle spanning more than three years of arbitration and court proceedings, with the central question being whether Act 20 applies retroactively to Kvanefjeld and whether such application constitutes expropriation. ETM argues that exploration results from 2025 identify rare earth mineralization with uranium levels well below the legal limit in unexplored areas, and proposes separating uranium from rare earth concentrate and permanently returning it underground. Kvanefjeld hosts critical rare earth elements including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium, essential for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defence technologies.

    ETM previously estimated the project could supply up to 15% of global rare earth production, potentially providing Europe with a significant non-Chinese source of critical minerals. While pursuing Kvanefjeld through legal channels, ETM has diversified by acquiring the Penouta brownfield project in Spain, aiming to restart Europe’s only producing tantalum mine.

  • Energy Transition Minerals Secures Final Approval to Revive Penouta Mine as EU’s Only Domestic Tantalum and Niobium Source

    Energy Transition Minerals Secures Final Approval to Revive Penouta Mine as EU’s Only Domestic Tantalum and Niobium Source

    Energy Transition Minerals has secured the final regional approval needed to take over the Penouta tin, tantalum and niobium mine in Galicia, Spain, moving a step closer to making it the European Union’s only domestic primary source of two critical raw materials that Europe currently imports almost entirely from overseas.

    The Xunta de Galicia has authorised the transfer of the Section C mining concession at the Penouta mine in Viana do Bolo, Ourense, to ETM’s Spanish subsidiary, formally recognising the company as the incoming holder of mining rights. The approval is the final regional step in ETM’s rescue of the project from the insolvency of previous operator Strategic Minerals Spain, which collapsed in 2024 and halted production.

    The strategic significance is considerable. Europe mines almost none of the metals Penouta produces. Over 80% of the world’s niobium comes from Brazil, most tantalum is mined in the DRC and Rwanda, and critical minerals processing is dominated by China. Tantalum prices have reached multi-decade highs this year following supply disruption in central Africa. Both tantalum and niobium are designated critical raw materials by the EU, the US and Australia, with applications across semiconductors, capacitors, high-performance aerospace and defence alloys, and energy transition technologies.

    Penouta retains its open-pit mine, a processing plant tailored to its ore type and supporting infrastructure representing a historical investment of approximately €28 million. The site covers 282 hectares and holds certified measured and indicated resources of more than 76 million tonnes under NI 43-101 standards. Mineral resources in the area were exploited from the early 20th century through the 1980s, with exploration reactivated in 2011 by Strategic Minerals Spain.

    ETM has signed a memorandum of understanding with commodity trader Traxys for offtake of concentrate from the mine. Managing director Daniel Mamadou said the company intends to reactivate Penouta responsibly, retaining experienced local staff, prioritising local hiring and working closely with the Viana do Bolo municipal council. “Europe has spent years talking about reducing its dependence on a handful of distant suppliers for the metals its industries cannot do without. Penouta is one of the few places on the continent where that ambition can actually be met — and met soon,” he said.

    The Penouta news comes the same week that Greenland formally rejected ETM’s application to renew the exploration licence for its Kvanefjeld rare earth project, after the Greenland government gave the company 48 hours to respond to technical assessments and refused a one-week extension.

  • Greenland Formally Rejects ETM’s Kvanefjeld Rare Earth Licence Renewal Citing Uranium Law as Company Condemns “Compressed Timeframe”

    Greenland Formally Rejects ETM’s Kvanefjeld Rare Earth Licence Renewal Citing Uranium Law as Company Condemns “Compressed Timeframe”

    Greenland’s government has formally rejected Energy Transition Minerals’ application to renew its exploration licence for the Kvanefjeld rare earth project, also known as Kuannersuit, dealing a potentially decisive blow to one of the world’s largest undeveloped rare earth deposits after a five-year regulatory impasse triggered by the island’s 2021 uranium mining ban.

    “Further exploration in the area is not deemed likely to lead to the discovery of deposits that can be exploited in accordance with the Uranium Act,” the government said in a statement. The decision follows a 2021 ban on uranium mining enacted by the then-ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit party — which effectively halted Kvanefjeld’s development because uranium occurs as a byproduct of the rare earth deposit — and a draft decision signalled to ETM in April indicating the government intended to recommend rejection.

    ETM, a unit of Australia’s Energy Transition Minerals, criticised both the decision and the process leading to it. The company said Greenland’s Ministry of Mineral Resources held its application for nine months before giving it 48 hours to respond to technical geological assessments and refusing a requested one-week extension. “The compressed timeframe meant the decision did not take account of ETM’s recent exploration results, which identified new mineralised zones across the wider licence area,” the company said. ETM also noted the contradiction between the rejection and Greenland’s stated positioning as open for mining investment. “Greenland has positioned itself as open for business. This decision creates a different impression,” it said.

    Greenland’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Foreign Affairs Mute Egede, who was prime minister when the uranium ban was enacted in 2021, said the decision was based on legislation passed by parliament and reflected the long-standing position of communities in South Greenland. “We remain committed to the course Greenland has chosen,” he said.

    The rejection ends ETM’s current licence path at Kvanefjeld, though the company has indicated it will continue pursuing legal options and dialogue. ETM is separately in dispute with Chinese shareholder Shenghe Resources after terminating a 2018 joint development agreement for the project in April.

  • Portugal Unveils €400 Million Aljustrel Mine Expansion as Prime Minister Backs Mining as Pillar of Economic Sovereignty

    Portugal Unveils €400 Million Aljustrel Mine Expansion as Prime Minister Backs Mining as Pillar of Economic Sovereignty

    Portugal has inaugurated a €400 million expansion at the Aljustrel copper and zinc mine in the Beja district, with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro framing the investment as essential to building a “modern, productive and sovereign Portugal” as the country positions itself as a strategic supplier of critical raw materials for Europe’s energy transition.

    The project, developed by ALMINA – Minas de Portugal over five years and branded Feeding the Global Energy Transition, has received approximately €128 million in funding from Portugal’s Plan for Recovery and Resilience. The expansion significantly increases the mine’s processing capacity to six million tonnes of copper and zinc ore annually and includes a new solar photovoltaic facility capable of generating more than 40,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year for the mine’s own consumption. The upgraded processing plant enables copper and zinc ores to be treated simultaneously, improving metal recovery rates and creating additional value while helping offset commodity price and currency volatility.

    ALMINA chairman Humberto Costa Leite described the investment as placing the company at the forefront of modern mining, invoking the mine’s deep strategic significance. “There is no energy transition without a digital revolution, and there is no digital revolution without mining. Mining is kilometre zero of modern life, and that kilometre zero has a historic address: Aljustrel,” he said.

    Looking ahead, ALMINA is awaiting environmental approval for a further €150 million investment over four years to develop the Gavião copper deposit, and has invested €10.8 million in exploring the Albernoa zinc and copper deposit, where experimental exploitation is planned. Costa Leite criticised regulatory delays, warning the company has already lost more than a year awaiting approval to advance Albernoa. “We need the state to be a facilitator, not an obstacle to wealth creation,” he said, calling for faster licensing procedures and stronger support for mineral exploration.

    The chairman also highlighted the financial burden of energy costs, noting ALMINA faces monthly electricity bills exceeding €2 million, and urged the government to adopt long-term energy policies to support the mining industry’s competitiveness.

  • Greenland Rejects Kvanefjeld Licence Renewal, Dealing Blow to Rare Earths Project

    Greenland Rejects Kvanefjeld Licence Renewal, Dealing Blow to Rare Earths Project

    Energy Transition Minerals (ASX: ETM) said on Tuesday that Greenland does not intend to renew the exploration licence for its Kvanefjeld rare earths project.

    The draft decision represents another setback for one of the territory’s largest undeveloped critical minerals projects, which would include a mine, concentrator and refinery.

    The move stems from Greenland’s 2021 Uranium Act, which effectively prohibits uranium prospecting, exploration and extraction, and is currently the subject of ongoing legal proceedings over its application to Kvanefjeld.

    ETM said similar licences have been renewed since the Act was introduced, raising concerns about regulatory consistency.

    “This draft position appears inconsistent with the historical treatment of the project,” the company said in an emailed statement, noting that Greenland had previously extended the licence even after the uranium legislation came into force and while legal disputes were ongoing.

    ETM said the decision risks sending a broader signal to investors at a sensitive time for Greenland, which is at the centre of increasing geopolitical competition over critical minerals supply. Western governments, including the US and Europe, are seeking to reduce their dependence on China.

    Mining is widely seen as a way for Greenland to diversify its economy, so policy changes that appear to alter the rules may increase concerns about regulatory stability and the long-term commitment to the sector, ETM said.

    The draft outcome also follows Greenland’s efforts to engage with industry at January’s PDAC convention in Canada earlier this year, adding to questions over the direction of policy.

    Shares in ETM fell 7.4 per cent to A$0.050 in Sydney during the first trading session after a halt last week, giving the company a market value of about A$118.7 million. The broader S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5 per cent. Since the start of the year, the stock has lost half its value.

    Spain support

    The share price decline came despite ETM also securing foreign direct investment approval from the Spanish government for its proposed acquisition of the Penouta tin-tantalum mine.

    The approval removes a key regulatory obstacle, confirms that the investment meets national security requirements, and endorses the company’s financial strength and suitability to operate strategic assets in Spain, marking progress towards completing the deal.