A recent decision by the Swedish Geological Survey (SGU) has completed the demarcation of battery anode and graphene additives company Talga Resources’ Vittangi graphite project, in northern Sweden, as a mineral deposit of national interest.
This designation adds support to consider the exploitation of Vittangi as a mineral deposit when government authorities review development plans and any potential competing land uses.
Under the Swedish Environmental Code, deposits of valuable substances or materials can be defined as being of national interest, meaning municipalities and central government agencies may not authorise activities that might prevent or significantly hinder exploitation of the mineral deposit.
The national interest area covers the entirety of Talga’s currently defined Vittangi graphite resources, and undrilled extensional deposits.
The SGU also noted that the Vittangi graphite deposit's significance to the country's supply capacity and its special material properties and concluded the deposit constitutes a unique natural asset of valuable substances or materials.
According to a statement on June 18, SGU considers locally produced graphite could help strengthen the competitiveness of the Swedish battery manufacturing industry and that, as the known highest-grade graphite deposit in the world, Vittangi could “meet a great need not only within Sweden but internationally”.
The decision takes note of the European Commission’s listing of graphite as a critical raw material and their warning that a lack of access to such critical commodities could slow the development of fossil-free energy sources.