By Rhodri Morgan
A company claiming to be sitting on what could become Europe’s first rare earths mine has chosen to list on London’s AIM market.
European Green Transition (EGT), a self-described ‘green economy asset developer’, is eyeing the development of a portfolio of European assets, with a particular focus on distressed and/or undervalued assets, including key metals and materials as well as solar and wind projects.
Led by a consortium of IPO veterans across the science and energy spaces, the group sees London as the prime base to begin taking advantage of a global market that is estimated could reach $21bn (£16.4bn) with the next decade.
Cathal Friel, EGT co-founder, said: “We have chosen to list in London as we are very confident in its depth of capital and talent, and its unique understanding of green economy projects.
“London is a world leading capital market for small cap companies, and in particular for European-focused businesses with strong credentials to support the energy transition, such as European Green Transition.”
The firm underwent a name change from European Green Metals to EGT earlier this month and its principal asset is the Olserum rare earth element (REE) project in Sweden.
REEs are a set of 17 metallic elements deemed crucial for the green transition for their usage across electric vehicles and wind turbines and EGT says the site has the potential to become Europe’s first operating rare earths mine.
EGT does not intend to operate a mine at the site, but monetise the asset “through sale or partnership with financial institutions or industry players.”
It also said it expected to benefit from the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which has been established to address critical supply shortages in Europe and sets parameters around extraction, refining and processing, recycling and external sourcing of critical minerals for the EU.
The company also owns copper and graphite assets in northern Sweden and critical mineral projects in Saxony, Germany.
No timeline or financial terms of the listing was provided by the company.
Last week, embattled mining giant Glencore shook off stirring talk from an activist investor that it should shift its listing from London, the de facto home of mining listings, to Sydney to jump-start its share price.
