"Neo, through a special purpose entity, plans to explore and develop the Sarfartoq Project to further diversify its global sourcing of rare earth ore and to expand the rare earth supply chains that feed Neo’s rare earth separation facility in Estonia," the release said.
Neo CEO Constantine Karayannopoulos told The New York Times that his goal was to reduce the company's exposure to volatile global prices of ore. Neo buys semi-processed ore from Russia, the United States, and Australia.
The release noted that the Sarfartoq Carbonatite Complex has a mineral deposit enriched in neodymium and praseodymium, two essential elements for rare earth permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and high-efficiency electric motors and pumps that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Neo is also planning to build a greenfield rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing plant in Estonia to supply European manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles, wind turbines, and energy-saving electric motors and pumps, the release stated.