Case Study: LKAB Iron Ore Mine In Kiruna
2.1 Case Study: LKAB Iron Ore Mine, Kiruna, Sweden The Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag, or LKAB, mine at Kiruna is the largest underground iron ore mine in the world, and is a significant regional employer in the northern Swedish county of Norrbotten. In this section, the author will detail key features of the LKAB Kiruna mine in order to explore where this case study fits into the conversation on mining trends in the Arctic.
2.1.1 History LKAB was founded in 1890, and in 1902 the Kiruna mine was connected to the southern harbor town of Luleå and to the northerly port of Narvik via a newly built railroad system. From these ports, the finished iron ore products could be shipped directly to customers around the world, enabling a relatively …show more content…
LKAB Academy, for example, provides financial support for local schools to improve the education, from preschool to upper secondary school, of the region’s youth, especially in the fields of science and technology. The greatest undertaking for Kiruna’s survival, however, has made international headlines: to avoid being sucked into a growing chasm caused by mining activities, Sweden’s northernmost town will need to move three kilometers from its current …show more content…
As a result, 6,000 people will need to be relocated in the next twenty years, along with twenty of the town’s most historic and culturally-meaningful structures, to stable ground. In 2014 the city and the company established the terms by which LKAB would compensate residents for the forced move, and in that year allocated 3.74 billion SEK for the process. These funds are expected to not only reimburse homeowners and finance the physical process of deconstructing and reconstructing the town, but to provide for a more modern and inviting town center that may entice new residents to the old town. Moving, regardless of the size of the move, is both physically and psychologically challenging. The Kiruna “Portal” addresses residents’ emotional concerns by enabling them to voice which parts of the town have special meaning to them and should also be moved, thereby empowering citizens to play an active role in the creation of the new Kiruna. The transformation of the LKAB iron ore mine at Kiruna from a hazardous place to live and work to setting the global standard for environmental mining initiatives and co-community development has been a 120 year process, and is a process that will continue for as long as the mine and the city evolve
2.1.1 History LKAB was founded in 1890, and in 1902 the Kiruna mine was connected to the southern harbor town of Luleå and to the northerly port of Narvik via a newly built railroad system. From these ports, the finished iron ore products could be shipped directly to customers around the world, enabling a relatively …show more content…
LKAB Academy, for example, provides financial support for local schools to improve the education, from preschool to upper secondary school, of the region’s youth, especially in the fields of science and technology. The greatest undertaking for Kiruna’s survival, however, has made international headlines: to avoid being sucked into a growing chasm caused by mining activities, Sweden’s northernmost town will need to move three kilometers from its current …show more content…
As a result, 6,000 people will need to be relocated in the next twenty years, along with twenty of the town’s most historic and culturally-meaningful structures, to stable ground. In 2014 the city and the company established the terms by which LKAB would compensate residents for the forced move, and in that year allocated 3.74 billion SEK for the process. These funds are expected to not only reimburse homeowners and finance the physical process of deconstructing and reconstructing the town, but to provide for a more modern and inviting town center that may entice new residents to the old town. Moving, regardless of the size of the move, is both physically and psychologically challenging. The Kiruna “Portal” addresses residents’ emotional concerns by enabling them to voice which parts of the town have special meaning to them and should also be moved, thereby empowering citizens to play an active role in the creation of the new Kiruna. The transformation of the LKAB iron ore mine at Kiruna from a hazardous place to live and work to setting the global standard for environmental mining initiatives and co-community development has been a 120 year process, and is a process that will continue for as long as the mine and the city evolve