In 2010, Swedish advanced iron ore products producer LKAB plans to start work for the exploitation of three new iron ore mines in Sweden.
According to a company statement, during the first half of 2010, LKAB plans to open an open-pit mine at Gruvberget, sixty kilometers southeast of Kiruna city, planning to mine a maximum of two million mt of iron ore per year. A ruling will be made on the issue by the Environmental Court in March, soon after which LKAB hopes to start production at the mine, the first one set up in Sweden by the company in the last 50 years.
In addition, LKAB will submit an application this year for a project to drain the Leveäniemi open pit, which was closed in the mid-1980s due to a downturn in the economy. Production is expected to commence within three to five years.
Another deposit has been discovered at Mertainen in the Svappavaara area, for which an application for test drilling will be submitted in 2010.
The three deposits together contain about 300 million mt of iron ore, with an iron content of between 40 and 55 percent. The company aims to deliver 37 million mt a year following commencement of production at all mines.