 Kiruna Mine and townsite from Landsat, 2016 | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Kiruna mine Location in Sweden | |
| Location | Kiruna |
| Municipality | Lapland |
| Country | Sweden |
| Coordinates | 67°51′01″N 020°11′34″E / 67.85028°N 20.19278°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 26.9 million tonnes |
| Financial year | 2018 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1898 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB |
The Kiruna mine is the largest and most modern underground iron ore mine in the world.[1][unreliable source?] The mine is located in Kiruna in Norrbotten County, Lapland, Sweden.[1] The mine is owned by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB), a large Swedish mining company. In 2018 the mine produced 26.9 million tonnes of iron ore.[2] The Kiruna mine has an ore body which is 4 km (2.5 mi) long, 80 metres (260 ft) to 120 metres (390 ft) thick and reaching a depth of up to 2 km (1.2 mi). Since mining began at the site in 1898, the mine has produced over 950 million tonnes of ore.[1] As of 2020, the main haulage level is 1,365 m below the ore outcrop at Kiirunavaara that existed prior to mining.[3]
In 2004, it was decided that the present centre of the city would need to be relocated to accommodate mining-related subsidence. The relocation would be made gradually over decades.[4]
On May 18, 2020 an earthquake of approximate 4.9 Mw was triggered in the footwall of the mine.[5] The earthquake was not natural but induced by the mining activity.[5]
- ^ a b c "Kiruna Iron Ore Mine, Sweden". mining-technology.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Mining". LKAB. 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
structural2021was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Michael, Chris (2 December 2018). "'Will I have existed?' The unprecedented plan to move an Arctic city". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ a b Setså, Ronny (May 20, 2020). "Derfor ristet Kiruna". geoforskning.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2020.