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LKAB Works toward Start-up of Three New Iron Ore Mines
03/31/2010 - LKAB plans to open an open-pit mine at Gruvberget during the first half of 2010, and also is planning to submit applications for a project to drain the Leveäniemi open pit and for test drilling for the Mertainen deposit in the Svappavaara area.
LKAB, Sweden, recently announced plans to open an open-pit mine at Gruvberget, near Svappavaara, during the first half of 2010, from which it will mine a maximum of two million tonnes of iron ore per year. LKAB hopes to start production soon after the Environmental Court is to make its ruling, which is scheduled to take place in March.
According to LKAB's President and CEO, Lars-Eric Aaro, this will be the first time in more than fifty years that LKAB has opened a new iron ore mine. The start-up will mean about fifty new jobs.
Also this year, LKAB is planning to submit applications for a project to drain the Leveäniemi open pit and for test drilling for the Mertainen deposit in the Svappavaara area. The company expects to commence production at the Leveäniemi open pit, which was closed in the mid-1980s due to a downturn in the economy, within three to five years.
The three new mines will help LKAB increase its capacity toward its aim of delivering 37 million tonnes of finished products per year, according to Lars-Eric Aaro.
“We see an increase in demand for iron ore products,” said Aaro. “Our customers want to grow, and we need to be able to grow with them. LKAB has expanded its capacity at surface level over the past five years. With two new pelletizing plants and an upgraded logistics structure, access to crude ore is the bottleneck in the chain of production. We need more iron ore.”
All three mine sites are within LKAB's immediate vicinity, which facilitates the start-up of mining operations. Much of the necessary infrastructure — including roads, processing plants, transportation systems and harbors — is already in place. The three deposits will be mined via open pits and the production structure will be flexible.
The company said that production at the three mines will depend on prevailing economic conditions. “In times of high demand, mining production will be in full swing,” said Per-Erik Lindvall, Senior Vice President, Technology and Business Development, LKAB. “If there is a downturn, the mines can be mothballed.”
Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) is an international high-tech minerals group, one of the world’s leading producers of upgraded iron ore products for the steel industry and a growing supplier of industrial minerals products to other sectors. LKAB has around 3700 employees, including 600 outside Sweden.
