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30/06/2022

European high-tech mining provides raw materials for the green transition – Site visits in Sweden

A very big thanks goes to Euromines members Boliden, LKAB, Talga and Svemin for organising an exceptional field trip to mines in Northern Sweden! During the two-day visit Euromines team had a unique opportunity to tour an underground mine, visit an open-pit mine as well as an exploration site with a test mine.

Our first stop was in Kiruna, the legendary heart of LKAB’s business. There, LKAB mines its iron ore several hundred metres underground, in the mines in Kiirunavaara (Kiruna) and Malmberget (Gällivare) – the world’s two largest underground iron ore mines. We went down to 1365m below the ground where LKAB continuously automizes and decarbonizes its mining activities. Watch more about the LKAB’s work here(link is external)

The exploration sites and test mine of Talga in Vittangi will provide exceptionally high-grade graphite. What is exceptional is the fact that Talga alone could provide the EU’s demand for graphite. With access to clean renewable energy and a vertically integrated production process, Talga is uniquely positioned to become a major player in the growing green economy. See more about this unique site(link is external) 

At Aitik, one of the largest copper mines in the world located above the Polar Circle and the world’s most efficient open-pit mine, Euromines team could experience the fully electrified vehicles and mining equipment. Boliden is mining copper, gold and silver around the clock with some of the biggest machines in the world – see how small we are! They include rock dumpers weighing 570 tonnes when loaded, whose wheels alone are 4 metres across and excavators whose buckets can hold 45 cubic metres of rock! Electrification of rock trucks is a reality at Aitik. See the film(link is external)

European mining is a key enabler of the green and digital transition!

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