Kaunisvaara mine

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Kaunisvaara mine

Tapuli02.jpg

Buildings at Kaunisvaara mine, after closure.
Location
Norrbotten County
Country Sweden
Production
Products Iron ore
History
Opened 2010

The Kaunisvaara mine was a large iron mine located in northern Sweden in the village of Kaunisvaara in Norrbotten County. Kaunisvaara represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in Sweden and in the world having estimated reserves of 872 million tonnes of ore grading 32.7% iron metal. [1]

Iron ore ore rich in iron or the element Fe

Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe
3O
4, 72.4% Fe), hematite (Fe
2O
3, 69.9% Fe), goethite (FeO(OH), 62.9% Fe), limonite (FeO(OH)·n(H2O), 55% Fe) or siderite (FeCO3, 48.2% Fe).

Sweden constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million of which 2.5 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi). The highest concentration is in the southern half of the country.

Kaunisvaara is a village in northern Sweden, in Pajala Municipality, 100 km north of the Arctic Circle.

Contents

History

Ore production began late 2012, with annual iron ore production planned to reaching 12 million tonnes later, according to the owner, mining company Northland Resources. Reserves are estimated at 176 million tonnes. The mine and mining company went bankrupt in October 2014 because of low iron ore prices and high debts.

Northland Resources S.A. also known as Northland is a publicly traded exploration and development mining company. It currently focuses on iron ore bearing properties located in the northern regions of Sweden and Finland. The company currently had two principal projects that are inactive: the Kaunisvaara iron concentrate project in Sweden, and the Hannukainen (IOCG) project in Finland. The projects are primarily located within the Pajala shear zone, in the northern Baltic Shield.

Transport

To transport the ore there was a proposal to build a broad-gauge railway connecting the mine to the Finnish rail network. [2] When Northland got permission to use the existing iron ore harbour in Narvik, the plans changed. The current system involves transporting the iron ore by truck to Svappavaara, and then along the Malmbanan to Narvik (in Norway) to be exported by ship. [3] In 2012, they got permission to run 90 ton trucks between the mine and the loading facility in Svappavaara. The weight limit was set as the bridge over Tärendö River can't handle more (even if a system was set up to make certain only one truck at a time used the bridge). The trucks are specially-built Scania R-series road-trains. [4]

Finland Republic in Northern Europe

Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a country in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Norway to the north, Sweden to the northwest, and Russia to the east. Finland is a Nordic country and is situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia. The capital and largest city is Helsinki. Other major cities are Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Oulu and Turku.

Narvik Municipality in Nordland, Norway

Narvik (help·info) (Norwegian) or Áhkanjárga (Northern Sami) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Beisfjord, Bjerkvik, Bjørnfjell, Elvegård, Skjomen, Håkvik, Hergot, Straumsnes, and Vidrek. The Elvegårdsmoen army camp is located near Bjerkvik.

Svappavaara Place in Lapland, Sweden

Svappavaara is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 417 inhabitants in 2010. It is a mining village. Mining was started around 1650. Large scale iron mining started in 1965. The mine was closed in 1983, but enrichment of iron ore from the mine at Kiruna is still going on. The mine is owned by LKAB, and there is an ongoing project to open it again for production around year 2015.

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Kiruna Place in Lapland, Sweden

Kiruna is the northernmost town in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality in Norrbotten County.

Ofoten Line railway line in Narvik, Norway

The Ofoten Line is a 43-kilometre (27 mi) railway line in Narvik, Norway. It runs from the Port of Narvik to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border, where the line continues as the Ore Line via Kiruna and Gällivare to Luleå. The Ofoten Line is single track, electrified at 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC and has seven stations. The line only connects to the rest of the Norwegian railway network via Sweden. The main traffic is up to twelve daily freight trains operated by Malmtrafik that haul iron ore from Sweden to Narvik. In addition, CargoNet operates container trains, branded as the Arctic Rail Express (ARE), and SJ operates passenger trains, including a night train to Stockholm.

Iron Ore Line railway line in northern Sweden and Norway

The Iron Ore Line is a 398-kilometre (247 mi) long railway line between Riksgränsen and Boden in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The line contains two branches, from Kiruna to Svappavaara and from Gällivare to Koskullskulle. The term is often colloquially used to also include the Ofoten Line, from Riksgränsen to Narvik in Norway, and the northernmost part of the Main Line Through Upper Norrland from Boden to Luleå. The railway from Narvik to Luleå is 473 kilometres (294 mi) long.

Iore class of 26 Co′Co′ electric locomotives used for hauling iron ore in Norway and Sweden

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LKAB Malmtrafik, earlier Malmtrafik i Kiruna AB (MTAB), is a Swedish railway company which operates the iron ore freight trains on the Iron Ore Line and the Ofoten Line. MTAB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the mining company Luossavaara–Kiirunavaara (LKAB). In Norway, operations are handled by the subsidiary Malmtrafikk AS (MTAS). Malmtrafik hauls ore from LKAB's mines in Kiruna, Malmberget and Svappavaara to the ports of Luleå and Narvik, the latter located in Norway. The company owns 28 Iore locomotives and 750 hopper cars. Each train is 68 cars long and weighs 8,600 tonnes, allowing the company to transport 33 million tonnes per year.

Kiirunavaara mountain in Kiruna, Sweden

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Mining in North Korea is important to the country's economy. North Korea is naturally abundant in metals such as magnesite, zinc, tungsten, and iron; with magnesite resources of 6 billion tonnes, particularly in the Hamgyeong-do and Jagang-do provinces. However, often these cannot be mined due to the acute shortage of electricity in the country, as well as the lack of proper tools to mine these materials and an antiquated industrial base. Coal, iron ore, limestone, and magnesite deposits are larger than other mineral commodities. Mining joint ventures with other countries include China, Canada, Egypt, and South Korea.

Kiruna Wagon AB is a Swedish company specialised in the custom design and manufacture of ore wagons. Kiruna Wagon was established in 2004 and is owned by mechanical engineering companies Nybergs Mekaniska Verkstad and Rönnqvist & Wettainen. The company headquarters and workshop are in Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost city and the country's mining capital.

References

  1. ↑ "Kaunisvaara Iron Ore Mine, Norrbotten, Sweden". mining-technology.com. 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  2. ↑ Railway Gazette International March 2010, page 12
  3. ↑ "Railway Gazette: Kaunisvaara iron ore logistics joint venture announced". Railway Gazette International . Retrieved 2011-07-05.
  4. ↑ "New Scania roadtrains provide ultra-efficient outbound ore haulage in Sweden---only on Biglorryblog!". Biglorryblog. Retrieved 21 December 2012.

Coordinates: 67°23′29″N23°19′10″E / 67.3914°N 23.3195°E / 67.3914; 23.3195

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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