A town called Kiruna in northern Sweden, some 125 miles (200 kilometers) above the Arctic Circle is experiencing subsidence as a result of the world’s largest iron ore mine. Among various structures in the city of 18,000 people is a culturally significant 600-tonne wooden, comfortable terracotta-colored chapel built to imitate an indigenous Sami house. According to the Guardian, the fate of these structures and residences is entangled with the state-run corporation LKAB, which is the world’s largest iron ore mine and produces 80% of the European Union’s supply.
What will become of the town?
According to the Guardian, Kiruna is about to experience one of the world’s most drastic relocation initiatives in the next years, as the local iron ore mine threatens to swallow the town after fissures appeared in hospitals and school buildings. At least 6,000 people are expected to leave the sinking town, and their rent will be gradually increased over eight years to a maximum of 25% higher than the original rate.
Kiruna church
In 1912, the town became home to the 600-tonne wooden edifice with no religious emblem which was once described by the vicar, Lena Tjärnberg, as “the living room of the community”. After more than a century, Sweden’s most magnificent ancient building will be relocated in the next three years. The terracotta-colored chapel, meant to mimic a hut of the indigenous Sami people, will be relocated three kilometers east of the old town, near the local graveyard, according to the newspaper.
The LKAB
The mine in question was founded in 1900 and is operated by the Swedish state-owned firm LKAB, which also operates the world’s largest iron ore mine. However, the company aspires to be at the vanguard of Europe’s green industrial revolution and drive natural resource autonomy in the future, according to the Guardian. In 2021, the company began making fossil-free sponge iron by replacing coal with hydrogen generated by green electricity.
Last month, the company also announced that it possesses Europe’s largest known deposit of rare earth elements, some of which are critical in the production of electric car batteries and wind turbines. As a result, the Swedish Deputy Prime Minister, who is also in charge of climate and business, Ebba Busch said, “Sweden is a goldmine…Europe needs to learn the lesson, to not be so highly dependent on one single country for gas in the way we were (on) Russia.”
Speaking to reporters from inside the mine at the time, Busch stated that the finding of rare earth metals allows Europe to become less reliant on China, which accounts for 86% of the world supply, according to the Guardian.
How will it affect the local community?
Many people are concerned about the transition taking place in Kiruna, as the entire town is set to be relocated as a result of mining activity in the vicinity and the risk it poses to the town’s residents, notably the Sami people. The Sami people herded reindeer over the Arctic tundra for centuries before the LKAB launched mining operations in the area; now, indications indicate that their way of existence is under threat.
Furthermore, mining and human activities that have resulted in land fragmentation make reindeer herding much more difficult, while the climate catastrophe is already affecting the key winter food source for reindeer, lichen. According to the Guardian, the Sami people are also concerned that any disturbances to such an “ancient activity” may compromise their rights to the area.
An LKAB spokesperson, AndersLindberg, said, that two Samivillages have already adjusted their herding patterns since the mine opened, and the firm has become better at listening to herders’ concerns and attempting to reduce the impact of their activities. According to the study, another Sami hamlet called Gabna may have to adjust their herding routes as a result of the discovery of the new rare elements.