2nd Day in Kiruna

Our second day in Kiruna was spent on a tour of the LKAB Iron mine which is the main employer in the town. LKAB is the largest tunneled iron mine in the world and is working round the clock to meet increased worldwide demand. Our tour took us deep in the mine with a guide that showed us all aspects of the operation. They have developed a new technique that processes the iron ore into a customized pellet that can be shipped anywhere in the world to meet exact manufacturing specifications.

Because the mine and the town are so integrated, as the mine develops so does the city. The mine is tunneling towards the city underground as it follows a strong deposit of iorn. This has caused the above ground to become unstable causing cracks, cave-ins, and unsafe conditions in areas above. Because of this a large section of Kiruna, including the city hall, homes, and business areas will have to be moved. The time frame is in stages and a model in the city hall shows the anticipated plan. The scale of this move is enormous and will require state, local, and mine funding.

The people of Kiruna are very accepting of this move and see it as part of the condition of living near and with a mine.

In the afternoon, we left for a drive to the north through the mountains and lake country where many Swedes vacation in the summer and have summer homes. We went across the border into Norway for a fabulous view of the fjords seen from the top of the mountain.,