Kaunisvaara

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

Mining

Main article: Kaunisvaara mine

There are large magnetite (iron ore) deposits in this area; Northland Resources began constructing the first mine in December 2011.[1][2] Ore production was expected to begin in 2012,[3] with annual iron ore production reaching 12 million tonnes by 2014. Reserves are estimated at 176 million tonnes.[1]

Transport

To transport the ore there was a proposal to build a broad-gauge railway connecting the mine to the Finnish rail network.[4] 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.[5] 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. The trucks are specially-built Scania road-trains.[6]

History

In 2009, archaeologists commissioned by Northland Resources found evidence of stone-age settlements, dated to 9300BCE, in the area; this has shed new light on the timeline of deglaciation and human settlement in northern Europe.[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Northland Resources breaks ground for Kaunisvaara project". Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
  2. ↑ "Northland - Kaunisvaara - Tue Jul 5, 2011". Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
  3. ↑ "Northland finalises Cat/Bucyrus fleet for Kaunisvaara". International Mining. Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
  4. ↑ Railway Gazette International March 2010, page 12
  5. ↑ "Railway Gazette: Kaunisvaara iron ore logistics joint venture announced". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
  6. ↑ "New Scania roadtrains provide ultra-efficient outbound ore haulage in Sweden---only on Biglorryblog!". Biglorryblog. Retrieved 21 December 2012. 
  7. ↑ "Drygt 11000 år gammal boplats invid inlandsisen - NLL". Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
Resources in Sweden
Resources:
Iron:
Copper:
Molybdenum:
Zinc:

Coordinates: 67°23′N 23°21′E / 67.383°N 23.350°E / 67.383; 23.350

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