Kaunisvaara

Kaunisvaara is a village in northern Sweden, in Pajala Municipality, 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] The mine went bankrupt in October 2014 because of low iron ore prices and high debts.

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.[4]

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. ↑ "Drygt 11000 år gammal boplats invid inlandsisen - NLL". Retrieved 2011-07-05.

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