Cracks caused by LKAB’s underground mine undermined the ground and the whole community Swedish from Kiruna you will have to move. Sweden supplies 90% of Europe’s iron.
Just 160 kilometers from the Arctic Circle and very close to the border with Norway and with Finland, is the city that supplied iron to almost the entire country. Last year the project began to move three kilometers from where it is so that the extractions located at more than a thousand meters deep can continue.
Boring and tunneling in the caverns first began by weakening structures. However, with the passage of time, the metropolitan center of Kiruna was affected, causing cracks and subsidence of the ground.
Although the residential areas have already been evacuated and demolished, it was time for the rest of the city. Although, as published by the Swedish media SVT Nyheter, the move will be gradual and the 18 thousand inhabitants will be affected.
who comes first
The big problem for the rulers are the Kiruna merchants because no owner of the premises wants to be the first and only one in the new center; but, at the same time, no one wants to be the last and only one left in the old. Consequently, it must be done jointly, which is causing a great headache for the authorities.
The mining company, LKAB, has already paid almost $650 million and has set aside a staggering additional 11 billion kroons (close to $1 billion) for parallel social transformations in Kiruna and Malmberget. Although they warned that the moving process can last at least ten years.
New city
The new Kristallen town hall is since November 2018 the only building that is ready in the new center awaiting the next visitors. The KLAB company developed architectural projects that include a block with shops, homes, and a new cultural center.
New residential areas are also being built in other places on the outskirts of the city, which must be safe from the impact of the mine. The LKAB company has promised to build 1,500 more houses, according to SVT Nyheter.
May God move her
The Kiruna church, a 600-ton wooden building, will be dismantled and moved around 2025.
The neo-Gothic style church is one of the cultural attractions of the city. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, its interior altar presents an Art-Noveau design. Donated by the same company that deals with mining, the church was decorated by several renowned Swedish artists.
What is KLAB?
It is a state-owned company that deals with mineral extractions in all the country. And after an exploratory phase they found the The world’s largest iron ore mine in the city of Kiruna.
In a statement, the company reported that “it is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements” in that part of the world, while noting that “it could become an important basic element for the production of critical raw materials absolutely crucial for the green transition”.
According to CEO Jan Mostrom, the process for extracting raw materials could take more than a decade as a result of the concession and permit processes in the sector.
ecological extraction
According to reports, the company KLAB will use the new HYBRIT technology for cleaner steel production. “When we supply iron ore pellets, they contain iron and oxygen. To remove oxygen, our customers today use coal and carbon, which forms carbon dioxide. In this new process, hydrogen will be used, which by removing oxygen only produces iron steam. So it’s totally carbon dioxide-free production,” explained Susanne Eriksson Rostmark, research leader for the agency. Europa Press.
With the intention of getting ahead of China and the United States, the European Union (EU) Innovation Fund will contribute 143 million euros to this project.
What HYBRIT technology
By manufacturing one ton of steel, two tons of carbon dioxide are emitted, causing considerable environmental pollution. With the intention of producing fossil-free steel, the companies SSAB (Steel Production), LKAB (iron mining company) and Vattenfall (Swedish government owned electric company) came together to change the steel industry.
These companies created a “green” steel technology called HYBRIT, Hydrogen Breakthrough Iron Making Technology.
The process that led to the investment is to replace the process called “blast furnace” by one based on water using electricity from energy sources. That is, instead of carbon dioxide, water vapor will be formed.
NT / ED
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