Kiruna, the largest underground iron ore mine in the world, has been in operation since 1900. But recent years have brought change for the residents of the nearby town. In coming decade, the 23,000 people and their homes and businesses will move three kilometers (nearly two miles) away(Kiruna Iron Mine, 2016).
The Kiruna mining district belongs to the northern Norrbotten ore province and is known as the type locality for Kiruna-type iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposits, hosting the world-class Kiirunavaara deposit. the ore reserves in the Kiruna area are estimated at 830 million metric tonnes (Mt) with a grade of 41.5% Fe. Recent exploration efforts indicated resources with a significant amount of apatite-hosted phosphorus and rare earth elements (REEs) in the stratigraphically overlying magnetite-hematite–dominated Per Geijer IOA deposits. The mining district also hosts other important deposit types, such as the iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG)-style Rakkurijärvi and Pahtohavaare deposits and stratiform copper deposits in the Viscaria and Eastern Pahtohavare area(Veress et al., n.d.).
Reference:
- Kiruna Iron Mine. (2016, October 29). [Text.Article]. NASA Earth Observatory. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/89010/kiruna-iron-mine
- Veress, E., Andersson, J. B. H., Popova, I., Annesley, I. R., & Bauer, T. E. (n.d.). Three-Dimensional Geologic Modeling of the Kiruna Mining District, Sweden: Insights into the Crustal Architecture and Structural Controls on Iron Oxide-Apatite Mineralization | Economic Geology | GeoScienceWorld. Retrieved July 11, 2025, from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/segweb/economicgeology/article/119/5/1089/645001/Three-Dimensional-Geologic-Modeling-of-the-Kiruna
