LKAB granted environmental permit for operations in Gällivare

The Swedish mining company LKAB has received an environmental permit from the Land and Environmental Court for its operations in Malmberget, Northern Sweden.

The permit covers both continued and expanded mining and processing activities in Malmberget, as well as measures to reduce impact on air and water. It also includes the establishment of a demonstration plant for fossil-free sponge iron production and a new processing plant for apatite to supply LKAB’s planned industrial park in Luleå with apatite concentrate.

From the apatite concentrate both phosphorus for mineral fertilizers and rare earth elements used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and the defense industry can be extracted.

“The permit is a prerequisite for securing our operations for decades to come. Our ambition is to gradually strengthen our competitiveness by further processing our pellets into fossil-free sponge iron, while also broadening our business with critical minerals. Our mines and the quality of our ore are an asset in the transition towards a sustainable future, and for increasing self-sufficiency in critical raw materials in Sweden and Europe,” says Johan Menckel, President and CEO of LKAB.