Construction begins for Kiruna's new hospital

The Swedish government is standing by its decision to grant the mining company Boliden an extraction permit for the planned copper mine in Laver, outside Älvsbyn municipality in northern Sweden, reports SVT.

The decision was originally made in September 2025 but was appealed by two environmental organizations.

The government has now rejected the appeal, ruling that the national interest in valuable metals outweighs considerations for nature conservation and reindeer herding.

The Sámi kindergarten in Kiruna, Northern Sweden, is experiencing high demand and long waitlists this autumn, reports SVT News.

To comply with the Swedish National Agency for Education's guidelines of a maximum of 15 children per section, available spots are limited strictly to the openings left by children moving on to school. With only 11 spots opening up this autumn, an equal number of children have been left without a place for the 2026/2027 school year.

Principal Katarina Sixten Inga told SVT that demand has been unusually high over the past two years. Despite the premises currently being disrupted by ongoing renovations and expansion, every family on the waitlist has chosen to keep their spot in line.

Many parents are relying on temporary solutions, such as municipal kindergartens or help from grandparents, while they wait. The principal is therefore encouraging families to apply for a placement as early as possible.

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.

A new survey from Indikator Opinion for the Swedish Radio channel P4 shows that only 1 in 5 Swedes would consider moving north for work if they were offered 100,000 Swedish kroner (appr. 10,000 USD) in relocation assistance, reports Sveriges Radio.

The survey was conducted among a random sample of Swedes over the age of 18 and 2,044 people responded.

One of the questions was: Would you consider moving to Northern Sweden to work if you were offered a relocation allowance of SEK 100,000?

22 percent answered yes, 40 percent answered no, 13 percent did not know, and for 25 percent the question was not applicable (i.e. do not work/already live in Northern Sweden).

High North News has previously reported that the Swedish government will investigate a relocation allowance to make it easier for the unemployed to move to other parts of the country, including Northern Sweden.

Thirteen conscripts suffered frostbite during an exercise in Norrbotten, Northern Sweden, in February after the heater in their tent stopped working, according to SVT.

The number of people affected by frostbite in the Swedish defense sector has increased significantly this winter.

During the first two months of the year, 134 cases of frostbite were reported. In comparison, 47 cases of frostbite were reported in all of 2025.