Kiruna, Sweden: Part 3 - Day 3: Iron ore mining tour

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 3.

13/7 Day 3: Short drive to Torneträsk. Guided mining tour with LKAB.

Costs

(1) Lunch in Glada Anka restaurant, Kiruna new town - Spring rolls SEK55

(2) 3-hour mining tour - SEK495

The Story

13072024 - Our stay in the hostel includes breakfast. It was a simple breakfast buffet and I was full with the addition of my boiled egg to my sandwiches and yoghurt.

My friend suggested to take a short drive out of Kiruna as we had seen most of the town yesterday evening. Her plan was to visit Abisko but I thought that we did not have sufficient time as we had booked a guided mining tour at 3pm. So, we stopped at a small lake - Torneträsk. It was very calming to sit there and enjoy the blue waters. We saw some big fishes too. We sat here for about 1.5 hours and chatted. 

On our drive back, we saw the hill that we hiked down the day before to see the midnight sun.

We parked our car in town center which is free and had a quick lunch before heading to LKAB Visitor Center. We were required to gather at the Visitor Centre about 5-10 minutes before the booked time. My simple lunch of vegetarian spring rolls.

It was a 3-minutes walk to the Visitor Centre. There were many visitors waiting in the centre. A staff came out at 5 minutes past 3pm and we were brought to a bus. The staff took our attendance and the bus driver drove us to the mining area where LKAB operations is. 

The bus went through a long and huge tunnel which could fit two buses and I felt like my chest was being pressured. The road in the tunnel was a proper road. We got off from the bus and was given helmets to wear, for safety precautions.

The staff who was our guide showed us the level we were at. We are at 740meter below sea level. Now, the mining is at 1365m below sea level where we were not allowed to enter. There are proper offices at that level. 

 

We were brought into a small theatre to watch the sustainable methods being developed for mining.

A robot dog is being used after an area is exploded, to assess if the air quality and area are safe enough for the miners to go in.

We got to sit in one of the excavators that are no longer in use.

Giant tyres!

We were given a brief explanation on how iron ore is mined and processed.

The guide explained to us on the move of Old Kiruna (purple on the screen) to New Kiruna (yellow on the screen). The grounds in Old Kiruna is unstable now due to the expansion of the mining area so all buildings are moved to New Kiruna, including the 400 year old church! Next summer 2025, the whole church will be moved as a whole on a wide trailer. Now, road widening works are being carried out to accommodate the church.

A bottom dumper to transport the mined iron ore.

Guide showing us how the iron ore is mined and transported.

There was a coffee break. There is a proper kitchen and dining room for the staff.

We got to take back some iron ore pellets.

After the guided tour, we were given time to explore the museum where the history of iron ore mining was described. Those are the spade heads used in the beginning. Definitely a very labour-intensive job!

We left the mine at 6pm and the bus driver dropped us off at the same place where we started. We bought a pizza and had it in our hostel. The whole evening was spent in the room. The guide told us too that every morning at 1.20am, explosion works are carried out and one can hear it if one is awake. Otherwise, one will not be waken by the noise. So, we put our alarm for 1.15am and I heard a low rumbling noise. It sounded like thunder was rumbling in the distance. It wa so cool to be able to hear it!

When I told some people that I did the guided mining tour, they asked me if it was enjoyable and worth it. Well, since it is not a cheap guided tour, I told them that you need to have an interest in mining and large machines. Otherwise, one can find all the information online.