LKAB writes up ore reserves and ore resources significantly after the 2021 explorations, and this applies to the mines in all locations, ie Kiruna, Malmberget and Svappavaara.

The new total reserve and supply of iron ore is now four billion tonnes.

This should be compared with the fact that LKAB has broken out two billion tonnes since its inception in 1890.

- Since 2018, we have invested SEK 1.2 billion in exploration and in 2021 alone, we have test drilled the equivalent of 200 kilometers.

Already in 2020, the mineral resources were significantly expanded and this year they increased further and amount to a total of almost 2.8 billion tonnes.

The goal of securing mineral resources of at least 1,000 Mt in Kiruna, 500 Mt in Malmberget and 250 Mt in Svappavaara has thus been achieved, which means that we have good conditions for production until 2060, says Pierre Heeroma, Director of Exploration, Strategy and Business Development. at LKAB ..

Finds in the Kiruna mine

The main finds have been made in the existing Kiruna mine, where it is expected that today's main level, which was inaugurated in 2013, can be used significantly longer than previously thought - until 2046.

This gives LKAB significantly more time to plan for the future mining.

Promising future

One such future aspect is the so-called Per Geijer ore, which is located a few kilometers east of the Kiirunavaara mine.

It can be seen as LKAB's future in Kiruna and for the first time, LKAB can show with figures a promising future for the size of that ore.

- For the first time, we can report results from the so-called Per Geijer deposit north of Kiruna.

There, we have so far found just over 400 million tonnes in mineral resources with high iron contents, and for us this means that there should be good conditions for a long-term future for our Kiruna operations, says Pierre Heeroma, director.

The Per Geijer ore is also rich in phosphorus that can be used for the production of artificial fertilizers, which could be a future product given the price increases and the war in Ukraine.

Rare earth metals are also reported for the first time in the exploration results.