"I say to him: + can you imagine? We are part of this story, we are building a new city while the old one is destroyed +", he explains to AFP, showing a large model of the reconstruction work of his city.

"And she gets angry with me, she's disappointed. She thinks it's sad, she doesn't want to see the old town anymore, it hurts her...", says the city councilor in the great splendid hall. of its new town hall.

Like the first couple of this city adjoining the largest underground mine in Europe, the ongoing abandonment of the old town center to allow it to continue to dig ever deeper into its immense iron seam divides the 18,000 inhabitants.

The city, founded at the dawn of the 20th century at the same time as the LKAB mining company to exploit a huge ferruginous deposit located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, has just inaugurated its new city center in September, at a little more than three kilometers from the old.

With the weakening of the subsoil, the old quarters simply risked collapse under the movements of the ground.

It's been 15 years since the first work on the "move" began, the bill for which is estimated at 3 billion euros and is partly paid for by LKAB.

According to the latest estimates, the site will last another 20 to 30 years, perhaps double if the mine obtains authorization to go even lower.

In the middle of the ford

The new town hall, a superb circular setting signed by the Danish architect Henning Larsen, was the first building to be inaugurated, in 2018. The iron clock that stood in the old town was symbolically installed in front of the entrance.

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The high tower of a modern hotel now faces it, as well as a large shopping mall.

A little further on, cranes are working on the swimming pool site.

But many, including the mayor, recognize that the transplant is difficult to take.

"People tend to think 'this is fantastic!', 'this is such a huge project'. The (mine) operator LKAB always sells a positive image, where everyone is happy. is not the case for everyone", recognizes Mr. Selberg.

"There, we are in the middle of the ford", he describes, with a city cut in two between what has not yet closed and what has just opened.

"People continue to want to go to a restaurant or go out in the old town, and at the same time the shops are opening here".

Entire buildings in the old city center, emptied of their occupants and their shops, are now surrounded by large blue palisades to block access, before their next demolition.

At present, 6,000 people are affected, but more if LKAB gets to dig deeper.

The company has also just announced the discovery of what would be the largest rare earth deposit in Europe, just north of the city.

Time is running out for Kiruna: the largest school in the city, whose new premises are not yet ready, is facing large cracks due to the subsidence of the ground.

At the town hall, there are worries that the current hospital will become unusable before the new one sees the light of day, in several years.

The most beautiful historic houses have been or will be transported, whole on special convoys.

The superb red wooden church, the pride of Kiruna, should take the same route in 2026.

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In her shop - the oldest in town, founded in 1907 - Mari-Louise Olsson really does not want to move.

ghost streets

The essential LKAB, owner of the premises, granted her a few months of additional lease, on the condition that she accept the compensation check - around 65,000 euros - and the location in a new modern shop in the new city center. .

"I'm sad and disappointed with all this," sighs the 63-year-old shopkeeper, who sells souvenirs and local crafts Sami, the indigenous people of Lapland.

"The mine is essential, but I would like there to be more consideration for other companies. It's because of the mine that we can't stay here for years to come," she told AFP. , while her daughter takes care of the customers.

The neighborhood of his childhood was razed last year, and his shop is one of the last still open in an old city center that is becoming more and more ghostly.

“Who can put a price tag on an individual story? It can never be compensated with money. it exists," she said.

© 2023 AFP