Gällivare - Iron Mines

The deposits of iron ore around Gällivare have been known since the 18th century. A British company began to work them in 1869 and built a railroad line to Luleå (1884), but six years later sold out to the Swedish government, which in 1957 took over another private company, Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB). The reserves of ore, with an iron content of 62-70%, are estimated at 400 million tons. The ore is mostly exported during the summer from Luleå; only a small proportion is processed in Luleå by the state-owned Svenska Stål company or in other Swedish steelworks.