Difficult relocation of a mining town of 18,000 in the Swedish Arctic

Every time you show off pharaonic translation From the center of his city in the Swedish Arctic, Kiruna Mayor Gunnar Selberg receives a lecture from a very disgruntled citizen: his wife.

“I tell him: can you imagine? We are part of this history, we are building new city, and the old one is destroyed’, he explained. AFPshowing a large model of the city’s redevelopment works.

“And she is angry with me, she is disappointed. She thinks it’s sad, she doesn’t want to see the old city anymore, it hurts…,” the mayor says in the big hall of his new town hall.

This city, located next to the largest underground mine in Europemust move his old historic center to allow him to continue digging into the huge vein of iron.

Its 18,000 inhabitants are divided before this colossal operation.

The city founded on the dawn twentieth centurywhile mining company LKAB, which is developing a huge iron deposit located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, just opened its new center in September, located just over three kilometers from the previous one.

FROM underground excavationsareas are at risk of collapse due to ground movements.

The first stages of the “relocation”, which is estimated at 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion) and heavily funded by LKAB, began 15 years ago.

According to the latest estimates, the work will still last from 20 to 30 years. Or maybe twice as much if the mine gets permission to dig further.

“Between Two Cities”

New City Hall, a round building designed by a Danish architect. Henning Larsenwas first opened in 2018.

Nearby is a large tower of a modern hotel, as well as a shopping center. A little further on, cranes are working to complete the construction of the pool.

But many, including the mayor, admit that change is not easy.

“People tend to think, ‘This is fantastic!’, ‘This is such a big project.’ The operator (mine) LKAB always sells a positive image where everyone is happy. But this is not the case with everyone, ”admits Selberg.

Residents complain they are “stuck between two cities,” the mayor says, or “still want to go to restaurants in the old town.”

Entire buildings in the old city, without their inhabitants or shops, are now protected by blue fences to prevent access before destroyed.

6,000 people are currently affected, but there could be more if lkab gets the go-ahead to dig further. The company also just announced the discovery of Europe’s largest rare earth deposit north of the city.

Entire buildings moved

time is running out Kiruna. In the largest school in the city, the new building of which has not yet been completed, large cracks begin to appear due to subsidence of the soil.

historical Buildings The most beautiful ones have been or will be handed over intact in special convoys. The magnificent red stave church, the pride of Kiruna, will suffer the same fate in 2026.

In her store – the oldest in the city, founded in 1907 – Marie-Louise Olsson does not really want to change.

LKAB, the owner of the gym, gave him a few more months on his contract if he accepted a severance package – about 65,000 euros ($70,400) – and moved to a new center.

“I am sad and disappointed,” lamented a 63-year-old woman who sells indigenous Sami souvenirs and handicrafts Lapland.

“The mine is needed, but I would like other companies to pay more attention. It is because of the mine that we cannot stay here for a few more years,” he told AFP at his shop in the increasingly developed area. ghost.

“Who can set the price for an individual story? You can never make up for it with money,” he says.

AFP