A city in Sweden is forced to move completely after the discovery of the largest rare earth mine in Europe

Kiruna, a city of 23,000 inhabitants in Sweden very close to the Arctic, will have a new location due to the discovery of what could be the largest rare earth mine in Europe right next to the iron mine in the city itself.

Its new location will be located about 3 kilometers away. There, in what is nicknamed 'New Kiruna', it is intended to move building by building all the buildings in the city, a total of 450,000 square meters of public, residential, commercial and leisure buildings.. Among them, the local Lutheran church, built in 1912.

The process will also be long.. It is estimated that everything will not be finished moving until 2035 and, despite the fact that the inhabitants want to continue preserving their tradition, they also hope that the new place will have more pedestrian areas and easier access to nature to carry out all kinds of activities. outdoor activities.

Kiruna was built about 125 years ago precisely to house the employees who worked in the industrial complex in the area.. Its inhabitants are spread over 20,000 square kilometers and around 6,000 lakes, seven rivers and a large amount of forests.

The largest rare earth mine

The reason for its relocation is due to what could be the largest rare earth mine on the European continent. According to the mining company LKAB, it could contain some 585 million tons of ore, with at least one million tons of praseodymium or neodymium oxides, essential materials for making electric vehicles.

Even so, its exploitation will not be immediate and could take between 10 and 15 years, but it could mean a huge advance for Sweden in terms of ecological transition.. According to Ebba Busch, the Swedish Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry, “electrification, the self-sufficiency of the European Union and the independence of Russia and China will begin in the mine.”

With the new city, the Swedish government hopes to build a city designed to pay special attention to the environment, with more efficient buildings and a series of sustainable mobility solutions.

Although it poses a challenge for the authorities and its inhabitants, the works represent a further step in a country that wants to create energy communities “committed to making a difference” and for a government that in 2030 expects to reduce 70% of carbon dioxide emissions carbon from transport.