The Sydvaranger Mine company last Thursday detonated the first explosives in its mine south of Kirkenes, thus marking the restart of iron mining in the Arctic border town.
Since the Syd-Varanger company closed down in 1996, the mining town of Kirkenes has had to do without miners. Now the restart of the industry opens a new era in the small town. In the course of the few next months, the mines will be back up running. The project has an estimated mine life of 19 years at an annual production rate of 7 Mtpa of mill feed.
Kirkenes town Mayor Linda Randal says to newspaper Sør-Varanger Avis that the mining industry might help the region get better prepared also for other industry. -I am confident that this makes us more attractive also for the Shtokman [developers] and for the eastern Barents Sea, she said in a mine opening ceremony last Thurday.
Commissioning of the operation is expected this summer, the mine developers say. It is the company Sydvaranger Mine which will be the mine operators. Sydvaranger Mine is owned by Northern Iron, an Australia-registered company controlled by Norwegian Tschudi Shipping.
