Kiirunavaara
| Kiirunavaara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 733 m (2,405 ft) |
| Coordinates | 67°49′37″N 20°11′05″E / 67.82694°N 20.18472°ECoordinates: 67°49′37″N 20°11′05″E / 67.82694°N 20.18472°E |
| Geography | |
| Location | Kiruna, Sweden |
Kiirunavaara (Northern Sami: Gironvárri or Kierunavaara) is a mountain in Kiruna, Sweden that contains one of the largest and richest bodies of iron ore in the world. The presence of iron in the area was known already in the mid-17th century, but at this early time communication lines to this northerly region were quite insufficient to permit any major exploitation. Only with the construction of a railway, the Iron Ore Line and the ports of Narvik and Luleå at the end of the 19th century did commercial mining become a realistic proposition. The Swedish mining company LKAB (Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag) has been mining the mountain since the beginning of the 20th century.[1]
The mining area around Kiruna and Malmberget and the iron port and steelworks at Luleå made Norrbotten County one of the first, and most prominent, regions of heavy industry in Sweden, and the wider region has remained at the forefront of mining and steel smelting and alloying technology.
