Government forces Kiruna to adopt local plan

Under the Planning and Building Act, the Swedish government has decided to order the municipality of Kiruna to adopt a local plan to enable mining activities at the graphite deposit in Nunasvaara. The deposit contains high levels of graphite and is of national interest for valuable substances.

The municipality has previously decided to suspend the planning work, but the government considers it urgent that a detailed plan be adopted as soon as possible.

"Graphite is an important mineral in battery production and the green transition. The European battery industry is currently dependent on imports, while China intends to introduce export restrictions that could jeopardize the entire battery value chain. The government has made this decision based on the fact that the area is of national interest for the extraction of valuable substances and materials,” says Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson.

The company Talga has requested that the government order Kiruna municipality to adopt a local plan that allows land impact from the mining industry at the graphite deposit. The government has now decided that Kiruna municipality must adopt a local plan that allows mining activities by May 16.

The Nunasvaara graphite deposit is one of the best in the world. Talga expects to extract 16% of the EU's natural graphite demand by 2030. Today, China controls over 90% of the battery graphite anode value chain. Two years ago, the Land and Environment Court granted Talga a permit to mine 120,000 tons of graphite per year in Nunasvaara.

The graphite mining is part of Talga's plans to produce battery anodes for electric vehicle batteries. The graphite mined in Vittangi will be the raw material for the production of battery anodes in a new factory in Luleå.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com