why have mines?5 Feb 2019 07:19
It leads Anders Lindberg, information manager at LKAB, to remind us why we have mines.
"Anyone who thinks that mines are only of ondo may prefer to set an example and leave 70 percent of all things at home that contain steel, because it comes from newly-broken iron ore. And of course the mobile, with its rare earth metals, ”he writes on the microblogging Twitter.
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PICTURE: Tilda Engman Henriksson | Anders Lindberg, Head of Information at LKAB, gives answers to speeches.
He emphasizes that "it is easy to sit with the world's best welfare and say that it is enough now, we have the minerals and metals we need".
"As if the people who want to leave poverty in the world are to build their water pipes, refrigerators, washing machines, hospitals and bicycles of moss and wood," Lindberg notes.
Furthermore, he points out that major investments in environmentally friendly things such as wind turbines, solar cells, electric cars and trains will require minerals, metals and mines.
Recycling then? Yes, of course. But steel is already recycled to 90 percent in the western world.
"Yet scrap is only enough for 30-40 percent of newly produced steel, the rest comes from mines," writes Lindberg.
Anders Lindberg and LKAB are of course party to the case. But his argument is a good reminder of the importance of the mines for our everyday lives.
Railways, tablets, stoves and dishwashers - everywhere in modern society, minerals and metals are needed. Without what is produced in the mines, Sweden would be a radically different country.
Of course, mines involve interventions in nature. But it is not that all the environment in northern Sweden is about to be destroyed by ruthless mining companies.
According to Statistics Sweden, there are 5.2 million hectares of mountain land in Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland and Dalarna. But in total there are currently only 9,000 hectares of mining land in the realm.
If Sweden were to double the land areas used for mines, this would be an increase to only 3.4 per thousand of all mountain areas.
Put differently: There is room for both new mines and other human activities in our vast country.
Mines can be developed in parallel with mountain tourism, reindeer herding, forestry, space activities and more.
In Expressen, Helena Grafström talks about Sweden having one of the world's most liberal legislation for mines to attract foreign investors.
But the fact is that Sweden has become less attractive to the miners, according to the Canadian think tank Fraser Institute
2016 ranked Sweden in 9th place in the world. Now Sweden has dropped to 16th place.
Many investors feel that extended environmental testing costs money and creates uncertainty.
Not even those who have received processing concessions can feel secure. Just take care of the mine in Kaunisvaara.
The decision on processing concession was decided by the government in 2009 - ten years ago.
On April 1, 2009, t
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