Mine cracks will force 6,000 more people to move in Sweden’s Arctic city of Kiruna
- Two-thirds of Kiruna’s population will now need to move, it was announced Thursday, as cracks in the ground due to the iron ore mine underneath the town have spread farther than first thought, meaning another 6,000 residents will have to move within the next decade.
- Vice chair of the local council’s executive board, Niklas Sirén from the Social Democratic party says: “For the municipality, we’re at a threshold. We pushed ourselves to the limit of what we can do with our finances.”
- He also says the residents are reacting to Thursday’s news with mixed feelings, from disappointment to relief, but most are tired of living on a construction site. The mine is one of the biggest employers in the town.
Radio Sweden
For more on the shocking new numbers of people required to move, listen to Radio Sweden’s full report.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: How floor repair of ‘igloo church’ in Arctic Canada could offer deeper look into North’s permafrost, CBC News
Sweden: Wooden church in Arctic Sweden sets off on slow road trip to escape mining subsidence, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: Canada and U.S. make co-investment in Fortune Minerals N.W.T. project, The Canadian Press
