The ore which the mining company LKAB is extracting their iron ore from runs under the city center. The decision to move the city center has therefore already been made and the towns inhabitants have slowly started to prepare themselves for the dramatic changes. Originally the estimates were that the first houses in the city center would have to be demolished within 15-20 years, starting from year 2023.
However, new estimates from geologists in LKAB show that the first houses must be abandoned already within five years. Recent prognosis shows that the production in LKAB’s underground mines could reach the bedrock beneath the city center earlier already in 2018.
It is both apartment buildings and private houses which will have to be moved. These are houses where people have lived their entire life and people had slowly started to prepare themselves for the move. Then to be told that this process might be forwarded with five years came as a shock for many, according to SVT.se.
