A Swedish city is being moved — building by building — amid Europe’s minerals push

The ripple effects from Europe's increasing appetite for earthy materials widen each the mode to Sweden's acold north.

Thousands of residents and buildings are being uprooted successful Kiruna, a metropolis that lies 145 kilometers (90 miles) northbound of the Arctic Circle. The relocation task is regarded arsenic 1 of the world's astir extremist municipality transformations.

Kiruna is physically connected the determination due to the fact that of crushed subsidence from the enlargement of a sprawling underground robust ore mine. A caller location is being created astir 3 kilometers eastbound of the aged municipality arsenic portion of a multi-decade process that's expected to beryllium completed by 2035.

"It's a spot that would look exotic to truthful galore and, successful a way, I conjecture it is, but besides it is simply a tiny municipality similar truthful galore others — struggling with what they are struggling with and challenged by being truthful babelike connected 1 company," Jennie Sjöholm, elder lecturer astatine Sweden's University of Gothenburg, told CNBC by video call.

Established 125 years agone arsenic a metropolis for the robust ore mining operations of state-owned steadfast LKAB, Kiruna is simply a tiny assemblage that serves arsenic some a significant European abstraction hub and location to the world's largest underground robust ore mine.

LKAB is tiny successful planetary presumption but a highly important determination player, accounting for 80% of each robust ore mined successful the European Union.

Alongside its robust ore operations, which are integral to the steel-making process, LKAB precocious identified 1 of Europe's largest known deposits of uncommon earths, further strengthening its presumption successful the extraction of indispensable materials for the greenish transition.

There are respective obstacles to the palmy relocation of Kiruna, with players crossed the spectrum raising political, economical and biology concerns. Indeed, some the municipality and LKAB person called for greater fiscal enactment from the state, arsenic good arsenic the merchandise of much onshore to accommodate the transformation.

Others person besides flagged concerns astir the narration betwixt assets extraction and assemblage sustainability, peculiarly regarding the potential impact connected indigenous Sami reindeer herding and culture.

The city's relocation, which was archetypal planned successful 2004, received planetary attraction successful August 2025 during the spectacular move of its iconic Kiruna Church. In a feat of engineering, the 113-year-old timber gathering was moved successful its entirety by specialized trailers implicit a play of 2 days.

At astir the aforesaid time, however, LKAB besides announced the enlargement of its robust ore excavation would necessitate the relocation of an further 6,000 radical and 2,700 homes. The mining company, which is liable for the move, has estimated compensation costs of 22.5 cardinal SEK ($2.4 billion) implicit the adjacent 10 years.

Niklas Johansson, elder vice president of nationalist affairs and outer relations astatine LKAB, told CNBC that those being asked to relocate were being offered the marketplace worth of their property, positive an further 25%, oregon the operation of a caller home. Around 90% person elected to instrumentality a caller house, Johansson said.

"The occupation astatine the infinitesimal is that the section municipality has precise small onshore that they ain [or] that they tin make, from an administrative constituent of view, buildable," Johansson said.

"They person had to bargain onshore from the state, who owns astir of the onshore supra the Arctic Circle. And present you person conflicts with reindeer herding, conflicts with defense, conflicts with nature, etcetera," helium added.

Mats Taaveniku, president of the municipal assembly successful Kiruna, described the city's relocation arsenic a "huge project," that could output large opportunities for European citizens for decades to come.

A palmy outcome, helium added, hinges successful portion connected greater fiscal and governmental enactment from some the Swedish authorities and the European Union.

"We person what we tin telephone a large combat betwixt the municipality and LKAB, and the municipality and our ain government," Taaveniku told CNBC by video call.

"The EU has to measurement up to enactment us. It's not capable to marque a determination that we person captious and strategical minerals. They person to enactment america with governmental statements and money, of course," helium added.

CNBC has contacted spokespeople for the Swedish authorities and the European Commission, the EU's enforcement arm.

The EU, for its part, has recognized LKAB's caller uncommon earths deposit arsenic strategically important nether its Critical Raw Materials Act, a argumentation that aims for home accumulation to fulfill 40% of the region's yearly request by 2030.

Asked however Kiruna residents person reacted to the relocation effort, Taaveniku said: "Some of the citizens are bittersweet due to the fact that they volition suffer a batch of memories. They person grown up successful a location for 2 oregon possibly 3 generations, truthful this is sad."

"But connected the different hand, everybody knows, we unrecorded connected the minerals," helium said. "Kiruna is built connected the minerals, truthful each nonmigratory successful Kiruna knows that we person to determination from our homes sooner oregon aboriginal due to the fact that we are babelike connected this mining industry."

For those connected the move, 1 facet that has raised concerns is that Kiruna's caller metropolis whitethorn beryllium up to 10 degrees Celsius colder successful the winter.

A study by the University of Gothenburg recovered that Kiruna's caller metropolis halfway is laid retired successful a grid signifier successful an country wherever acold aerial collects, with gangly buildings and constrictive streets, meaning that the debased prima volition apt person trouble reaching the crushed for galore months of the year.

"Kiruna is simply a wintertime city. It's a cold, Arctic city. The winters are long, and you person a agelong snowfall season. It is seldom -35 [degrees Celsius] but it could beryllium that acold for a play of clip successful mid-winter and it's a precise large quality betwixt -15, which is not uncommon, and -25," Sjöholm said. A built practice specialist, Sjöholm has been pursuing the enactment connected the city's relocation for 25 years.

"It's already a agelong wintertime play and if it's cold, quality comfortableness decreases but besides things get much fragile, truthful to speak," she added.