Sweden's LKAB plans temporary iron ore mining at Mertainen on pellet demand

摘要

London—Swedish pellet producer LKAB said it plans to temporarily open the Mertainen iron ore mine to produce 1 million mt of crude iron ore for six months, starting later in the second half of 2021. State-owned LKAB plans to operate the mine, close to its Svappavaara iron ore mining and pellet complex, to produce additional iron ore to meet demand, the company said in a Feb. 16 statement. The resources will help meet higher pellet demand as pellet premiums rose in the first quarter, and LKAB drew down stocks to meet orders last year. LKAB, the world's the second largest iron ore pellet producer, has seen shortfalls in production from its biggest mine at Kiruna since an earthquake in May affected access into some areas within the large underground mine.