Northland Resources SA welcomes the decision by the Swedish parliament to initiate a study with the objective of constructing a rail line between Kaunisvaara and Svappavaara in northern Sweden. A rail line means cost efficient transports for business and industry in a growing part of the Nordic region whilst also providing benefits from the perspectives of safety and the environment.
The Swedish Parliament resolved recently to examine without delay a possible rail line between Kaunisvaara and Svappavaara. A unanimous Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport and Communications backed the proposal, which also entails that the Swedish government, in its planning of measures, shall prioritize investments to promote the mining industry's transport needs, such as the ongoing upgrade of the road between Pajala and Svappavaara.
The Parliament's resolution confirmed the government's commitment to invest in the build out of mining related infrastructure, primarily in the province of Norrbotten. The government has previously allocated about SEK 2.1 billion to strengthen the roads between Pajala and Svappavaara, as well as the high capacity railway Malmbanan to Narvik.
Currently, Northland transports its high quality iron ore concentrate by truck on the 150 kilometer stretch between the mine area in Kaunisvaara and the reloading terminal in Pitkajarvi, close to Svappavaara.
Mr Karl-Axel Waplan CEO of Northland Resources SA said that "A rail line would strengthen our possibilities to transport our iron ore concentrate at a more competitive cost level. For producers of iron ore, logistics represent a major part of the production costs and a rail line combines important environmental, traffic safety and cost aspects. The planned rail line between our mine in Kaunisvaara and Svappavaara is a solution that will strengthen Northland's opportunities to conduct long term mining operations in Sweden, while other areas of business and industry in the region also would gain from a robust transport route that provides opportunities to access major export markets."
