«Our Scandinavian August» (the notes of an adventure seeker)

This day was going to bring us lots of events. After breakfast we went to the Tourist centre.

Some words should be said about Kiruna. The name Kiruna is a Swedish version of the Sami word giron, which means ptarmigan (the symbol of the settlement). It is a small town with population of about 23000 people. Kiruna grew around the mine. The earliest report of the existence of iron ore in Kiruna was made in 1696. There are 2 iron-bearing mountains near Lake Luossajarvi – Kiirunavaara and Luossavaara. The ore body of the second mountain is almost exhausted and not excavated. Now it serves skiers by its ski slopes. But that of the first one is exploited. And the Infomine was set for tourists at the 540-m level below the original peak of Kiirunavaara. And we were going to visit this fantastic depth.

The LKAB (Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB) Company has been exploiting the ore body of Kiirunavaara Mountain since 1900. And it organises excursions in the Infomine. That is why we came to the Tourist centre to take the bus to get to the underground of Kiirunavaara. Soon it picked us up to “deliver” straight into the mountain. We were travelling down through the mine until the LKAB’s buss stopped at a level of 540 m below the original peak of Kiirunavaara. Our English speaking guide met us here, so I had to become a translator for my group. We were taken through this mine which had some exhibitions. To tell everything we knew about would be impossible in my story. I’ll try to enlighten the major features.

The ore body in Kiruna is about 4 km long and has an estimated depth of 2 km. The predominant mineral in the mines is magnetite. Magnetite has high iron content and it is magnetic, which is favourable in the upgrading process. In the past, main levels in the Kiruna mine have been built at the 275, 320, 420, 540, and 775–meter levels (below the original peak of Kiirunavaara). The current main level is at 1045 meter. Iron ore is excavated here 24 hours a day. The process chain looks like this.

First a special machine drills holes in the ore body. In these holes a bomb should be put. Then it is blasted (blasting actually is done only at night before 2.30 a.m. and 3.00 a.m., so the local people could feel something like a small earthquake). The crude ore is loaded to trucks or trains by a loading machine, hauled to a central crushing plant, and then hoisted to surface level by a lift with high speed (17 m/sec – I did not believe!!!) for further processing. The sorting (concentrating) plant upgrades ore to fines, when the pelletizing plant makes pellets, the main product of LKAB, with very high iron content. From the pelletizing plant pellets are automatically loaded to railway cars for further transport. Every day 11 trains are going to the Narvik harbour (Norway), where ships are loaded with pellets to distribute it to the customers in the rest of Europe, and only 1 train is going to Lulea, the port on the Baltic Sea. Narvik has a huge benefit, that the Norway Sea is never frozen and free of ice all year round due to the Gulf Stream. Of course, it is favourable for shipping.

Our group also was shown the film about the operating of LKAB; we also visited a museum, where we could see the equipment of “ancient times”. The guide demonstrated us the drilling and loading machines of modernity, which impressed us by their big sizes. We were allowed to take the small packs with pellets.

In the end it should be said that many machines are remote-controlled that increases the security of the workers. And this is no wonder because the main motto of the company is: ”Safety first!”

After such an exciting journey, which lasted 2 fours, it is not bad to have dinner. We came back to the camping, and after eating went to climb Luossavaara Mountain. There was an ecological trail we were following. It was cold and windy, that a bit complicated our walk. But I did not mention that surrounding has radically changed over the past 2 days. It is the transition from one natural zone to another. Before this moment we could see the taiga with its coniferous forests. And in Norrbotten we saw the Lapland fir tree. Kiruna is located on the Norland plateau, which elevates at 500 m above the see level. The higher we climbed, the more species of tundra’s flora we found. The Kiruna is located in transitional natural zone between taiga and tundra. The coniferous species of trees are gradually replaced by little birches. You will find hardy shrubs, mosses, and lichens higher. At the top of the mountain the group took some photos.

We passed all the trace, which led to the camping, through. Some students took several minerals with themselves because of Alexandr’s request. Our group leader provided us with free time to go sightseeing. Vicktor Mikhailovich (the professor of chemistry of the University of Tver) and I went to the city. We visited the City Hall, original building with metallic constructions, built in 1963. Then we paid our attention for the Kiruna church, which is wooden. Unfortunately it was closed. But we found the traces of the previous wedding – little Hearts made of bright paper were on the ground in front of the entrance.

To conclude the story about Kiruna, we made sure that it is the one of the towns that Sweden is rich of. Kiruna is quiet and cosy with friendly population.

Thinking about yesterday’s adventures I did not want to leave Kiruna very soon. But the travel plan can not be broken.

We moved to the northwest. Following the road E10 the bus was approaching to the Abisko national park. It is the oldest area with natural reservation functions in Sweden. It was opened in 1909.

The Abisko national park is located in the lower part of the Abiskojakka River where it finally joins the Tornetrask Lake, which gives to birth the stream of the Tornealven River. This place attracts many tourists because of its landscape. There is a canyon the Abiskojakka River rushes down. This part of Sweden has high elevation. The highest point of the country is just 50 km south of the mouth of the Abiskojakka River. It is Mount Kebnekaise, absolute high of which is over 2111m.

Scandinavian mountains separate Norway and Sweden. The western slope (which is in Norway) is steep; the eastern slope (Swedish) is gentle. That explains, that moisture air coming from the Atlantic Ocean, condensates in Norway, while Swedish part remains more or less dry.

We were walking along the canyon of the Abiskojakka River. The scenery was magnificent, especially when you see such a powerful stream. Then we returned to the Tourist centre of the park. There was a kind of zoological exhibition which actually again, like in Oulu, did not make any impression on me.

At 12.30 we crossed the Swedish border and entered Norway. But there was no much change. As our group leader found a good place for lunch, we made a stop.

To reach our next destination we turned to the road E6, which is the main line, connecting the north of the country (Kirkenes) with its south (Oslo). The importance of this road is tough to appreciate over.

Our group finally arrived in Narvik. Here we went to the harbour. I have already mentioned which role it plays for Sweden – the port of sending. The group saw the part of the railway that helps trains from neighbour country to put pellets from the rail cars to a ship. The town was a little bigger then Kiruna.

At the end of today’s route we reached Ballangen Camping, which is about 40 km south of Narvik. The students and teachers got the keys from the cabins. Some of them decided to climb a mount near the campsite; the others spent their time by fishing in the bay of the Ofotfjord. The most wonderful thing this evening for me was a local sauna, where I could relax together with the male part of our group.