National Geographic : 2010 Jun
Current mining level 3,430 4,480 Wooden church City hall Railway Waste-rock deposits N 2035 2025 2013 Ore deposit Tunnel Shaft 1,770 ft 2,540 Area expected to crack and shift A B GRAPHIC: CHUCK CARTER AND HIRAM HENRIQUEZ; MARIEL FURLONG, NGM STAFF SATELLITE IMAGE: DIGITALGLOBE. SOURCE: KIRSTEN HOLME AND ANDERS LINDBERG, LKAB. PHOTO: TOMAS UTSI. NGM MAPS TECHNOLOGY Town on the Move Ninety miles above the Arctic Circle, the Swedish municipality of Kiruna is in trouble. The town center, population 18,000, sits atop one of the world's largest iron ore mines. After 110 years of mining and more than a billion tons of ore, huge cracks deform the bedrock, and Kiruna must either see the mine shut down or move out of harm's way. What to do? Well, move, of course. Residents, many of whom depend on the mine for jobs, have decided to gradually relocate central houses, shops, and even a 98-year-old wooden church (below) to more stable ground several miles away. Some buildings will be transported brick by brick; many will be constructed anew. Among the first to go: the 1899 house of Kiruna's founder. Railroad tracks, roads, and electricity lines have already started to migrate. The iron mine, key to new Kiruna's survival, will remain active---but at a safer distance. ---Hannah Bloch The relocation of Sweden's northernmost city will take place over the next century. DIGGING TOO DEEP? Kiruna's first miners settled the town not knowing the iron ore deposit angled at 60 degrees directly below the town center. Future expansion of the mine could mean relocating outlying areas of the city as well. 0mi 250 0km 250 NORWAY SWEDEN F INLAND RU SSIA Kiruna ARCTIC CIRCLE Stockholm Scale varies in this perspective. Distance from point A to point B is 3.7 miles (6 kilometers).