Crucial Environmental Permit Application Announced – Important Milestone for LKAB’s Development
The court has now announced our historic environmental permit application for existing, expanded, and altered operations in Malmberget, Gällivare.
“It is very positive and an important step forward that the court has now announced our application, thus driving the process forward. It also clarifies crucial planning conditions for the way forward. As it looks now, we can hope for a court decision by the end of 2025,” says Michael Palo, Senior Vice President Business Area Iron Ore at LKAB.
The environmental permit is necessary to carry out the transformation of LKAB’s mining and processing operations in Malmberget, Gällivare. The application was submitted in May 2023. The court has now established a plan for the handling of the case, which points towards a decision at the end of 2025.
The application covers continued and expanded mining and processing operations in Malmberget, Gällivare, as well as the establishment of a first demonstration plant for fossil-free sponge iron using Hybrit technology, and a new apatite plant, which is a first step to extract phosphorus and rare earth elements.
The hope is that the demonstration plant for fossil-free sponge iron, which is a crucial step in the industrialisation of Hybrit technology, will be completed in 2028, with a ramp-up during 2029.
“Even though this is taking longer than we initially hoped, it is clearly moving forward. We will secure permits, technology, and finances for plants that will then be operated for decades and that will build our competitiveness by reducing emissions and producing new critical minerals such as phosphorus and rare earth elements,” says Michael Palo.
In the new process for sponge iron production, fossil coal is replaced with hydrogen produced using fossil-free electricity. This reduces both carbon dioxide emissions and the need for imported coal at SSAB, while LKAB’s electricity needs increase. The additional electricity requirement for the demonstration plant is estimated at approximately 5 TWh per year before 2030, mainly for hydrogen production.
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