Iron ore price, page-51347

Probably not something you will find discussed too much in the media but the largest IO mine in the EU and largest underground IO mine in world that supplies the EU still has its main rail line closed 2 months after derailment.

Deliveries have been curtailed by 2/3 since mid December with no reopen date scheduled at this stage.

they sell about 7mt of IO per quarter so it is significant enough. Just another variable contributing to the tightness of the IO market at present.

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/i...ss-border-railway-still-closed-two-months-ore


Europe's northernmost cross-border railway still closed two months after ore train derailed
Halt in rail transport between Kiruna and Narvik causes big challenges for Sweden’s largest mining company. It also highlights the sensitivity of poor infrastructure for NATO’s military reinforcement of northernmost Scandinavia.


was a week before Christmas a fully-loaded iron-ore train, en route from Kiruna in northern Sweden to Narvik on the coast of the Norwegian Sea jumped off the rail at Vassijaure Station, not far from the border between the two countries.

At first, the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) believed the tracks could be restored within two weeks. Standstill, however, was prolonged into January. Snow storms late in the month and difficult restoration caused further delays. Now, by mid-February, traffic is still not restarted.

Meanwhile, iron-ore is piling up in Kiruna.

“It is very worrisome, and it will have a big impact on us if it drags on for too long,” says Linda Bjurholt, logistics manager with LKAB.

“We are talking about revenue losses of around SEK 100 million [€8,8 million] a day,” she adds.



Normally, LKAB sends ten full-loaded trains a day to the port in Narvik for shipments to the European market. That counts for about two-thirds of LKAB’s deliveries. The southern rail, to the port of Luleå, continues with four to five trains each day, but there is no capacity to compensate for what is shipped via Narvik, the mining company informs.



“We can no longer shut our eyes to how critical to society and how sensitive the infrastructure of the Ore Railway is,” says Jan Moström, President of LKAB mining company.

“We are ending the year with relatively high production and the expansion of the Ore Railway is crucial both for the current volumes and for future production increases,” Moström adds.

LKAB on Monday presented its 2023 full-year operating profit of SEK 16 billion [€1,41 billion].

The fully state-owned company supplies about 80% of all iron-ore mined in Europe and has for years been one of the most profitable companies in Sweden.