The mining industry in Sweden
Sweden’s mining industry is the leading producer of ore in the EU.
Sweden’s bedrock is one of the world’s most promising areas for new discoveries of ore, and exploration has increased in the past decade. Mining forms the backbone of many local communities and is the most important driver of economic growth in large parts of Sweden, especially in the interior of the Norrland region in the north.
Favourable conditions offered by Sweden, such as geological potential, well-developed infrastructure, a high level of technological development and a highly educated workforce is attracting growing amounts of foreign capital. Sweden offers some of the most advanced examples of modern and environmentally friendly automation and process control technologies.
Production of metals and minerals requires energy
The mining industry is a large electricity user, both underground and over ground. Mining ore and extracting metals and minerals is a highly energy-consuming process. Energy costs can amount to 10-15 per cent of value added in production, sometimes more. Access to fossil-free electricity with low system costs and a high degree of reliability is of vital importance to the country’s mining companies.
The industry’s climate transition is driven by electricity
Mining and mineral industry products are crucial for the global climate transition. In particular, large amounts of metals are needed to produce batteries, railway tracks, and other infrastructure to phase out fossil fuels. A great deal has happened in the mining and mineral sector since the publication of the industry’s first climate roadmap in 2018. For example we have witnessed a fast electrification which now affects not only the development of vehicles used in the mining sector itself, but also the demand for metals and minerals for batteries and sustainable energy systems. The industry adopted an upgraded climate roadmap in 2022 which describes how the goal of fossil-free mining by 2035 and the goals of climate-neutral processes by 2045 will be achieved.
Extremely large climate investments are now being made, including in the increased electrification of mining and transport. The industry’s transformation is dependent on greater amounts of fossil-free electricity at prices that maintain the Swedish mining industry’s international competitiveness.