LKAB's plan for the Per Geijer deposit threatens Gabna Sami's reindeer migration route

The Per Geijer deposit is described as LKAB's future as an iron ore producer. It means that mining in Kiruna can continue even after 2045. It will also cover part of the EU's need for rare earth metals.

But in the area there is also the last passable migration route for Gabna Sami village's reindeer. It risks being cut if the mine becomes a reality.

So it is about indigenous rights versus mineral resources and mining jobs.

The County Administrative Board considered that the latter weighed more heavily when it is ordered that the Norwegian Mining State grants LKAB's application for a processing concession, i.e. the exclusive right to mine the deposit.

The County Administrative Board requests dialogue

And absolutely decisive was the EU's designation of Per Geijer as strategically important according to the regulation on critical minerals. According to the same regulation, the Miner must now make a decision on the processing concession within three months.

Before then, Lotta Finstorp hopes that LKAB and Gabna Samiby will have reasoned out how the inevitable harmful effects of mining can be minimized.

- My wish is that the Sami village and LKAB enter into a dialogue about how to solve it.

Sami village critical: "A political authority"

Gabna's chairman Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen is disappointed with the county board. In an SMS to SVT, he writes:

"The County Administrative Board clearly shows that they are a political authority under the government, not that they are the regional authority anchored in the Swedish constitution and jurisprudence that safeguards local and regional interests. For example, the County Administrative Board's supervisory mission has failed, I am thinking then of the 400 potential environmental crimes that prosecutors are currently reviewing."

The County Administrative Board has chosen not to comment on the criticism.