The Sydvaranger iron ore mine, centred on the town of Bjørnevatn a few kilometres from central Kirkenes, was the engine of this corner of Norway from 1906 until the final closure in 2015. At its height in the 1960s and 70s it was one of the largest iron ore operations in Northern Europe, exporting concentrate by ship directly from Kirkenes harbour. The eight-kilometre railway connecting the mine to the port — the Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line — still exists, though it carries no ore.
The mine site itself is not open to public tours, but the scale of the operation is visible from the road: vast processing plant buildings, a deep open pit, and ore-stained ground. The town of Bjørnevatn, built entirely to house mine workers, has a slightly melancholy post-industrial atmosphere that is a striking contrast to the wilderness surrounding it. The old mine railway route makes a decent flat walk between the two towns.