The Kiruna mine is the largest and most productive underground iron ore mine in the world. The ore body at Kiirunavaara mountain has been mined since 1900 and now extends more than 1,700 metres below the surface, running roughly four kilometres in length. LKAB, the state-owned mining company, extracts tens of millions of tonnes of iron ore pellets here each year, much of it exported via the railway to the port of Narvik in Norway.
The most vivid evidence of the mine's scale is the city relocation: over decades of extraction, the ground beneath Kiruna's original centre began to subside. LKAB and the Swedish state agreed to move the entire city three kilometres to the east — an unprecedented project that began in 2014 and will continue into the 2030s. Old buildings are being demolished, some relocated brick by brick, while an entirely new city centre grows on the other side of the hill.
LKAB runs guided tours into the underground mine — the underground visitor centre, about 500 metres below the surface, is one of the most remarkable things you can do in the region. Tours depart from the Kiruna visitor centre; book well in advance, especially in peak season. The tour includes a film presentation, a bus ride underground, and views of the active mining levels.