- LKAB will commission a new Malmberget sorting plant by 2028.
- Capacity: 24 million tonnes/year magnetite and 1 million tonnes/year hematite, with crushing, screening and magnetic separation.
- Main facility ~210 m long and 80 m high, ~27,000 m² of building components and nearly 1 km of track with underground raw-material pockets.
- Peak construction workforce ~350 (summer–autumn 2027); plant includes steel-fibre separation and preparations to handle soil waste for apatite and critical-mineral recovery.
Project scope
The new LKAB sorting plant in Malmberget will replace the 1950s facility and be one of the largest recent local industrial projects, with a main building about 210 m long and 80 m high, roughly 27,000 m² of building components, nearly 1 km of track and large underground raw-material pockets.
Capacity and process
The plant is sized for 24 million tonnes/year of magnetite and 1 million tonnes/year of hematite; ore will be crushed, screened and magnetically separated as the initial step before further enrichment into fines and pellets.
Construction and schedule
Site clearance, earthworks, rock loosening and new road works are under way; prefabricated and cast-in-place construction and process-equipment installation follow, with commissioning planned for 2028 and a peak construction workforce of about 350 in summer–autumn 2027.
Design and downstream benefits
The design targets a more stable process for variable raw-material quality, includes steel-fibre separation to reduce wear in downstream facilities, and is prepared to handle soil waste to support potential future recovery of apatite and critical minerals; the project involves thousands of tonnes of structural steel, large concrete volumes and advanced electrical, ventilation and control installations.
