Sweden’s Grangex acquires Kirkenes iron mine
“Grangex is pleased to lead this ground-breaking Nordic cooperation in one of Norway’s most important regions, at a crucial time in Europe’s search for self-sufficiency in minerals”
Thursday this week, the Swedish mineral company Grangex announced that it has signed a conditional purchase agreement with OMF Fund II H Ltd (Orion) for the purchase of 100 percent of the share capital and shareholder loans in Sydvaranger Mining AS from Orion.
The total purchase price is $33 million.
Sydvaranger owns the iron ore mine in Kirkenes in Sør-Varanger municipality, Eastern Finnmark. Grangex intends to resume production of ultra-high-enriched iron ore concentrate suitable for fossil-free steel production, according to a press release from the company.
This summer it was revealed that Grangex had entered into an exclusivity agreement with Orion related to the acquisition of Sydvaranger. Since then, Grangex has carried out investigations and negotiated the final terms of the purchase agreement with Orion.
The Swedish mineral company also operates the Dannemora mine in Sweden. According to Grangex, this project, together with Sydvaranger, will enable the company to become a leading supplier of high-quality magnetite concentrates, and play a strategic role when global steel producers seek more sustainable production methods.
“Grangex is pleased to lead this ground-breaking Nordic cooperation in one of Norway’s most important regions, at a crucial time in Europe’s search for self-sufficiency in minerals. Well on the way to a successful development of the Dannemora project, we will now proceed with the same speed, energy and enthusiasm to start the development of sustainable and commercially good iron ore production in Sydvaranger. We look forward to re-establishing industrial mining in Eastern Finnmark together with all public and private stakeholders,” says CEO of Grangex, Christer Lindqvist.
Sydvaranger mine
Sydvaranger Mine in Kirkenes, Northern Norway, was in operation from 1910 to 1997. During this period, more than 200 million tonnes of iron ore were produced.
11 years later, the mine was rehabilitated and in 2009 operations were underway again until bankruptcy in November 2015.
The Norwegian shipping and logistics company Tschudi Group has been involved in Sydvaranger since 2006 and in 2016 bought up 100 percent of the mining operations with associated rights, properties, and equipment.
In January 2021, the company announced that it would sell Sydvaranger and the subsidiary “Sydvaranger” with the iron ore mine and associated processing plant to the North American mining company Tacora Resources Inc.
Orion Mine Finance, a leading private investment fund with a focus on the mining industry, bought Sydvaranger from Tacora in March 2023.
The Swedish mineral company Grangex will complete the acquisition of Sydvaranger Mine during 2023.
Originally published in Norwegian. Translated by Birgitte Annie Molid Martinussen.
High North News is an independent newspaper published by the High North Center at Nord University in Bodø, Norway.
