The total iron ore export of Sweden up to 1910 inclusive was:
Iron Ore low or moderate in phosphorus............................... 1 705 000 tons
> » rich in phosphorus from Central Sweden . . . 11315 404 »
> » > > » > Norrbotten, circa . . . 27 623 400 »
Total 40 643 804 tons
The ore export from the ore fields of Lappland as well as from the -export -
field of Grangesberg has been, owing to the agreements concluded in 1907, 1908,
and 1913 between the Swedish State and the companies who own these fields,
(Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara aktiebolag, Aktiebolaget Gellivare malmfalt and Trafik-
aktiebolaget Grangesberg-Oxelosund) restricted for the period from 1908 to 1932 to
for Kirunavara ....................................................... 103 100 000 tons
> G-alliyare . . 30 650 000 >
> Grangesberg....................... 13 250 000 >
Total 147000 000 >
exclus. the ore which is obtained by concentration from the gangue (varp),
that is, the ferriferous rock which falls away in the extraction of the ore or
which has to be extracted in order to get at the Ore, but which is too poor to
be available in its unprepared condition for export. In connection with these
agreements the State became a shareholder as to half in the Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara
aktiebolag and the proprietor both of the Luossavara, the Mertainen, the
Ekstromsberg and other mines and also of the Svappavara and Leveaniemi
and other iron ore deposits in the lan of Norrbotten, though with the proviso
that there should be no export of ore from these fields prior to 1932. The
State receives for this a royalty, calculated according to various considerations,
on every unit quantity of ore raised, and has the right to buy in all the shares
in the companies in 1932, after a valuation of them has been made.
Mines with Ores other than Iron Ore.
Sweden is comparatively poor in ores other than iron ore. At present
the only ores mined are zinc, lead, copper, manganese and iron pyrites.
Thus in 1913 10 013 tons of zinc ore were extracted in 4 mines, 3 924
tons of copper ore out of 6 mines, 215 tons of lead ore in 2 mines, 107
tons of manganese ore in one mine, and 34 295 tons of iron pyrites out of
one mine. The aggregate value of the said output amounted to 1 008 805
kronor. Besides this, there were obtained by concentration 40 739 tons
of zinc concentrates, 3 007 tons of lead concentrates, 1 534 tons copper concentrates,
3 894 tons of manganese concentrates, and 24 tons of iron pyrite
concentrate, with an aggregate value of 2 495 623 kronor.
The biggest and most important deposit of zinc ore is that at Ammebergi in
Southern Sweden with a length of about 5 kilometers and with a breadth which
in places reaches up to 12 meters. Other deposits of zinc are those at Kavel-
torp, Saxberget, Stollberg, and Sala. In all these deposits the ore mineral consists
of zinc blende, frequently commingled with lead glance and copper pyrites
and it is from these mines that the -above stated quantities of lead ore have
been yielded.
Copper ore is mined at present only in the Falun Mine, where however, the
output of copper ore plays a very subordinate role in comparison with the output
of iron pyrites. The Falun Mine also yields a little gold, which chiefly occurs
in solid form along with seleno-wismuthit. Copper ore has also been extracted
from the Bersbo mines at Atvidaberg and at Nautanen in Lappland.
Manganese ore is mined at present at Spaxeryd in Smaland, where it occurs
in the form of lodes in the granite, and at Langban in Varmland, where the
ore consists ofibraunite and hausmannite, forming more or less irregular stratiform
bodies in the dolomite.
Nickel and cobalt ore were mined in ancient times in a few isolated deposits
in different parts af the country. The chief of these are the deposit of nickel
ore at Kleva in Smaland and the deposit of cobalt ore at Tunaberg in Sodermanland,
, , ,
Gold ore has been mined, besides at Falun, at Adelfors m omaland. A good
quantity of silver was in former times produced by the Sala mines.
Coal Mines.
Coal is found in Sweden only in the southernmost part of the kingdom,
the province of Skane,. in seams together with fire-clays and ordinary, nonrefractory
clays in layers belonging to the Bhset-Lias system; the total
thickness, of the coal seams does not exceed 1-5 meters, out of which, however,
only from 0-3 to 0-6 meters consist of coal the rest being bandes of
shales.
The coal-seams vary in numbers in different parts of the district, but only
two of them; are worth mining. The beds of the coal-bearing formation are,
for the most, part, in a horizontal position or very slightly inclined. Dips as high
as 20 degrees or more are rare. Nowhere have folds or sharp bends been
observed, faults, however, are quite common. In 1913 there were 8 coal-fields
in work, and from them were raised through 15 shafts 363 965 tons of coal
with a value of 2 949 032 kronor, 136 944 tons of fireclay with a value of
232 835 kronor, and 50 936 tons of clinker clay with a value of 117 753 kronor.
The principal coal mines are those at Hoganas, Billesholm, Bjuv, Skromberga,
Ormastorp, and Hyllinge.
The supply of coal in the mining fields of Skane is estimated at about 300
million tons; out of which about 50 / consists of coal N:o 1 with average percentage
of ash up to 13 f t 40 % of coal N:o 2 with from 14 to 35 % and
10 f of coal' N:o 3 with from 36 to 55 f of ash.
The Mining Practice in Swedish Mines.
Breaking Ground. Boring and Blasting. The band-drilling was the
only method of boring until the last years of the seventies; machine-drilling
with compressed air begun to be introduced in the mines of Sweden, at
first at Ammeberg in 1878 and at Falun Mine in 1879. Nowadays, after
that in the first decennium of this century light and efficaceous hammer-
drill machines, specially adopted for Swedish mines purposes have been
constructed, hand-drilling is used only in some smaller mines in Sweden.
Explosives. The explosive almost exclusively used in the Swedish
ore mines is gelatine dynamite; in recent years, however, a new explosive