Sweden records one of its strongest ever earthquakes as 4.1-magnitude tremors strike the world’s biggest underground iron ore mine
- The quake was just short of Sweden’s record 4.3-magnitude quake in 2008
- Thirteen people were in the Kiruna mine at the time, but none were injured
- Experts say Monday’s earthquake was linked to the iron ore mining activities
Sweden has recorded one of its largest ever earthquakes after a 4.1-magnitude tremor hit the world’s biggest underground iron ore mine today.
The quake north of the Arctic Circle was just short of Sweden’s record 4.3-magnitude tremor, which hit the south of the country in December 2008.
Thirteen people were in the mine at the time, but none were injured and the facility has since been closed.
The mine, which is more than a century old, produced more than 14 tons of iron ore products in 2019.
Sweden has recorded one of its largest ever earthquakes after a 4.1-magnitude tremor hit the Kiruna underground iron ore mine (file photo) today
The facility run by state firm LKAB is known as the Kiruna mine after the city where it is based.
Fredrik Bjorkenwall, a spokesman for LKAB, told Aftonbladet that the water level in the Kiruna mine was rising but pumps were working.
The Norwegian Seismic Array NORSAR said the earthquake was tied to the ore extraction activities.
Swedish officials plan to move the city centre of Kiruna two miles to the east for safety reasons under a plan drawn up in 2004.
The Swedish National Seismic Network said the earthquake shortly after 3am this morning had a magnitude of 4.1.
The Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University also measured the quake with a magnitude of 4.1.
The quake north of the Arctic Circle (pictured, the epicentre of the quake) was just short of Sweden’s record 4.3-magnitude tremor, which hit the south of the country in December 2008