Kaunisvaara is a village in northern Sweden, in Pajala Municipality, 100 km north of the Arctic Circle.
There are large magnetite ( iron ore) deposits in this area; Northland Resources began constructing the first mine in December 2011. [1] [2] Ore production was expected to begin in 2012, [3] with annual iron ore production reaching 12 million tonnes by 2014. Reserves are estimated at 176 million tonnes. [1] The mine went bankrupt in October 2014 because of low iron ore prices and high debts.
In 2009, archaeologists commissioned by Northland Resources found evidence of stone-age settlements, dated to 9300BCE, in the area; this has shed new light on the timeline of deglaciation and human settlement in northern Europe. [4]