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    Following Disruptions on Malmbanan – Pitkäjärvi Storage Fully Cleared

    23 January 2025, 16:30 CET

    Last year's disruptions on the Malmbanan have presented significant challenges, but brighter days are now ahead. Nearly all the iron ore stored in Pitkäjärvi has been cleared, and we are back to normal stock levels. “It feels like we’ve reached the finish line and can now focus on moving forward,” says Johan Lindmark, Site Manager in Pitkäjärvi.

    When we summarize 2024, we can conclude that it has been a challenging year, but also a year of lessons and progress. The historical and extensive train stoppages on the Malmbanan railway between December 2023 and June 2024 have challenged the entire company and had a significant impact on our profitability and liquidity. To manage the disruptions on Malmbanan, extensive storage capacity was quickly built, which resulted in increased costs.
    – In addition to the costs of building and storing iron ore concentrate, we lost revenue as the disruptions occurred during a period with more favorable iron ore prices than what we see today. Overall, the financial consequences can be summed up to nearly half a billion SEK, says Nils-Johan Haraldsson, Logistics Manager at Kaunis Iron.

    The business has worked intensively to succeed in storing all the iron ore concentrate while keeping our normal production rate going. Among other things, we increased transport capacity and operated up to three trains per day from Pitkäjärvi to Narvik, instead of two.

    Now, at the beginning of 2025, the stock levels have returned to normal.
    – Thanks to close cooperation between our employees and contractors such as Railcare, BDX, and Kiruna Wagon, the stock in Pitkäjärvi has been cleared, and the stock in Kaunisvaara has also been reduced earlier. It feels like we've reached the goal and can continue working forward, says Johan Lindmark, Site Manager in Pitkäjärvi.