Field Trip Report - Society of Economic Geologists

took us to outcrops of later pegmatite veins. The disseminated chalcopyrite and
chalcopyrite-­‐stringer mineralization was also pointed out. Afterwards we were taken
around the processing plant at Aitik with their autogenous mill and flotation plants.
After our visit we drove to our most northern stop of the trip at Kiruna. On June 25 th
Kari Niiranen gave us a tour around the largest underground Fe-­‐mine in the world
operated by LKAB. The day started with a presentation about the deposit its different
stratigraphies and mining methods. The underground visit gave an insight into
machinery used in large-­‐scale underground mines and the following tour of on of the
processing plants explained some of the difficulties and advantages of mining for
Kiruna-­‐type Magnetite-­‐Apatite ore. The day was rounded of with a visit to the core shed
where most significant stratigraphies could be investigated.
On the long drive back to Stockholm from Kiruna we made one final stop at outcrops of
the Alnö Carbonatite on the coast of the Baltic Sea, one of the prime examples for
Carbonatites in Europe.
We would like to thank everyone who has helped us with organizing this field trip. All
mentioned geologists in the visited mines and the associated companies as well as
several geologists familiar with the geology of Sweden who gave us precious tips on
which deposits and outcrops to visit and access to older field guides and further
literature (e.g. Erik Jonsson, Hannes Mattsson, Benni Mattsson and Torbjörn Bergmann).
Furthermore, we are grateful for the substantial funding from Data Metallogenica and
the SEG!