Logistics
The finished products are transported from the ore processing plants to customers by rail and by ship via the shipping ports at Narvik and Luleå. Rail traffic on the 500-km-long Ore Railway between Luleå and Narvik is managed by LKAB’s Swedish subsidiary Malmtrafik i Kiruna AB (MTAB) and its Norwegian subsidiary Malmtrafikk AS (MTAS), both included in Mining Division.
LKAB also operates the ore harbors in Narvik and Luleå. The Narvik ore harbor can accommodate vessels of up to 350,000 dwt. From the harbor in Luleå, products are delivered mainly to customers in the Baltic Sea region.
The Ore Railway runs from Narvik (Atlantic coast) in Norway, through Norrbotten via Kiruna and Malmberget, to Luleå on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. The railway is 536 kilometers long (including the Kiruna-Svappavaara branch). The Ore Railway infrastructure is managed by Banverket on the Swedish side and by Jernbaneverket on the Norwegian side.
Products from Malmberget are transported mainly to Luleå for direct delivery to SSAB’s blast furnace in Luleå or further delivery to SSAB in Oxelösund, and to customers in Finland and other countries around the Baltic. Each day, five or six trains make the 22O-km, five to six hour journey from Malmberget to Luleå.
Most products from Kiruna and Svappavaara are transported to Narvik for further delivery to customers in continental Europe and the rest of the world. Daily, 11-13 trains make the 170-km run between Kiruna and Narvik. The trip takes a little more than four hours.
Locomotives and cars
LKAB uses its own locomotives and cars. Rolling stock includes regular-traffic and terminal locomotives and various types of ore cars. The cars that are currently in operation on the Ore Railway carry a payload of between 80 and 100 tonnes.
There are workshops and service sheds for rolling stock maintenance in Kiruna, Malmberget and Narvik. Operations are controlled from an ore transport center in Kiruna. Rail operations in Norway are managed by MTAB's subsidiary, MTAS, which has its own organization.
With its current fleet of locomotives and cars, MTAB has a mine-to-harbor freight capacity of more than 25 million tonnes per year.
Upgrading to 30 tonnes
LKAB has higher costs for rail transports than its competitors in, for example, Brazil or Australia. Our ambition is to reduce operating costs to the same level as its competitors’ costs.
That objective will be achieved by investing in new locomotives and cars with a 30-tonne axle load. The amount of product per car will be increased and each train set will consist of 68 cars instead of 52.
Banverket is upgrading the Ore Railway for a 30-tonne axle load. The Malmberget-Luleå section of the line is ready for traffic, as is LKAB’s first new set of 100-tonne cars.
The upgrade of the Ore Railway’s northern section to Narvik is in progress. Among other things, work remains to be done on sidings and terminals. Work will be completed in 2010, by that the new ore Narvik harbor is aslo operational.
Development of locomotives and cars
In 1998, LKAB’s board voted to replace locomotives and some of the ore cars. Agreements were signed with Bombardier Transportation (formerly Adtranz) for delivery of nine ore train locomotives, and with South African Transwerk for delivery of a set of 100-tonne ore cars.
The first regular traffic locomotive, of the IORE type, was delivered in 2000. The following eight engines arrived 2002-2004. LKAB’s new regular traffic locomotives have replaced the Dm3 as the standard locomotive. The nine IORE engines have been operating on the Ore Railway since 2004. In 2007 decision was taken to purchase four new engines of the same type.
The Malmberget-Luleå section of the line has been upgraded for a 30-tonne axle load and is now trafficked by the first train set of 100-tonne cars, which were delivered from South Africa.
In March 2004, LKAB decided not to exercise its option to purchase more ore cars from Transwerk. Instead, LKAB, together with K-Industrier, has developed a new, larger ore car adapted for a 30-tonne axle load and with a 100-tonne payload. The first car was delivered in autumn 2005, and about four cars per week rolls out from the Kiruna Wagons assembly shop at LKAB in Kiruna. The total will be 750 new cars.
Once the Kiruna-Narvik section of the line has been fully upgraded for a 30-tonne axle load and all terminals, including the new Narvik ore harbor, are ready to receive the new cars, the capacity increase will have been completed.
Traffic safety
To ensure human safety and protect equipment used in MTAB’s day-to-day operations in the terminal rail yards of Kiruna, Svappavaara and Malmberget, traffic safety must always be kept in focus. High demands are placed on the standard of rolling-stock maintenance at MTAB’s workshops. Personnel are trained to follow strict safety procedures for switching, braking and in locomotive and ore car maintenance.
System audits are conducted regularly to ensure the continuous improvement of traffic safety. Traffic safety audits are also conducted in the workplaces at least once per year to ensure that personnel are observing safety regulations in their daily work.
The Swedish Rail Agency and Banverket in Sverige, and the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate and Jernbaneverket in Norway are public administrations that are charged with the task of ensuring that MTAB’s rolling stock and personnel involved in traffic-safety work within the company in Sweden and Norway comply with laws and regulations.
Random drug tests are conducted among all Swedish personnel whose work has an impact on traffic safety.
Terminals
MTAB has terminals for loading and discharge of iron ore products and additives in Kiruna, Malmberget, Svappavaara, Narvik and Luleå. The Southern Circuit (Malmberget-Luleå) has been upgraded for a 30-tonne axle load. The upgrade also includes the terminals in Malmberget and Luleå.
Upgrading of the Northern Circuit (Kiruna-Narvik) for a 30-tonne axle load has largely been completed. LKAB also has plans for a new discharging station in Narvik, which will make freight handling even more efficient.
Contact
Lars Strand, General Manager, Traffic Safety,
lars.strand@lkab.comRobert Rehnblom, General Manager, Administration/Traffic Control,
robert.rehnblom@lkab.comLars Aspvik, General Manager, Rolling Stock,
lars.aspvik@lkab.comBjörn Åström, General Manager, Terminals,
bjorn.astrom@lkab.comMartin Kajander, Procution Manager MTAS,
martin.kajander@lkab.com
Harbors
LKAB has two shipping harbors: Narvik and Luleå. We are working systematically to improve logistics from mine to customer. Among other things, this means that we offer customers systematized transports and that stocks in the harbors are kept to a minimum.
Continuous, rolling discharge is implemented in the harbors. Trains are unloaded while in motion. A train set of 52 cars can be unloaded in 30-40 minutes.
Narvik
Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the Narvik harbor is ice-free all year round. This is a good location, close to the mines and to LKAB’s customers in Europe.
The harbor facility consists of a terminal for discharging the ore trains, stocks of the various iron ore products, and quays where the vessels dock for loading. Most of the products shipped from here come from Kiruna.
Narvik is also a receiving harbor for additives used in LKAB’s pellet manufacture. For example, olivine is shipped here for further delivery to the processing plants in Kiruna and Svappavaara.
A new ore harbor is being built at a cost of about MSEK 2000, which will significantly improve efficiency as well as the environment. Ore storage silos will be built underground, and the entire harbor structure will be adapted to handle larger ore trains and greater volumes of iron ore products.
12 large storage silos in the form of rock caverns will be blasted. Above the storage area, the ore trains will enter a tunnel and bottom-discharge their loads into silos intended for the product they are carrying via so-called rolling discharge. This concept reduces noise and dust, and the silos will also be equipped with dust evacuation systems. A de-icing station will be installed near the tunnel entrance.
Each silo holds about 105,000 tonnes of pellets (about 15 train sets, fully loaded) or 130,000 tonnes of fines. The total storage volume will be about 1.3-1,5 Mt.
Upgrading of the Kiruna-Narvik section of the railway to accommodate a 30-tonne axle load will be completed in 2010, by which time the new harbor will also be in full operation.
NARVIK ORE HARBOR IN BRIEF
Shipping capacity: 25 Mt/yr
Stockpiling capacity: 1.5 Mt
Max. dead weight: 350,000 dwt
Loading capacity: 12,000 tonnes/hr
Number of shiploaders: 1
Height under shiploader: Not limited
Length of quay: 208 meters
Depth: 27 meters
Loading time: 25-30 hours per vessel
Number of ships per year: 220-250
Average tidal range: 1.75 meters
Luleå
The harbor is on Outer Sandskär, about 7 km from Luleå’s city center. It was opened in autumn 1996.The entire chain of transport - from discharging of ore trains to loading of vessels - is accomplished with new technology and efficient equipment. Ships are assisted by icebreakers in the winter.
Most ore handling takes place under cover. Belt conveyors and stockpiles are roofed-in. Ore products are mainly stockpiled in three silos, with a total capacity of 135,000 tonnes. It is also possible to stockpile ore in open piles that may also serve as buffers in the event of disruptions in production. The terminal has a total stockpiling capacity of 350,000 tonnes.
Luleå (Victoria Harbor) is also a receiving port for coal, oil, and additives for LKAB’s operations, e.g., bentonite. These products are transported by rail to Malmberget, Svappavaara and Kiruna.
LULEÅ ORE HARBOR IN BRIEF
Shipping capacity: 10 Mt/yr
Stockpiling capacity: 350,000 tonnes
Max. dead weight: 55-60,000 dwt
Loading capacity: 3,500 tonnes/hr
Number of shiploaders: 1
Height under shiploader: max. 17 m
Length of quay: 250 meters
Depth: 12.1 meters
Loading time: 8 hrs.
Number of ships per year: 320-350
Average tidal range:
