| Mertainen mine | |
| Width: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | Sweden |
| Pushpin Label: | Mertainen mine |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Sweden |
| Coordinates: | 67.7071°N 20.7898°W |
| Place: | Kiruna |
| Subdivision Type: | Municipality |
| State/Province: | Norrbotten County |
| Country: | Sweden |
| Owner: | Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB |
| Products: | Iron ore |
| Closing Year: | 2016 |
The Mertainen is an iron ore deposit and mine in Lapland, Sweden, Sweden. It is located about 30 km southeast of the town of Kiruna. In December 2016 Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB closed the mine for indefinite time.[1] Re-opening the mine remains a possibility according to LKAB executive Magnus Arnkvist.[1]
The ore is chiefly magnetite with small amounts of hematite.[2] The deposit has a few small massive magnetite bodies and a larger volume of low grade ore made up of host-rock intruded by magnetite veins.[2] The host rock is made up of scapolite and biotite-altered Syenite Porphyry.[2] The Syenite Porphyry display magnetite nodules.[2]
Most of the deposit has a low phosphorus grade (0.05%) but in the northeast phosphorus grades are higher (0.2 to 0.9%).[3]