Stockholm (NordSIP) – The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has signed a long-term loan agreement of €110 million with the Swedish mining and smelting company Boliden for investments at the Aitik copper mine and the Rönnskär smelter in northern Sweden.
NIB finances sustainable and development projects within and beyond its member countries of Denmark Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. Projects deemed eligible involve Nordic-Baltic interests and conform to the NIB’s mandate of improving the competitiveness of Nordic and Baltic countries, which involves offering long-term loans and guarantees on competitive market terms to clients in the private and public sectors.
Boliden is a Swedish mining and smelting company that mainly produces copper, zinc, nickel, lead, gold and silver. The company is headquartered in Stockholm and has operations in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Ireland. Boliden employs approximately 5,500 people.
This particular investment is part of the expansion and productivity development of the Boliden copper mine in Aitik near the town of Gällivare, allowing for more efficient water management by decreasing the metals in discharge water. The eight-year loan will finance the installation of a new surface crusher, as well as finance the expansion of Boliden’s Rönnskär smelter near Skellefteå, which includes excavation of a new underground deep deposit, a water treatment plant, and new processes for the reduction of sulphur dioxide and dioxins.
“The investments at the Aitik mine and the Rönnskär smelter contribute to eliminating bottlenecks in the production processes, and further strengthen Boliden’s position as a leading company within sustainable mining and metal production. Both projects include deliveries from other companies in the Nordic mining sector,” said NIB President & CEO Henrik Normann.
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