Grangex AB has completed a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the restart of operations at the company’s Sydvaranger mine, in Kirkenes, northern Norway, with the outcome being a plan to produce 63.3 Mt of ultra-high-grade direct reduction magnetite concentrate.
The DFS was managed by SLR Consulting, an international multi-disciplinary consulting firm, and prepared according to international reporting standards.
Grangex’s stated strategy is to restart production of ultra-high-grade direct reduction magnetite concentrate at the Sydvaranger mine and to become a leading supplier to the European and global steel industries as they undergo the current ‘green steel revolution’.
The DFS has confirmed Sydvaranger mine’s techno-economic feasibility to produce an ultra-high-grade direct reduction magnetite concentrate with an Fe content of 70% with low deleterious elements, with the planned processing circuit upgrades, the company said. The Sydvaranger mine is expected to produce 63.3 Mt of ultra-high-grade direct reduction magnetite concentrate over its 25 year mine life. All produced concentrate will be exported from the Sydvaranger Mines’ captive existing Kirkenes port terminal. The currently estimated re-start of operations is in 2026 with first commercial exports in late 2026.
The DFS analyzed the Sydvaranger Mine based on two distinct phases:
- Phase 1 Year 1 to Year 4: Early restart using existing infrastructure to produce 2.5 Mt/y of ultra-high-grade direct reduction magnetite concentrate; and
- Phase 2 Year 4 Onwards: Replace and relocate the primary crusher from Pit 1 to new location to produce 3-3.5 Mt/y of ultra-high-grade direct reduction magnetite concentrate.
Sydvaranger will be a conventional open-pit hard-rock mining operation, with nine individual pits planned to be mined and ore to be processed at a single centralised crushing location. The ore is crushed on-site and undergoes cobbing with the product being transported by rail to the Kirkenes processing plant. Waste material mined from the pits will be deposited on one of five waste dumps while the cobbing reject will largely be used for aggregate
production by a third party and removed from site.
The total Sydvaranger Mineral Reserves as of 25 August 2025 total 161.2 Mt of clean ore at an Fe (mag) grade of 28.3% across nine open pits. Waste material totals 475 Mt giving a strip ratio of 2.95. The waste material includes 9.6 Mt of high-MIS mineralised waste.
Loading and hauling will be carried out by an owner-operated fleet of hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders and rigid dump trucks. In the ramp-up period, mining is planned to be carried out using a CAT 395 and CAT 6020 excavators supported by a fleet of 10 CAT 777 rigid dump trucks, eight of which are available on-site and planned to undergo refurbishment.
A CAT 992 wheel loader is also on-site and will support mining, rehandle and construction efforts during ramp-up.
By 2027, a CAT 6030 will be commissioned supported by a fleet of CAT 785 haul trucks. The larger load and haul fleet grows during the life of mine while the 777 fleet is largely phased out of production mining and used for rehandling.
Primary crusher feed will be supported by a rehandle fleet from the run of mine (ROM) pad. The stockpile balance is scheduled to reach a maximum of approximately 1 Mt of ore in October 2027. A 40% minimum rehandle has been costed with rehandle duties to be carried out by a CAT 992 wheel loader supported by the refurbished CAT 777 fleet.
Pits have been designed to 20 m bench intervals with drilling and blasting carried out in 10 m flitches. The drilling is to be carried out by an owner-operated fleet of boom-mounted rigs (Epiroc L8s and D65s) and platform-style rigs (Epiroc DML). Three Epiroc L8 rigs are available on-site requiring refurbishment and will be used for ramp-up before being replaced by D65s later in the mine life.
Blasting will be managed by the owner team while a supplier will provide explosives charging services with a down-the-hole bulk explosives contract. The supplier is expected to provide the mobile mixing units supported by a tool handler for loading of stemming. A full complement of support equipment includes smaller excavators, dozers, motor graders, water trucks, low loaders and tool handlers. The graders and water trucks will be fitted out
for dual purpose usage in the winter months with graders prepared for management of snow and water trucks converted to rock spreading units.
A CAT D10 dozer and 16M grader are available on-site and will undergo refurbishment. A suitable low-loader and pair of Sleipner™ dollies will allow flexibility to relocate tracked equipment across the site.
Grangex expects to reach its Final Investment Decision (FID) on the re-start by the end of 2025 for the commencement of the required construction and refurbishments at the Sydvaranger mine to enable re-start of operations. FID remains conditional upon successful raising of the required project financing, a process which has been underway since the completion of a previously announced preliminary economic assessment.
Christer Lindqvist, Chief Executive Officer of Grangex, stated: “The DFS confirms Sydvaranger’s strong potential to become a world-class producer of ultra-high grade direct reduction magnetite concentrate and an enabler of the European and global steel industries in their shift towards more sustainable production technologies.
“Sydvaranger will be the largest mining operation in Norway and an economic motor especially for the Finnmark region. I continue to be impressed with the support from the local communities and I look forward to Grangex becoming an integral part of Kirkenes for the next several generations.”
