Boliden AB

Boliden AB (stylized as Boliden) is a Swedish multinational metals, mining, and smelting company headquartered in Stockholm. The company produces zinc, copper, lead, nickel, silver, and gold, with operations in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Ireland.

The company name comes from the Boliden mine, 30 km northwest of the Swedish town of Skellefteå, where gold was found in 1924. It was once Europe's largest and richest gold mine, but has since 1967 been defunct.^[1]

The goods produced are sold both to the group's own smelters and to external customers. Boliden owns and operates Europe's biggest zinc mine at Tara in Ireland (since early 2004), but production began there in 1977, since when over 60 million tonnes of ore have been mined. Boliden also owns Garpenberg, which is Sweden's oldest mine still in operation. Mining at Garpenberg, or extracting metals from the ground, began as early as 375 bc.^[2][3] The mineral-rich Skellefte field lies within the Boliden Area, where almost 30 mines have been opened since production began in the 1920s and where Boliden currently operates the Renström and Kristineberg underground mines and the Maurliden open pit mine. Boliden also owns and operates the Aitik open pit mine, which is one of Europe's biggest copper mines. Metal grades at Aitik are low, but this is compensated for by high productivity levels and efficient milling processes that also exploit the ore's gold and silver content. An expansion project to double Aitik's ore production to 36 million tonnes per annum began in 2007.

Business Area Smelters refines both metal concentrate and secondary materials to produce base and precious metals at smelters in Sweden, Finland and Norway. The main metals are zinc and copper but the production of lead, gold and silver also makes a substantial contribution to the Business Area's revenues. Other products include sulphuric acid and aluminium fluoride. Boliden owns and operates two zinc and two copper smelters and one lead smelter. The Kokkola zinc smelter in Finland is the second largest in Europe and the fifth largest in the world, and mainly produces an alloy used in the galvanising of thin sheet metal. The Odda zinc smelter, which produces zinc for the steel industry and aluminium fluoride for Norway's aluminium industry, is located on the west coast of Norway. The Rönnskär copper smelter is located in the Swedish town of Skelleftehamn and its main products are copper, zinc clinker, lead and precious metals. The smelter, which produces sulphuric acid as a by-product of its operations, also produces metals from electronic scrap and other secondary materials. The Harjavalta copper smelter, located on the west coast of Finland, produces copper cathodes that are mainly sold to manufacturers of semi-finished goods. Other important products include gold, silver and sulphuric acid. The Bergsöe lead smelter outside Landskrona in southern Sweden extracts lead from scrap car batteries. Bergsöe is one of Europe's four biggest players in the lead recycling industry. Approximately 60% of the plant's lead production is sold to the European battery industry, with the remainder used in the manufacture of roofing sheet.

In 1918, a mining company called Centralgruppens Emissionsbolag, which was majority-owned by Skaninaviska Banken, began prospecting in the area surrounding Skellefteå. In 1924, a gold ore deposit was discovered near the village of Bjurliden, around 30 km from Skellefteå.^[4] It was found to contain 18 grams of gold per ton, making it Europe's richest ore at the time.^[5] It also contained significant amounts of silver and copper.^[6]

In the mid-1920s, the company went bankrupt. Its main shareholder Skaninaviska Banken liquidated and restructured it into two separate companies, retaining majority ownership of both: Skellefteå gruv AB and Västerbottens gruv AB.^[4] Oscar Falkman, a venture capitalist who had led Emissionsbolag's prospecting operations since 1918, became the leader of both companies.^[6] Financier Ivar Kreuger bought majority shares in both companies in 1929 for 58 million SEK (2 billion SEK today, or 183 million EUR)^[7] and two years later consolidated them into one, which became the modern entity Boliden.^[8] Falkman became its first CEO, ultimately serving for 12 years.^[9]

In 1932, Kreuger, who was heavily indebted and facing bankruptcy, died of suicide. The Swedish government passed a law limiting foreign ownership of Swedish companies active in resource extraction. The law, dubbed Lex Boliden by the press, remained on the books until the 1990s.^[10] Ultimately, Kreuger's stake in Boliden passed back to Skandinaviska Banken, which had provided most of the money for his purchase of the mine.^[7] The bank remained the owners of the company until 1952, when the company was listed on the stock exchange.^[11]

Over the next few years, the town of Boliden grew quickly around the mine.^[6]

In 1930, Boliden commissioned a smelter in the coastal town of Skelleftehamn to process the Boliden ore. The site saw significant expansion in the rest of the 20th century and is today part of the company's Rönnskär factory.^[6] In the 1940s, Boliden began producing purified lead, silver and arsenic there.^[4] In 1952, the company began to produce sulphuric acid from its own sulphur dioxide emissions. In 1970, a dedicated refinery was built to concentrate and purify the sulphur dioxide to increase the recovery rate. Boliden had a near-monopoly on sulphuric acid in Sweden at that time.^[4]

Responding to demand created by the war economies of World War II, Boliden began investing in the extraction and processing of copper, as well as some lead and nickel.^[4] The company commissioned the Laver copper mine in 1936, which was only operational for ten years. The following year,^[12] Boliden also bought a significant amount of land near Kristineberg from local prospector and miner Johan Alfred Hultdin for 50,000 SEK (1.9 million SEK today, or 170,000 EUR). The company quickly developed the site and commissioned mining operations in 1940. In 1943, the company began operating a 96-kilometre aerial tramway between Kristineberg and Boliden for the transportation of ore.^[13] In 1943, Boliden opened a lead mine in Laisvall that was active until 2001.^[6]

Boliden began expanding its lead production and also investing in zinc. By the 1960s, these two metals comprised the majority of the company's metal output.^[4] In 1957, Boliden acquired the company Zinkgruvor AB, taking over its mines in the Bergslagen region, including a zinc and silver mine at Garpenberg^[14] and Långfallsgruvan, a zinc mine near Saxberget.^[11] Boliden opened the Aitik mine, an open pit mine copper mine, near Gällivare in 1968.^[15] The company also continued producing gold, as well as silver, arsenic, selenium, nickel sulphate, zinc, and sulphuric acid.^[4]

In the 1960s, Boliden began to develop processes to refine complex metal mixtures, critical for recycling industrial scrap. The company was one of the key developers of the Kaldo furnace to treat lead-containing copper.^[4]

In 1967, the original Boliden mine was closed down.^[1]

In 1973, Boliden acquired half of the lead mining operations of the German company Preussag (today TUI Group), creating a joint venture. Boliden primarily aimed expand its lead smelting and refining capacity, as well as facilitate the sales. The deal also marked Boliden's first major entry into markets outside of Sweden.^[4] In 1976, Boliden launched a Kaldo type furnace, for processing metals. 1976 also saw Boliden launch the first flash smelting furnace for lead, applying Kaldo technology, at Rönnskär.

In 1979, Boliden acquired Paul Bergsöe & Son, a Danish smelting company with operations in Landskrona,^[16] which is today primarily a lead-acid battery recycler.^[17]

In 1985, Boliden ceased shipping toxic waste to northern Chile.^[18]

In 1986, the Trelleborg industrial conglomerate acquired a controlling interest in Boliden. Trelleborg launched a major restructuring of the Boliden Group in 1996, and the new company, Boliden Limited, was formed in Toronto. Two years later, Boliden Ltd. bought the Canadian company Westmin.

In the same year, Boliden acquired Ahlsell, a Swedish wholesaler, for 1 billion SEK (2.7 billion SEK, or 244 million EUR, in 2025). The acquisition made Boliden one of Sweden's largest companies, with over 15,000 employees.^[4] Boliden also acquired the Spanish company Apirsa, which extracted zinc from the Aznalcóllar open pit mine, 45 km west of Seville.^[4]

In 1995, Harjavalta was expanded, increasing copper and nickel production.

On 25 April 1998, the tailings dam at Apirsa's Los Frailes mine burst and 4.5 million cubic metres of tailings sand drained out into the nearby Guadiamar river, near Doñana National Park, causing Spain's worst environmental disaster to date. Extensive investigations revealed defects in both the dam's original construction and in subsequent construction projects. The company reacted quickly to the situation and immediately began a comprehensive programme of reclamation work. In 2006, Boliden lost the demand against the companies that built the dam Aznalcóllar. The Supreme Court of Spain also confirmed that Boliden should pay €43,7 million to the Spanish government.^[19] The recovery costs of Aznalcóllar are estimated to be €240 million; Boliden has not assumed any part of these costs.

In 1998, the Los Frailes mine closed due to the tailings dam failure, causing extensive damage in the environment, near Doñana National Park.

The Rönnskär +200 expansion – an investment of SEK 1.9 billion – was approved.

In 1997, Boliden established its head office in Toronto. The shares were listed on the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges.

In 1999, Boliden implemented a restructuring programme at Group level and the Boliden share was listed on the Stockholm stock exchange.

In 2000, Harjavalta's nickel operations were sold. Maurliden mine opened. The new Rönnskär complex was inaugurated.

In 2001, Boliden's head office was relocated back to Sweden.

In 2003, Boliden acquired Outokumpu's mining and smelting assets within zinc and copper.^[20] Boliden bought smelters and a mine from Outokumpu, and as a result, the Kokkola and Harjavalta/Pori smelters in Finland and the Odda smelter in Norway became part of Boliden. The purchase also included the Tara zinc mine in Ireland.

In 2005, Kvarnberget is the name given to a new mineralisation discovered in Garpenberg. Decision to invest in expansion of the Harjavalta smelter. Feasibility study of possible expansion of the Aitik mine. Boliden sold its shares in Breakwater Resources and Lundin Mining. First edition of Boliden's in-house magazine, "Boliden Magazine", was published.

In 2006, a decision was made to invest in an expansion of the Aitik mine. Agreement with OM Group Inc (OMG) regarding the refining of nickel concentrate at Harjavalta. Successful exploration resulted in increases to Garpenberg's ore reserves. A new lead section was also opened at Bergsöe.

In 2013, 796 residents of Arica brought a legal case against Boliden in the Swedish courts^[18]

In 2016, Boliden was ranked as being among the 13th best of 92 oil, gas, and mining companies on indigenous rights in the Arctic.^[21]

In 2020, Boliden Mineral AB became the first company in Sweden to issue a Strategic lawsuit against public participation.^[22]

On 2 September 2020, Boliden Mineral AB, represented by the law firm Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyrå AB, filed a complaint to the Disciplinary Committee of the Swedish Bar Association against lawyers Mr Johan Öberg and Mr Göran Starkebo. The complaint, seeking to make them personally liable for costs incurred by Boliden in defending the ARICA case ^[23] was considered by the United Nations to be a threat equivalent to the first SLAPP ^[22] (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) in Swedish history.

In April 2025, Boliden acquired Somnicor, owner of the Neves-Corvo mine, from Lundin Mining for US$1.4 billion plus up to an additional US$150 million in contingency payments.^[24]

In the mid-1980s, Boliden exported a total of 19,139 tonnes of metallic residues containing high concentrations of hazardous elements, including arsenic, mercury, cadmium and lead,^[18] from the Rönnskär smelter to a Chilean company, Promel, for processing. Boliden paid Promel for processing work that was never carried out and the residues were, instead, stored on the outskirts of the city of Arica at a site which was converted to a low-cost residential area in the 1990s on the instructions of the social services. The original export documents had specified that the metallic residues were 'non-toxic' ^[18] and residents were unaware of the waste's presence or potential for harm. As a result, many people came to harm. In the autumn of 2009, the Chilean government announced that the around 7,000 residents of the area would be evacuated. The waste was exported before the Basel Convention prohibiting the export of environmentally hazardous waste came into force.

The Boliden controversy in Chile stirred debate in the Swedish news in 2013, after 700 Chilean victims suffering from arsenic poisoning filed a lawsuit against Boliden.^[25][26]

In March 2021, Beatriz Balbin, Chief of the Special Procedures Branch of OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights at the United Nations) wrote to the managing director of Boliden to convey alleged ongoing breaches of human rights, including ‘intimidation and threat [against] human rights defenders’.

The Boliden toxic waste scandal was discussed in Swedish parliament where the Minister of Environment, Per Bolund (Green Party) indicated his willingness to discuss assistance to Chile to clean up the affected areas in Arica, but claiming that the Chilean government had not yet requested help.

In 2020, Boliden Mineral AB became the first company in Sweden to issue a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.^[18][22] UN Human Rights experts from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) wrote to the managing director of Boliden to convey concerns of alleged ongoing breaches of human rights, including ‘intimidation and threat [against] human rights defenders’.

In March 2021, the company was accused of threatening human rights defenders following the disposal of toxic waste in Chile.^[18][27]

Boliden is linked to the Doñana disaster, a major environmental disaster in 1998 in Spain.^[28][29]

In 2017, Boliden was rated the world's second most climate-friendly mining firm with regards to carbon dioxide.^[30]

In August 2021, Boliden was one of several major mining companies to join Komatsu to advance zero-emission mining.^[31]

In August 2021, Boliden ranked second among mining companies in Bloomberg Intelligence's low-carbon ranking.^[32]

In 2021, Boliden was ranked no. 18 out of 120 oil, gas, and mining companies involved in resource extraction north of the Arctic Circle in the Arctic Environmental Responsibility Index (AERI).^[33]

Boliden reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for 31 December 2020 at 897 Kt (-20 /-2.2% y-o-y).^[34] There has been a consistent declining trend in reported emissions since 2016.

The Aitik copper mine (a major mine within the company) was featured on a 2007 episode of the Discovery Channel series Really Big Things.

Released in 2014, Swedish director Roy Andersson's film A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence includes a controversial scene which, according to the director, refers to Boliden's involvement in dumping dangerous toxins in the Chilean city Arica in the 1980s.^[41] In a review of the film, film critic Jessica Kiang describes the scene: "And in probably the most unsettling and memorable scene, which plays out like a live action Monty Python animation, colonial-era British soldiers pack a huge brass drum outfitted with trumpet horns of varying sizes with chained black slaves. The door is closed, and a fire is lit beneath the drum, which begins to revolve slowly (it is emblazoned with the name of Swedish mining giant Boliden) and to emit a kind of music. All this, it is revealed, is being enacted for the entertainment of a group of elderly rich, champagne-sipping white people in evening wear."^[42]

The smelting victims in Arica is also the topic of Toxic Playground, a Swedish documentary by William Johansson and Lars Edman released in 2009.^[43]

In 2021, the topical satirical show Svenska Nyheter (Swedish News) included a 12 minute segment about the ARICA case, with a resident of Arica gathering a sample of contaminated soil, putting it in an envelope and mailing it back to Boliden.^[44]

• List of Swedish companies
• Doñana disaster, caused by negligence on the part of Boliden-Apirsa.

• Official website
• Mining technology description