2604 gradually managed to increase productivity in a positive spiral. In order for the mines to stay profitable they were forced to adopt new technologies and use the best equipment. The mining companies, mainly the stateowned iron ore producer LKAB and the listed base and precious metals producer Boliden, became highly qualified and demanding buyers of technology and equipment necessary to keep reducing operating costs to survive. In this way they put tough and stringent demands on the original equipment manufacturers (OEM), which were forced to continuously develop new machinery and methods to meet the continuously tougher demands of the mining companies. A fruitful competitive cooperation. The mining companies survived and became more competitive, and the OEMs could export the technologies and Source: Gårdlund et al. 1973. Figure 2 – The Swedish Method equipment, which they had developed, worldwide and became global leaders. A positive spiral and schoolbook example of Porter’s diamond and competitiveness theory (Porter 1990). Today the horizontal side streams of the mining industry are economically as important to Sweden and Finland as the mining output itself (Copenhagen Economics 2021). From time to time, when metal prices are low and the profitability of the Swedish/Finnish mining sector is threatened, this mutual dependency must never be forgotten: the one industry would not be what it is unless the other existed. The cooperation is, so far, alive and kicking (Löf et al. 2016). Recently the policy support project Critical minerals in the Arctic: Challenges and perspectives for the Nordic countries (CRIMINA) was started with funding from NordForsk, which supports Nordic cooperation in research it was founded in 2005 by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NordForsk 2026). Historically it has also helped that several world class deposits were found in the geological domain the Fennoscandian shield: the Falu copper deposit supplying a major part of European copper in the 17th century, the Kiruna and Malmberget iron ore deposits which LKAB exploits. The recently discovered Sakatti polymetal deposit in northern Finland is one of Anglo American’s global flagship projects illustrating the remaining geological potential in the Nordic countries (Anglo American 2023). The third leg of the mining cluster, the research and development network, is an example of the importance of long-term dedication to research and development. Back in 1637 a Swedish Bureau of Mines (in Swedish Bergskollegium) was set up based on German experiences (Fors 2014). The Bureau was founded out of concern for the effective management of the mining industry, which was a key contributor to the Swedish economy and the economic backbone for the imperial ambitions of the Swedish royal dynasty at the time. The Bureau set up a “chamber of assaying”, which in the 1680s started to get involved in areas that gradually developed into modern chemistry. This was systematic and long-term effort involving also intensive international networking. Over the next century and half from
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